The Long Line

1870s Nebraska with unorganized territory

This week's challenge for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is "Long Line."  For the Turpin family, the Long Line is one drawn on a map of the United States, stretching from Virginia to Nebraska and then beyond.  

My great grandfather Newt Turpin (Robert Newton Turpin) hailed from Halifax County, Virginia.  He was born there in 1821 when the Louisiana Purchase and the expedition of Lewis and Clark could have been considered “old news” by many.  Yet America was still a nation composed of unconnected pieces.  Linking the colonial settlements to that newly added area was a huge challenge for a number of reasons.  But people moved west regardless of the challenges.  It is estimated that a million citizens left Virginia for new territory after the Revolution and before the Civil War.  Our Turpin family was among them and their journeys were long.

The mountains were difficult. The frontier was hazardous. The roads were few. At that point in time several routes to the Ohio River existed along the lines of the old Indian paths.  Some were considered roads.  But simply put, moving a family over the mountains and out into the new lands was problematic and wrought with danger.  Usually a family’s supplies and cherished items traveled in the wagon. The family walked along side or rode horses if they had them. Perhaps they took a flatboat part of the way. How many miles a day could a family travel?  How many wild rivers had to be crossed?  How many times would a wagon break down or a horse go lame?  How many encounters did people have with wild animals or the indigenous people?  

Before Newt was born, several Turpin families had made their way to homes in Owen County, Indiana. Obediah and his son Thomas’s family show up in the 1820 census. Newt’s parents, John and Elizabeth, came along later -- by the time the 1830 census was taken. So, Newt was a very young child when he made the journey from Virginia.

In the 1850s, Newt and his family headed to into Illinois. Newt’s sixth child Mary Amanda Turpin Porter was born there in 1855.  By 1858, they were in Greene County, Iowa where Emma Zetta Turpin Groves, their seventh child, was born.

After the death of Newt’s wife Sarah Elizabeth Lowery in 1872, Newt married Mary Ellen Leonard.  This is when Newt “pulled up stakes” again and headed further down the line to Nebraska. The grown children in the family stayed in Iowa. The young daughters joined the journey west. 

At the age of 51, Newt had moved halfway across the continent, crossing frontier land by horse and wagon. He had to be an incredibly strong, resilient, and hopeful person to face all those new horizons.  Life had to be easier in Virginia. You could always rely on a neighbor to find out how something was done. In Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska there were few neighbors. No one to ask!

One of Newt’s youngest daughters, Lettie, moved to California as a young woman. I feel confident in saying she probably went by train. That journey was probably much easier than her father’s many treks.  All the same, Lettie covered the second half of the North American continent that her father did not get to experience.  

Few stories were handed down through the generations of the Turpin family.  Most of what we know has been reconstructed piece by piece from documents left behind. We don’t know the ins and outs of their travels so for that reason I would love to go back in time and experience a day or so of each of those journeys Newt Turpin took.  One with young Newt and his parents crossing the Appalachian Mountains.  One crossing the Wabash River with Sarah and the children.  Another crossing the Mississippi River and traveling through Iowa. And finally, the with Mary Ellen trip crossing the Missouri and heading into the Unorganized Territory of Nebraska.

Will of Michael Turpin of Halifax County

From the Reynold Friends and Families PA to VA and All Point Beyond website:

Michael Turpin was the father of John Turpin, Sr. and the grandfather of Robert Newton Turpin. 

Halifax Co., VA, Will Bk 3, p. 96 

Will of Michael Turpin of H, very sick and weak of body but of perfect mind,

To my wife Edith--all my stock and my household furniture and the land which lies the other side of the creek, during her natural life, and then to descend to my sons John and James. I also give my wife the mill and half the profit (the other half to son Obediah Turpin).

To my son Obediah Turpin--the remainder of the land. If the rent of the land does not pay for the land at the end of 4 years, then each of the boys before mentioned to pay equally what is due.

