Overlooking an ancestor here or there is a common occurrence in genealogy, especially when it’s a collateral ancestor and not someone in our direct line. The accuracy and existence of records varies from place to place and year to year, making it easy for our predecessors to slip through the cracks. That almost happened with one of my potential relatives, Charles H. Turner Jr. “Overlooked” is the theme for week 48 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. If it hadn’t been for a note scribbled in the back of a genealogy book and a couple of lucky finds, the man I believe to be my 3rd great-grandfather’s eldest son would have been completely overlooked and lost to time.
There is a handwritten page of notes in the back of our family’s copy of Genealogy of the Descendants of Humphrey Turner which belonged to my 3rd great-grandfather, Charles Henry Turner. I was able to make sense of all the notes except one. There was an entry that read “Charles H. Turner (illegible squiggly line) died April 25th, 1867 aged 29.”
As I pieced together the Turner family history, Charles H. Turner of the illegible squiggly line didn’t fit anywhere. If he was 29 when he died, he was born around 1838. This couldn’t be Charles Henry Turner, who was born in 1807 and died in 1896. He was unlikely the child of Charles Henry Turner and Lucy Ann Bartlett (my 3rd great-grandmother) who married in 1843 unless he was super illegitimate, or his age or year of death was written down incorrectly. I couldn’t find a death record for him, so I was unable to confirm his parents’ names. I built my tree, didn’t add him to it since I didn’t know where he fit, and forgot about him for years and years.
With the digitization of more resources, I learned so much more about Charles Henry Turner. My favorite resource? Historical newspapers. He was a printer by trade and a hobby farmer, a fact found on the census. Apparently, Charles was incredibly proud of his career as a printer, to the point of being braggadocious. On the frequent occasions he was mentioned in the paper, it was generally noted that he was a printer or a retired printer. I’m thankful he thought so highly of himself because a more modest man wouldn’t have been in the paper as much and his unique career wouldn’t have helped differentiate him from the numerous other Charles Turners, Charles H. Turners, Charles Henry Turners, and C.H. Turners.
One newspaper search for Charles H. Turner turned up a familiar date: April 25th, 1867. It was the death notice for Charles H. Turner jr. That solved the squiggly line mystery. He was a junior! He was 29, and died in Belgrade, Maine, which is close to Mount Vernon, Maine where Charles Henry Turner had his farm.
If he was the son of Charles Henry Turner, that meant Turner Sr. was likely married before. I knew my 3rd great-grandparents were married in Boston in 1843, even though Lucy was from Maine. I figured it was likely that Charles was living in Massachusetts at the time of his son’s birth. A vital records search turned up nothing.
I turned to the newspapers again and came across an 1837 wedding announcement for Charles H. Turner, printer and Nancy Condon in Fall River, Massachusetts. Without the addition of his career, I’d have no idea if this was my ancestor, or some other Charles H. Turner.
Another search turned up a death announcement for Mrs. Nancy Turner, age 20, wife of Charles H Turner in 1838. Her cause of death wasn’t mentioned, but the most likely cause of death for a 20-year-old woman in the first year of her marriage during that time period was childbirth. Was she the mother of Charles H. Turner Jr?
Probably, but I can’t confirm it for sure. The timeline as it relates to Nancy’s marriage and death certainly fits. During a trip to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, I poured through hours of microfiche until my eyes were practically bleeding out of my head. I found Nancy Condon’s marriage and death record, but it yielded no additional information, other than an alternative spelling of her last name (Congdon). It seems more likely than not that he is their son, otherwise why would Charles Henry Turner have written down his death date in the back of his genealogy book? The only events noted were his marriage, the deaths of two of the three children he had with Lucy, and the death of one of his grandchildren. It’s doubtful he’d make note of the death date of a random, unrelated Turner.
I have more questions than answers regarding Charles Jr, like his whereabouts between the time of his birth and death. He wasn’t with his father and stepmother on the 1850 census when he was about 12 years old. It’s possible he was away at school. His father was sent away to attend school at the same age, a fact recounted during an 1894 newspaper interview. He wasn’t living with any of his aunts on the Turner side. It’s possible he was living with his mother’s relatives, the Congdons/Condons, but I’ve been unable to find the names of Nancy’s parents or siblings. Was Charles Jr. married at the time of his death? Again, while possible, it can’t be confirmed without a death record or marriage record that lists parents.
For now, this overlooked potential relative has found a tentative home on my family tree. His name is marked with an asterisk to denote that his connection is probable, but unproven. I hope further newspapers articles or documentation will eventually surface, allowing me to learn more about Charles H. Turner Jr, and confirm that he’s indeed one of us.
I have been puzzled by squiggles in land records before I started realized they were often Jr. or Sr. It is true that newspaper searches can be so helpful! I loved your comment that the boastfulness of this man helped you figure out who he was. How cool it is that years after giving up on figuring out who this Turner was, the answer came! (PS--to me that middle name looks like Elley.)