John M Turpin Family in Rock County in 1940

The 1940 census for Nebraska is now indexed and available on FamilySearch.org.   I found the John M. Turpin family in Kirkwood Precinct of Rock County on "islands in the Niobrara River".  It's interesting to note that John was born in Nebraska, as was his wife Cora and all the children.  This was not a first for the Turpins -- Susie Turpin and husband Ben Brown and family were all Nebraska-born too.  In so many censuses, we see the Turpins being born in a procession of states from east to west. 

John M Turpin Family in Rock County, NE in 1940 Census

Follow-up on Fletcher Arnold

In the last post, I talked about Millican Arnold who was the son of Mary Turpin and Carter Arnold.   

Milikin had a brother Fletcher and the death record (abstracted below) indicates that he could also be a Turpin descendent.    His mother is listed as Mary Fuspin.  This could very likely be a case of bad handwriting or difficult transcribing.   I think that Fuspin is probably not a real name.   It is probably Turpin.  (Note that Millican's death record recorded his mother as Mary Carter, not Mary Turpin.)

This would place Mary Turpin Arnold’s death after November 1852. 

Fletcher appears to have never married and I find no evidence of children.  Millican had no children either.  

Newt Turpin’s Sister: Mary Turpin Arnold

Robert Newton Turpin had at least one sister.  Mary was born about 1813.  We find enough records for Mary that we can begin to know about her.  But the records are scarce enough that her and her family’s lives are a bit of a mystery.  The story is one that makes you wish that time travel was possible!

The first record we find of Mary is the land document where John and Elizabeth leave Elizabeth’s land to the children in consideration that they will care for John and Elizabeth and their son, John Jr.  Then we find her marriage record in the Owen County, Indiana records: 

Mary Turpin to Carter Arnold,

24 June 1848

Carter Arnold was previously married to Ailsey Carter in 1837 in Owen County.  With Ailsey we find another person from the Carter family!  I believe Ailsey Carter Arnold probably died and then Carter Arnold married Mary Turpin.

So on to the censuses!  I love census records!   Just a single census page can give you so many clues and lead you on many different research paths!   Look at the 1850 U.S. census of  Owen County, Indiana.   It shows that the newly married Carter, age 55, and Mary, age 37, are living with a full house! 

Carter and Mary in Franklin Twp, Owen Co, Indiana

First there is Elizabeth, age 27, and Eliza, age 19, who were born in Virginia before the 1837 Indiana marriage of Carter and Ailsey.  A little research on Carter Arnold reveals that there is a marriage record for Carter Arnold and Elizabeth Carter 3 March 1817 in Halifax County, Virginia (Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850  by Jordan R. Dodd).  This gives us another tie to Halifax County, Virginia.  But more interesting, it tells us that Carter married an Elizabeth Carter and then an Ailsey Carter, both born in Virginia.   Or could Elizabeth and Ailsey be the same person?  Is Ailsey a from of Elsie or Elizabeth?  But if so, why two marriages, one in Virginia and one in Indiana?   And are these Carters related to John Turpin’s wife Elizabeth Carter?

But we digress.  Let’s go back to the children shown in the census. 

Child Elizabeth would have been born about 1823, when Carter would have been about 28 years old.

Eliza would have been born about 1836, when Carter would have been about 36 years old. 

They could be children from the marriage previous to Ailsey or perhaps other relatives of Carter.  The 1850 U.S. census does not indicate the relationships of members of a household. 

Also living with them is George Turpin, age 12, and another Elizabeth, age 13, whose last name is not listed – it is likely Turpin.  So many Elizabeths!  This makes us wonder if Mary Turpin was married previously since she was about 35 when she married Carter Arnold.   Or is George a nephew or cousin?  

Finally, there is a 10-month-old Milikin Arnold who appears to be the child of Carter and Mary.  Milikin would be the first Turpin descendent in this branch of the family. 

In the 1860 census, Carter Arnold is residing in Owen County, Indiana but Mary is not there. It’s assumed that Mary Turpin Carter died before 1860 in Owen County however her grave has not been located.  So now it seems Milikin may be the only Turpin descendent in this branch!

In 1870 we find Carter Arnold, his sister, and several of his children living in Hoosier Prairie Township of Clay County, Illinois.  The graves of Carter Arnold, his sister Kiziah Moury, his son David, and his daughter Elizabeth Arnold Franklin are in Number Four Cemetery in Sailor Springs, Clay County, Illinois.   

As for Milikin (Millican). We can follow him through time until his death 4 October 1924 in Clay City, Illinois.  His death record states his parents were Carter Arnold of Virginia and Mary Carter of Virginia.  He was a farmer and married to Lydia.   And true to the nature of this family, the census tells such a story!   In 1910, “Miligan” and Lydia’s household consisted of brother Fletcher Arnold, mother-in-law Julia Pierce, and John McCallister, nephew!   From a review of the censuses, it appears that Milikin and Lydia never had children.