Smith Cemetery ~ William McDonald Turner ~ part of the Polk County Pioneer Cemeteries of Oregon
Turner, William McDonald
LAST: Turner FIRST: William MID: McDonald
GENDER: M MAIDEN NAME:  TITLE: 
BORN: 3 Nov 1835 DIED: 25 Oct 1906 BURIED: 27 Oct 1906 (Smith Cemetery)
OCCUPATION:  
BIRTH PLACE:  Johnson Co, Missouri
DEATH PLACE: Lewisville, Polk Co, Oregon
NOTES: 
1850 CENSUS - Wm D. Turner (14y, b Missouri) enumerated with Jonas (53y, b Tenn, occupation farmer), Luhettie (37y, b Tenn), Nicholas (17y, b MO), James (15y, b MO), Noah (13y, b MO), Elizabeth (11y, b MO), Thomas H.B. (10y, b MO), Jane (8y, b MO), Cornelius (7y, b MO), Jasper N. (5y, b MO) & Sarepta A. (2y, b MO) 1860 CENSUS - William Turner, 27y, b Missouri, occupation farm laborer, enumerated with family of Larkin Vanderpool 1870 CENSUS - William M. Turner (34y, b Missouri) enumerated with family of Sarah Gilliam MARRIAGE - Wm McD. Turner & Miss Mary J. Waters m 24 Sept 1871 at house of & by J. James, MG. Wit: Mr J.C. Lewis & Mrs S.A. Blanchard 1880 CENSUS - William Turner (45y, b Missouri) enumerated with wife M.J. [Mary J.] (30y, b Indiana), 4 children, B.F. [Benjamin F.] (8y, b Oregon), D.N. [Dorsa N.] (6y, b Oregon), J.C. [John Clyde] (4y, b Oregon) & Troy (2y, b Oregon) and brother J. [James] (47y, b Missouri) 1900 CENSUS - William M. Turner (b Nov 1835, Missouri) enumerated with wife of 29 years Mary J. (b Oct 1847, Indiana, mother of 7 children, all living), 5 children Clide J. [John Clyde] (b May 1876, Oregon, married 2m), Troy W. (b Sept 1878, Oregon), Andrew J. (b Nov 1880, Oregon), Emmette M. (b Jan 1883, Oregon), Sarah L. (b Mar 1885, Oregon), mother-in-law Sarah Walters (b Jan 1812, Pennsylvania, widowed, mother of 5 children, all living) and daughter-in-law Julia Turner [wife of John Clyde] (b Jan 1879, Illinois) BIOGRAPHY - At the age of eighteen, in 1835 [sic; 1853], William McDonald Turner crossed the plains with his parents and brothers and sisters, leaving behind the prosperous little farm in Johnson county, Mo, upon which he was born November 3, 1835, and where he had developed into a strong and self-reliant youth. His father, Jonas, was born in Tennessee, as was also his mother, Luhettie (Gilliam) Turner, although they were married in Missouri, shortly afterward settling on the farm in Johnson county. The long and wearying trip across the plains was accomplished without any particular incident, wagons, oxen and the various members of the party bearing up well under the necessarily severe strain upon their endurance. Setting out May 3, 1853, they spent the first winter in the Washoo valley, Nev, and the next spring went on to California, locating in Mariposa county for a couple of years. They then went to Sonoma county, where the father bought land, improved it, and lived thereon until the death of both himself and wife. Hard work on the home farm interfered somewhat with the education which William Turner desired, and he really saw little of the public schools of either Missouri or California. What education he has received has been almost entirely of recent acquisition, and has resulted in his becoming well-informed and liberal-minded man. At the age of twenty he started out to work among the farmers of Sonoma county, Cal, receiving as compensation four dollars a week and board. He was frugal and had few wants, and by 1861 had saved quite a little money, sufficient at any rate to bring him to Polk county, Ore. Here he worked on farms for a few weeks, and not being satisfied with the prospects he went to eastern Oregon and engaged in the laborious work of packing from The Dalles to the Idaho mines. A frontier existence was both congenial and profitable, and for nearly six years he continued freighting, and otherwise interested himself in the occupations of the crude and as yet undeveloped country. In 1867 Mr Turner returned to Polk county, and after living on rented farms in the Willamette valley for several years bought his present farm of one hundred and forty-five acres, advantageously located a few miles from Airlie. Some of the finest horses in this country have been bred upon the well-developed Turner farm, and have brought their owner substantial returns for his care. Since 1873 Mr Turner has had the companionship and ready sympathy of a very helpful and devoted wife, who was formerly Mary J. Waters, born in Iowa, October 20, 1847. Edward Waters, the father of Mrs Turner, crossed the plains with his family in 1853, locating on a farm in Polk county, near Pedee. Of the eight children born to Mr and Mrs Turner, Dorsa N., John C., William Troy, Andy J. and Emmett live in or near Airlie; Benjamin F., the oldest son, resides near Pedee and Emmett and Luhettie, the youngest children, are living on the home farm. The Turner home is a hospitable and pleasant one, and all of the members are popular and well liked in their respective neighborhoods. Mr Turner subscribes to the principles of the Democratic party, and has held various official positions in his adopted county, including that of school director and road supervisor. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of Lewisville, of which both himself and wife are trustees. Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley (Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1903), p 820
OBITUARY: 
In the death of William McD. Turner, Polk County loses one of its oldest and best known citizens. Mr Turner departed this life at his home near Lewisville, Thursday, October 25, aged 70 years, 11 months and 6 days. His death was caused by a stroke of paralysis which he suffered while attending to his usual farm duties about two weeks ago. Mr Turner was a native of Missouri and came to Oregon in an early day. He was known among his neighbors as a man of strict integrity and high moral worth. He had long been a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He left an aged wife, six sons and one daughter. The funeral services were held at 10 o’clock Saturday morning and burial took place in the Smith cemetery near Lewisville. Polk County Observer, Friday, November 2, 1906, 2:3
INSCRIPTION: 
Wm. McD. Turner Nov. 3, 1835 Oct. 25, 1906
SOURCES: 
OSBH DC (1906 Polk co) #2080 1850 MO CENSUS (Johnson Co, Madison, FA#661) 1860 OR CENSUS (Benton Co, FA#388)1870 OR CENSUS (Polk Co, FA#632) Polk Co, Oregon Marriage Records, 1849-1879, page 54 1880 OR CENSUS (Polk Co, Luckiamute, ED 107, FA#177) 1900 OR CENSUS(Polk Co, Luckiamute, ED 176, FA#29) Polk County Observer, 2 Nov 1906, 2:3 PBRWV, p 820
CONTACTS: 
ROW: 44-7