Executors: sons Obediah, John and James

Signed

Michael (+his mark) Turpin 

Wit--Allen Whitehead, Benjamin Clements, Josiah (+his mark) Shelton

The will of Michael Turpin dec'd was OR at H Court of Jan. 27, 1794.

Who is James Turpin/Turpen of Owen County, Indiana?

The Turpin family members were the ultimate recyclers.  Few names were used only once, but rather they keep coming back over and over, used sometimes in multiples.  James is one of those names.  The Turpins loved their Jameses.  If you mix that with unreliable dates in documents, it’s the perfect recipe for a genealogist’s headache.

Early Setters of Tidewater Virginia, Volume 3 compiled by Elise Greenup Jourdan shows that Michael and Edith Turpin had sons named Obediah, John, and James.  And we have Turpins in Owen County, Indiana named Obediah, John, and James who hailed from Virginia.  That would appear to be a good fit.  But the Indiana James does not usually match the Virginia James profile.  He is on the edges of the age range for being a brother of Obediah and John and a son of Edith.  

Obediah was probably born about 1761.  John was born about 1770.  James was born 1792 or 1798 or 1806 or 1820 depending on which record you are reading.  Here is the James information formatted into a timeline. 

Does he look like a brother to Obediah and John or a son of John?   I am tempted to split this timeline.  The events before 1820 are the James who is Michael’s son.  The events starting in 1820 could be a son of John who is Michael’s son.  I’ve found no direct evidence to support this idea but this timeline sort of points that way.  Thoughts?

Michael Turpin

I will be posting some of the information I've collected on James Turpen and his family.  But to start with, I wanted to share some information from Early Settlers of Tidewater Virginia, Volume 3 by Elise Greenup Jourdan.  It will serve as a preface to James' family stories.

In a previous post I mentioned that Obediah, John, and James were sons of Michael Turpin: http://turpintraces.blogspot.com/search/label/Edith%20Turpin  Here is that information:

Michael Turpin d. 1794 Halifax Co; m. Edith ?.  His children were:

   Obediah Turpin
   James Turpin m. 12 Nov 1794 Halifax Co. Polly Smith; daughter of James Smith
   John Turpin; m. 8 Mar 1797 Elizabeth Carter
   Mary (Polly) Turpin; m. 16 June 1788 Halifax Co. James Powell; 
                                                                                    sur. Obediah Turpin

The James listed in the Jourdan book only loosely fits the profile of James who was born in Halifax County and moved to Owen County, Indiana with our branch of the Turpins. It is entirely possible that (Robert Newton Turpin's father) John Turpin had a brother AND a son named James.  At this point, I have not made up my mind as there are good arguments for both scenarios.   

More to come...

Obediah, James, and John

In Early Settlers of Tidewater Virginia, Volume 3, by Elise Greenup Jourdan, Michael Turpin is shown as the father of Obediah, James, John, and Mary “Polly” Turpin.  I’ve been working to tie the James and John of Owen County, Indiana to Halifax County, Virginia and also to determine if the family shown in Jourdan’s book is mine and is correct.  

Another Turpin researcher Anne Washburn and I have put our heads, and research notes, together on this and it appears there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  (And as they say, we hope it’s not a train…)

Here is a short timeline of Turpin activity in two counties:  Lunenburg and Halifax Counties in Virginia.  The counties are tied together in that Lunenburg is the parent county.  In 1752 the General Assembly of Virginia divided it into two counties, Halifax being the new county.  In 1766, Halifax County was divided with Pittsylvania being the newly created county.   The dates are from the Halifax County website:  http://www.halifaxcountyva.gov/

1752  Halifax County is created.

1779  Obediah Turpin, age 18, enlists with Capt Worsham's Company in Lunenburg County (1840 census of Owen County IN lists him as an 81-year-old Revolutionary War veteran.)

1783  Records of Lunenburg Co., VA

Tithables list shows Michal, Obadiah Turpin, 7 property taxable, 4 tithable, 12 souls.

