Sierra
County
Biographies
THOMAS KENNEDY TURNER
Thomas K. Turner, the capable and
successful road builder and logging contractor at Sattley, is a member of one
of the oldest and best known families of Sierra County, California. The Turners are of English origin, and the
earliest records of the branch of the family to which Thomas K. belongs go back
to Thomas Turner, who was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1741, and died at
Whitefield, Maine, December 15, 1829. He
was the father of a number of children, one of whom was Thomas Turner, Jr., who
was born at Whitefield, Maine, April 28, 1793, and died in California, August
16, 1852. On March 8, 1828, he married
Sally, the daughter of Nicholas Kennedy, of Whitefield, Maine. She died young, leaving four children, who
were reared by their father’s unmarried sister Mary. They were as follows: Henry K., of Sattley, California, a graduate
of Bowdoin College, who settled upon a large ranch near Sattley and
Sierraville, with his brother, Hartwell F., and who served in the California
state legislature; Merrick A., who died in 1859, and his twin sister, Calista A., who became the wife of George E. Hale, who was
a very early settler in Sierra County, later locating on what is now the Turner
ranch at Sattley; Hartwell F., who, as well as Henry K., served in official capacity. He married Miss Agnes Gallaway,
who was born in San Francisco, in 1852.
Her parents came to this state from Pennsylvania by ox teams in 1849,
and she spent her childhood in Downieville.
Hartwell F. Turner, the father of
Thomas K. Turner, came to California in 1859.
His father, Thomas Turner, Jr., his brother Merrick A., and George E.
Hale, who was the husband of Merrick A. Turner’s twin sister, all from the
state of Maine, came to California in 1850.
Thomas Turner died in 1852, and Merrick Turner died in 1859. When Hartwell F. Turner arrived in Nevada
City, California, he was met by a messenger, who conveyed to him the sad news
of the death of his brother, Merrick A.
Nevertheless he proceeded to Sattley, then known as Church’s Corners,
and settled upon the tract which has since been known as the Turner ranch,
comprising four hundred and forty acres.
He improved the place and built a sawmill,
driven by water power, in 1882. He was a
progressive man, but finally failed. He died at Sattley in 1922, at the age of
ninety years, having outlived his wife by forty years. She died at the age of about thirty years,
leaving four children, as follows: Harry
A., who is represented on other pages of this work; James Mason, a sawmill man
and builder at Portola, this state; Thomas Kennedy, of this review; and Daisy
Agnes, who is the wife of Thomas Miller, of Sierraville, at which place she is
the postmaster. One other child died in
infancy.
Thomas Kennedy Turner was born on
September 28, 1878, was reared on the Turner farm and acquired a f air education. He
did his share of the farm work and also was employed in the
sawmill operated by his father and brother. Later he became associated with his brother
in the operation of Turner Brothers’ sawmill.
Thomas K. Turner is an expert logger and timberman. At the present time he is engaged in road
building and highway maintenance, under the direction of Supervisor W. E.
Miller, in the fifth supervisorial district in Sierra County. He is a capable and experienced road builder
and is ably assisted by his oldest son, who runs a caterpillar tractor and
road-grading machines.
Mr. Turner was united in marriage to
Miss Elizabeth Meyer, of Beckwith Township, Plumas County, this
state, where her family settled in a very early day. To them have been born six children, as
follows: George F., who is a junior in
the Polytechnic College of Oakland, majoring in electrical engineering, and who
is a practical engineer and during his summer vacations runs the caterpillar
tractor for his father; James T., who drives the stage from Reno, Nevada, to
Calpine, Sierra County; Mildred, who died at the age of two years; Elizabeth
A.; Edward M. and Frank Henry. The
spirit of good cheer and hospitality is always in evidence in the Turner home
and the members of the family are highly regarded by all who know them. In his political views Mr. Turner is a
Republican and takes an active interest in local public affairs. Kindhearted, straightforward in all of his
relations with his fellowmen and loyal to the best interest of his community,
he is regarded as one of Sattley’s best citizens.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 354-356. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County Biographies