THE LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO
The subject of this blog is the 50% of my ancestry attributed to my father's side of the family.
I am writing this to get my information out on line to preserve it for others. This is very much a work in progress and is subject to change. Approved family members may also post here, but I and I alone am responsible for the information, unless otherwise indicated. All quotations are clearly indicated and are either quoted under "fair use" practices or are with permission of the copyright holder. In case of errors or disputes, please contact me directly.
Note: if you are a cousin and wish to post something, please contact me to set up your permissions.
SUMMARY
If you are reading this, you probably have a Joseph Turner somewhere in your family tree. Let me tell you a little bit about my Grandpa Joe, and you can see if it matches your information. Notwithstanding my title, this also includes ancestral information about my Grandma Jennie.
My Joe Turner was born near Corrigan, Polk, Texas, United States, on 14 May 1889. He spent his life in the East Texas Piney woods, living in Polk, Nacogdoches, Shelby, Panola, and Rusk Counties at various times. He worked as a lumberman and oil field hand, as well as farming for himself and his family.
He married Sarah Jane (Jennie) Cleveland on 7 October 1910 in Panola County. Jennie was born 19 November 1888 in Panola County, the daughter of Thomas Milton Cleveland (formerly of Oconee County, South Carolina) and Mary Susan Gray of Panola County.
Joe and Jennie had 10 children, all of whom lived into adulthood. Her 4th pregnancy resulted in a set of triplets, which became something of a 9-day wonder in the vicinity. Their children survived numerous disasters and adventures during their lives, including the London School boiler explosion, working for the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, the attack at Pearl Harbor, the invasion of Guadalcanal, and the Korean War. Largely as a result of the Depression, the family spread out across the country, eventually living as far apart as Okinawa, California, Ohio, and Georgia.
Both Joe and Jennie have family trees that go back beyond the American Revolution. Nearly all of their ancestors were Southerners; some were among the first English settlers of the New World. Of these, close to 100% of the 5 most recent generations are from England, Scotland, or Wales. One line, that of Jennie's great-grandfather Christopher Figen Winder, may be from Switzerland. Farther back, Joe's 4th great-grandmother, Mary Toadvine, was of French descent; her family came from Guernsey, an island off the coast of Normandy (now part of the British Channel Islands).
It is my intention to post stories, memories, and historical records of the people and places found in this ancestry, in no particular order.
