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biography from Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
S. G. TURNER, the "village blacksmith" of Oskaloosa, was born in Hemphill County, Mass., April 20, 1827, and is a son of John and Hettie (French) Turner. John Turner, a native of Lancashire, England, came to America when a young man. In the old country he was a boss spinner in a woolen factory. His wife was a native of Massachusetts. They were the parents of two children, our subject, and Lyman, who is deceased. Mrs. Turner died when our subject was a child, and his recollection of his mother is very faint. His father was again married, at Conway, Mass. to Miss Emily F. Fuller, and the three children born to them have all passed away. In 1843 John Turner removed to Sumner County, Ill., where he died the following year; Mrs. Turner died in 1866. Upon the death of his mother the subject of this sketch was adopted by Robert Robertson, by whom he was reared to manhood. He attended the common, schools of that day in the old-fashioned log cabin, with its open fireplace and slab seats without backs. When young he began to learn blacksmithing, and being a natural mechanic, learned it rapidly and thoroughly. At the breaking out of the Mexican War, Mr. Turner enlisted in the 5th Indiana Infantry, which was recruited by the (afterward) celebrated Gen. James Lane, of Kansas notoriety. The regiment was made up and sent to Gen. Scott in Mexico, and our subject served with the command until the close of the war, when he returned to Indiana. Feb. 7, 1849, he was married to Miss Hannah, a daughter of Moses and Jane (Adair) Buntain. She was born in Highland County, Ohio, July 1, 1831, and her father was one of the early pioneers of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Buntain were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living, to wit: Moses and Eli live in Miami County, Ind.; Mary A. became the wife of Robert Robertson; Jane is Mrs. Hiram Mowry, of Caas County, Ind., and Hannah. Mr. Buntain was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died when Mrs. Turner was a small child. Her mother was a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Turner soon after their marriage went to Fulton County, III., where our subject built a shop and followed his trade for several years. From there he removed to Miami County, Ind., and subsequently to Big Rapids, Mich., and in June, 1866, to Otronto, Wis. Two years later, in 1868, he came to Oskaloosa, where he has since resided. During the late war he was drafted, but was exempted by reason of having been a soldier in the Mexican War. In early life he was an abolitionist, but affiliated with the Republican party upon its organization. At present he is an ardent supporter of the Greenback faith. He has never held nor desired office at the hands of his fellowmen. Mr. and Mrs. Turner became the parents of seven children, five living: Henry I., a blacksmith in Oskaloosa, married Miss Mattie Ferris; Emma is the wife of Miles K. Prine, of this county; Della is Mrs. Wilbur Johnson, and Anna, Mrs. William White, both of Oskaloosa; Jacob Heenan is a blacksmith of this city; he married Miss Palma Prine. Mr. Turner has led a busy life, and since his retirement from active labor has traveled extensively. He receives a handsome pension from the Government for his services in the Mexican War. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him, and, surrounded as he is by his children, enjoys that leisure and comfort to which his age and the services rendered his country justly entitle him.
Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy