Joe Turner in the 1852 Estate File of Wiley Turner – Lowndes County, Alabama

Wiley_Turners_plantation
The rebuilt plantation house of Wiley Turner. You can see more photos and information here.  No photos of the slave quarters survive.  In 1860 there were 15 slave dwellings for 75 enslaved people.  Five members of the Wiley Turner family lived in the big house.

Recently I decided to find the plantation where my 2X great grandparents, Joe and Emma Turner were enslaved. I started by looking at white Turners in Hayneville, Lowndes County, Alabama where my family lived in 1870. I found Wiley Turner and his brother Thomas Turner. Both died in 1851. Wiley’s estate file contained several lists of those enslaved on his plantation.  I found a Joe. I believe this is my Joe because there was only one Joe Turner in the area, because he is the right age and because he was described as “white”, and my  great great grandfather Joe Turner was very light skinned.

Of the four lists, this first one is the most complete in that it includes names, ages and monetary worth.  I will be writing more about the Turner plantation and those who were once enslaved on it, as I continue to try and piece together the lives of Joe and Emma  Turner and others in their community.

Inventory; and Appraisement of the Est. of Wiley Turner, Deceased. February 1852. Those in maroon were set aside for his widow, Francis Turner. They do not appear in future inventories.
Click to enlarge.

     Sex     Name             Aged      Worth
1.   Boy     Andrew            20     $850.00
2.   Girl    Fanny             20      750.00
3.   Boy     Lewis (Tyus)      24      750.00
4.   Girl    Amy               29      550.00
5.   Boy     Mordicai          20      875.00
6.   Girl    Leah              20      650.00
7.   Boy     Billy (Tyus)      22      850.00
8.   Girl    Martha            20      700.00
9.   Boy     Toney             25      600.00
10.  Woman   Ellen & child     40      400.00
11.  Girl    Abby              14      550.00
12.  Girl    Little Margaret   13      500.00
13.  Boy     Alfred            22      700.00
14. Woman Maria & child Ranson 30      500.00
15.  Girl     Little Jane       9      250.00
16.  Girl     Louisa            4      250.00
17.  Girl     Adella            2      175.00
18.  Man      Doctor           55      240.00
19.  Woman    Mary             50      175.00
20.  Girl     Eliza            14      600.00
21.  Girl     Minerva          12      450.00
22.  Girl     Amanda           10      350.00
23.  Man      Lewis            18      750.00
24.  Woman    Lucy             30      400.00
25.  Man      Adam             22      500.00
26. Girl Mary Ellen & boy Edward 18    800.00
27.  Man      Jack             30      350.00
28.  Woman    Big Margaret     25      650.00
29.  Boy      Jesse (Tyus)     20      900.00
30.  Woman    Elizabeth        23      650.00
31.  Man      William          50      400.00
32.  Woman    Rachell          50      200.00
33.  Boy      Little Charle     8      450.00
Click to enlarge
34.  Girl       Susan          18      700.00
35.  Girl       Eliza          34      400.00
36.  Girl       Harriett        5      225.00
37.  Man        Sam            35      400.00
38.  Woman      Lyddy          30      400.00
39.  Boy        Henry (May)    19      900.00
40.  Woman      Ellen Brown    25      500.00
41.  Man        Robbin         25      800.00
42.  Woman Cherry & child Louisa 36    400.00
43.  Boy        Prince          5      350.00
44.  Woman    Rachell (Patten) 28      700.00
45.  Boy        Robert         11      500.00
46.  Boy        Frank           6      300.00
47.  Woman      Maria Ann      16      700.00
48.  Man     Charles (Rugely)  23      850.00
49.  Woman Rose & child Gabril 28      650.00
50.  Boy        Washington     14      700.00
51.  Man        John           24      800.00
52.  Woman      Nelly          49      200.00
53.  Boy        Abram          16      900.00
54.  Man        Big Jesse      26      450.00
55.  Girl       Jane           18      700.00
56.  Girl       Hager          23      500.00
57.  Girl  Abegail & child Ema 23      400.00
58.  Woman      Old Rachell    60      100.00
59.  Man        Frederick      23      850.00
60.  Woman Clara & child Alford 35     500.00
61.  Girl       Sylvia         12      500.00
62.  Girl       Lucy           12      450.00
63.  Girl       Alice           8      350.00
64.  Boy        Freeman         6      350.00
65.  Boy        Harrison        6      350.00
66.  Girl       Julia Ann       3      200.00
67.  Boy        Henry (Turner) 18      875.00
Click to enlarge.
68.  Man        Old Jim       45      400.00
69.  Woman      Menty         45      300.00
70.  Boy        Daniel         3      200.00
71.  Man        Ben           33      800.00
72.  Woman      Mary McQuee   28      500.00
73.  Boy        Harry         12      550.00
74.  Woman      Hannah        55      200.00
75.  Boy        George        13      600.00
76. Woman Betsey & child Caroline 23  800.00
77.  Girl       Phillis        8      375.00
78.  Girl       Peggy          3      225.00
79.  Man        Achilles      43      650.00
80.  Woman      Mariah Mosely 35      450.00
81.  Girl       Elvira        14      650.00
82.  Boy        Jim Swagert   18      800.00
83.  Man        Wilson        28      850.00
84.  Woman      Yellow Jinny  45      400.00
85.  Man        Martin        26    1,100.00
86.  Woman      Letty         21      300.00
87.  Man        Hardy         56      250.00
88.  Boy        Nelson        15      750.00
89.  Boy        Lloyd         17      700.00
91.  Boy        Austin        16      800.00
92.  Boy        Long George   19      350.00
93.  Boy        Isaac         10      350.00
94.  Boy        Joe (white)   15      650.00
95.  Boy        Jim Patton    14      700.00
96.  Woman      Milly         55      150.00
97.  Man        Edmond        38      600.00
98.  Man        Tom           40      600.00
99.  Boy        Ned           11      475.00
100. Girl       Emeline        9      350.00
101. Man        Yellow John   24      875.00
Click to enlarge