1785  Halifax Co., VA, Deed Bk 13, p. 181

Apr 20, 1785 from Joshua Adams of H, to Michael Turpin of the County of Lunenburg, for 500 lbs, a certain tract of land containing, by deed, about 274 acres in H on Banister River and Sandy Cr, and bounded by Chappell, Huddleston. Signed-Joshua (X his mark) Adams. Wit: James McCraw, Joseph Hunt, David Chisholm. Recorded May 19, 1785. Phebe, wife of the sd Joshua Adams, relinquishes her right of dower.

Halifax County tax lists:

1785: no Turpins [but Richard Carter was tithed; he may be Elizabeth Carter’s brother]

1786: Michael Turpin [Richard Carter was next door neighbor]

1787: Michael Turpin

         William Turpin

1788: Michael Turpin

         Obediah Turpin

1789: Michael Turpin & two sons [not named in the tax list]

         Obediah Turpin

1790: no Turpins

1791: no Turpins

1792: Michael Turpin

         Obediah Turpin

         John Turpin [appears for the first time]

1793: Michael Turpin

         Obediah Turpin

         John Turpin

         James Turpin [appears for the first time]

1794: Edith Turpin [Michael died ca. 1793/4]

         James Turpin

         John Turpin

1794  Halifax Co., VA, Will Bk 3, p. 96

Will of Michael Turpin of H, very sick and weak of body but of perfect mind,

To my wife Edith--all my stock and my household furniture and the land which lies the other side of the creek, during her natural life, and then to descend to my sons John and James. I also give my wife the mill and half the profit (the other half to son Obediah Turpin).

To my son Obediah Turpin--the remainder of the land. If the rent of the land does not pay for the land at the end of 4 years, then each of the boys before mentioned to pay equally what is due.

Executors: sons Obediah, John and James.

Signed--Michael (+his mark) Turpin. Wit--Allen Whitehead, Benjamin Clements, Josiah (+his mark) Shelton. The will of Michael Turpin dec'd was OR at H Court of Jan. 27, 1794.

Evidence of Turpins in Halifax County, VA before 1820

During the War of 1812, British troops entered Washington, DC in 1814 and burned the White House and other public buildings in retaliation for the American attack on York in Ontario.  Amidst that destruction, Virginia’s 1790 and 1800 census reports were destroyed in addition to some 1810 census reports -- including those for Halifax County, Virginia.  So the "census substitutes" for genealogists researching those years are the land and personal property tax lists.  In the early lists, the tax commissioner recorded alphabetically the names of the person being taxed, specifically white males over the age of twenty-one.

1789 VA Tax List showing Michael and 2 sons, also Obediah

Anne Washburn, a fellow genealogist and perhaps a distant cousin, has been working on a Turpin project and recently we've been comparing notes.  Anne shared a list of the Turpins who appear in those pre-1820 tax lists.  (Anne used Binn's indexes of the tax lists.   Here's a link if you'd like to see this source   http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/)

NOTE:  John Turpin first appears in the lists in 1792.  If that is when he was 21, it adds evidence to his birth around 1770.

