William Turpen, 2nd Child

I skipped over William Turpen, the second child of Jim and Janey Turpen.   He is discussed in a previous blog post: 
http://turpintraces.blogspot.com/2011/11/louise-anne-anna-turpin-fifth-child.html

William Turpen married Louise Anne (Anna) Turpin who was Newt Turpin's daughter and William's cousin.  

They had five children: 

James N. (b. 1870 IA), Mary (b. 1873 IA), Susan E. (b. @1875 IA), Katherine “Kate” (b. @ 1877 IA), and Carrie B. (b. 1880 IA). 

Anna died in 1880, perhaps in childbirth.  This left Will with the difficult task of raising small children.  He remarried 9 August 1887 to Mary A. Edwards.  Anna is buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Greene County, Iowa.  Will died in 1923.

Isaac Newton Turpen, 4th Child

Isaac was the fourth child of Jim and Janey Turpen.  Born in May 1847, he lived in Owen County for just a few years before the family left.  He probably had no recollection of what it was like there.  By age 22, the family had settled in Jefferson, Greene County, Iowa but Isaac did not stay long.  He was in Iowa in 1870 and by 1880 he was in the Unorganized Territory of Holt County, Nebraska, living near his Uncle Newt Turpin and the other Nebraska Turpins.  In the 1885 State Census of Nebraska, he had moved to Long Pine in Brown County, Nebraska.  That is west of Holt County.  Finally, Isaac landed in California.  He was listed in Fresno in the California Voter Registrations in 1896.

1896  - California Voter Registration with Isaac N. Turpen

Isaac spelled his last name both ways – Turpen and Turpin.  He normally used his middle initial, but not always. And he was not afraid to move on to new places.  It makes the search interesting, Isaac!

No marriage records have been found.  But by the time of the 1900 census, he is living with his wife Martha A. who was born in October 1868 in Nebraska.  They had been married about 10 years.  That marriage could have happened anywhere from Nebraska to California.  Martha was about 20 years younger than Isaac.  They had no children so there are no families saving Isaac and Martha's history. 

Isaac was engaged in farming and one of the censuses listed him as a fruit grower.  The 1901 Fresno City Directory listed him as an orchardist residing in Easton.  As early as 1911, the directory showed him residing on Effie Street with no occupation listed.    

Later in 1916, the directory still had him living on Effie Street.  He would have been 69 years old.  In 1916, Martha was listed in the Long Beach, California City Directory as a widow of I. N. Turpin living on 238 Elm Street.  That could mean that Isaac died that year and she relocated.  In 1918, she was back in Fresno on Effie Street.  Likewise in the 1920 census, Martha was living on Effie Street and listed as a widow aged 51.

After that both are gone.   I have not found Isaac or Martha in obituaries or cemetery listings.  

Luke Turpen, 3rd Child

Luke Turpen was the third child of Jim and Janey Turpen.   He was born in May 1848 in Indiana.  On 16 April 1871 he married Emily J. Babb, the oldest daughter of Valentine Servier Babb and Lydia Crumly.  Emily was born in Iowa in Dec 1847.  Both of Emily’s parents were born in Tennessee and came to Iowa before 1847.

Luke and Emily lived in Greene County, Iowa.  They farmed in the Squirrel Hollow area and put up ice from the Raccoon River during winters.

Luke and Emily had a daughter, Emily C, who was born about 1877 and died young. 

Emily died in 1924.  Luke died a few years later in 1927.  Both are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Greene Co., IA.  Since there were no children surviving Luke and Emily, it makes you wonder if anyone has a photograph of them!  I have old photographs from the Turpin family with no names written on the backs to identify people.  

Location of Pleasant Hill Cemetery