Joe and Emma Turner were the parents of Howard Turner who was my grandmother Fannie Mae Turner Graham’s father. You can see other posts about my Turner’s below.

Joe Turner – Land, Mules and Courts

15 thoughts on “Joe Turner in the 1852 Estate File of Wiley Turner – Lowndes County, Alabama

  1. I was talking to some new found Lowndes County family and they were asking if I knew any Turners from Lowndes County.

    Do you know what happened to Joe Turner Jr.?
    Did he get married? If so, what was his wife’s name?

    1. Joe Turner Jr. married Emmaline Williams, which made it quite confusing for a minute as his parents also were Joe and Emma.

      Joe Turner Sr married his second wife around 1901 after his first wife Emma died. Her name was Luella Freeman. She was quite a bit younger than he was and they had 9 children together before he died at age 80 in 1919.

      I have never been able to find any of my Turners. Recently I did find a descendant of Luella’s sister Annie. We both lamented the fact that we can find no Turners.

      Who did you find? Do you know how they fit into the family? Please give them a link to this post!

      1. I found a Rosie Dean who married a Joe Turner Jr in 1899 in Lowndes County.
        Rosie was my 2x Great Grandmother’s niece.
        Rosie remarried in 1917 in Ottawa County, OH

        1. I found the marriage record for Rosie Dean and Joe Turner in 1899 and a marriage record for Joe Turner and Emmaline Williams for 1900. In 1900 I found Joe Turner living alone, Emma living with her parents and her and Joe’s daughter, Fanny Turner who was born in 1888 (same name and birth year as my grandmother but different parents. They were cousins). In the 1910 census I find Joe and Emma together in Lowndes County and it says they are both in their 2nd marriage. If you could email me at kcleage at gmail dot com and give me some more info about Rosie – parents, birthdate, Ohio husband. Maybe we can figure this out!

  2. Extraordinary research as always Kristin! Have you come across any plantation records detailing the day to day operations of any plantations noted in your research yet? I haven’t, but would love to. But again, I’m not sure just where I would locate those records especially with university libraries clamoring to find them first to add them to their special collections.

    1. In the estate file, which encompassed over 10 years, there are several sheets itemizing doctor visits, who he treated and for what. I will be posting those as soon as I get them transcribed. I have not come across any diaries by enslavers that talk about the day to day operation of the plantation. I have a letter that Sam Cleage wrote to the overseer on the Cleage plantation here http://findingeliza.com/archives/4

  3. I had a strong emotional reaction when I saw the listed values of these individuals. They all made me feel sad. And, even thought it was many years ago, the $1 for “Old Man Turner” and the blind boy really made me worry about their welfare.

  4. I find it heartbreaking to see so many people identified as “property.” Even Thomas Jefferson kept his own children by a slave he owned as property. It boggles the mind. So terribly sad.

    @Kathleen01930 Blog

  5. I’m with the others above – reading through the list of people, ages, ‘values’ made my stomach hurt. Thank you so much for doing this work and sharing it.

    1. When I first find records listing my enslaved ancestor, or sometimes when I’m going over information, I feel emotional about it. Usually, I’m going over and over the information trying to get a picture of the lives that were being lived even during those times.

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