1782:  no Turpins
1783:  no Turpins
1784:  no Turpins
1785:  no Turpins [Richard Carter, tailor, was tithed there that year]
1786:  Michael Turpin [Richard Carter was next door neighbor]
1787:  Michael Turpin
          William Turpin
1788:  Michael Turpin
          Obediah Turpin
1789:  Michael Turpin & two sons [not named in the tax list]
          Obediah Turpin
1790:  no Turpins
1791:  no Turpins
1792:  Michael Turpin
          Obediah Turpin
          John Turpin [first time listed, some evidence of his birth year]
1793:  Michael Turpin
          Obediah Turpin
          John Turpin
          James Turpin [not the same as our James Turpen of Owen Co IN]
1794:  Edith Turpin [Michael died ca. 1793/4]
          James Turpin
          John Turpin
1795:  James Turpin
          Edith Turpin
1796:  James Turpin
          John Turpin
1797:  John Turpin
          James Turpin
1798:  no Turpins
1799:  James Turpin
1800:  James Turpin
          John Turpin
1801:  James Turpin
          John Turpin
1802:  James Turpin
          John Turpin
1803:  John Turpin
          James Turpin
1804:  John Turpin
1805:  John Turpin
1806:  John Turpin
1807:  James Turpin
          John Turpin
1808:  missing from Binns
1809:  John Turpin
1810:  John Turpin
          James Turpin 
1811:  John Turpin
1812:  John Turpin
          James Turpin
1813:  John Turpin
          William Turpin
1814:  John Turpin
1815:  John Turpin
1816:  John Turpin
          Thomas Turpin
          Josiah Turpin
1817:  Thomas Turpin
          John Turpin
1818:  John Turpin
          George Turpin 
          Thomas Turpin
          Josiah Turpin
1819:  Thomas Turpin
          George Turpin
          Thomas Turpin
          Josiah Turpin
          John Turpin
1820:  Thomas Turpin
          Josiah Turpin
          John Turpin 
          George Turpin
1821:  John Turpin
          Josiah Turpin

Why Halifax County, Virginia?

Most of everything I was told or had read indicated that Robert Newton Turpin came from Richmond, Virginia or just Virginia. There are Turpins in Richmond but nothing that I can connect to Robert Newton Turpin specifically.   No one in the family ever mentioned Halifax County and I find nothing for Robert Newton Turpin that traces back to Halifax County.   

Through my research, I found suggestions that stepped me back to Halifax County.  Since I have no single document to prove the connection, listing those clues is important.     
In the 1850 census of Owen County, Indiana, I found Robert Newton Turpin living next to his mother, Elizabeth, and brother, John Turpin. They lived a few dwellings away from the James Turpen family. In a land transfer document dated 19th November 1840, I found the clues to make those family associations.  

John and Elizabeth's Land Transfer - 1840

The document from the Owen County, Indiana county recorder states that John Turpin and his wife Elizabeth grant their land to Mary, Robert N. and Henry W. Turpin taking into consideration that these three will care for John and Elizabeth and their son, John Jr. who is "partially incapable of procuring" a living for himself.  The land involved was the Southwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of Section 5, Township 9-N and Range 3-W which Elizabeth purchased in 1839 (see my May 2012 blog post). It was located in the southeast area of Owen County, along the northern border of Clay Township and just south the White River and the town of Spencer.  It could be assumed from this document that Mary, Robert N. “Newt”, and Henry are John and Elizabeth’s children.  John Jr. is an older child and a brother to Mary, Newt, and Henry.  

Owen County marriage records provide a wealth of information on the Turpins and using cluster research techniques, it’s possible to trace many of the Turpin in-laws and other Owen County residents back to Halifax County, Virginia.  

John (born about 1770) and James (born 1790) both live in Owen County in 1840 according to the 1840 census. On both the 1840 and 1850 censuses we see a flurry of surnames that are found in Halifax County, Virginia such as Arnold, Carter, Dunn, Franklin, Lowery, and Mills.

Before 1840, James and John can be found in Halifax County.  They are there in the 1820 and 1830 censuses.  Their ages match.  In 1820, that particular page of the census also shows Carters, Franklins, and Mills.  Going to other Halifax county records of the time period, one finds Arnolds, Carters, Dunns, Franklins, Lowerys, and Mills.  

The Halifax County, Virginia marriage records include a marriage for John and Elizabeth Carter dated 8th March 1797.  There is a marriage bond record for them showing a Richard Carter as bondsman...a clue to Elizabeth's family.  There are other clues I'm following up with as time allows.  Is the March 1797 marriage John's first marriage?  (That would mean that James is not their son. If he's a brother, there's a 20 year gap in their ages.) There's a Mildred Turpin living near James and John in Halifax County in 1820 and 1830.  She is still there in 1840.   Obediah is another member of the family.  He lived in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Owen County, Indiana, and Hendricks County, Indiana.