Turner, Amos Return to INDEX

Born: bf 1755
Died: ca 1813
Father
Mother

Biographical Sketch:

Married unknown wife before 1790; they had 9 children.  One daughter was Charlotte Turner.

Other children:

Thomas (ca 1789 - ?) + Francis Rodgers.  He left the country or at least SC before July 9, 1831.
Frances (ca 1790 – Mar 8 1856) + John Smith (1785– Nov 1 1846) = James D. Turner  (apparently, out-of-wedlock).  Francis Smith (age 60) was living with her son James and his family in 1850.
John (ca 1795 - ?) + Mary Trawick.  He left the country or at least SC  before July 9, 1831.
Penny (ca 1797 - ?)   She was unmarried as of July 9, 1831.
Mary Cecilia (ca 1800 - bf 1860) + 1) Benjamin Exum (? – ca 1829).  See 1800, 1810 , 1820 .  See will of Benjamin Exum.
                                                + 2) Thomas G. Avant.  See 1850 .
Benjamin W. (ca 1807 – 1879) + Cecilia Coleman
Elizabeth Jane (ca 1807 - ?).  She was unmarried as of July 9, 1831.
James (bf 1810 - bf Jul 9 1831) =  never married
 

A wealth of information about Amos Turner and his children can be found via the research of Marty Grant.

Census Data:

1790
1800
1810

Photo Index:

Notes:

His father is said to have been John Turner, born about 1730 in Ulster, Ireland.

Census of 1800 (p24--Liberty County, Marion District, in Pee Dee Township on Lynches River, SC). In the household are:
male age 16-25:
male age 26-44:
female age 16-25:

1811 -- Amos Turner was listed on the 1811 Marion tax list, and charged with 19 cents tax.

1811 and 7 Sep 1813 -- Amos Turner died. On that latter date, Archibald Cox was listed as administrator of the Estate of Amos Turner (Marion Dist, SC Minutes of the Ordinary 1810-1825 as published in the Pee Dee Queue). His son-in-law  Archibald Cox, Sr. was his estate administrator.

4 Oct 1813 -- an Estate Sale was ordered for the Estate of Amos Turner. (Marion Dist, SC Minutes of the Ordinary 1810-1825 as published in the Pee Dee Queue).

1814 Marion tax list --  showed the Amos Turner Estate listed, and charged with 81 cents tax.

2 Jun 1817 and 5 Jan 1818 -- the estate was mentioned, with Archibald Cox, administrator. (Marion Dist, SC Minutes of the Ordinary 1810-1825 as published in the Pee Dee Queue).

1 Oct 1821 -- Archibald Cox was ordered to make a return of the estate of Amos Turner (a record of the estate) at the instance (request / demand) of John Smith, one of the heirs. (Marion Dist, SC Minutes of the Ordinary 1810-1825 as published in the Pee Dee Queue).

3 Dec 1821 -- Archibald Cox's administration of the estate was ordered set aside and nullified, due to his failure to appear after proper notice. (Marion Dist, SC Minutes of the Ordinary 1810-1825 as published in the Pee Dee Queue).

Marion County South Carolina Extracts from Equity Rolls by Lucille Utley
Roll # 45 :

John Smith and others vs. Archibald Cox, adm. of Amos Turner. Filed 9 July 1831. John Smith and Francis Smith his wife. Penny Turner, ThomasTurner, John Turner, Elizabeth Jane Turner. Benjamin W. Turner, ThomasEvant and Mary Evant his wife.   Note: Mary had married first Benjamin Exum.

Bill for Account.  AmosTurner died 1813 leaving considerable estate and heirs at law: Francis Turner, Penny Turner, ThomasTurner, John Turner, Elizabeth Jane Turner, Benjamin W. Turner, Mary Turner and Charlotte Turner, children of Amos Turner. Francis Turner has married John Smith; Mary Turner has married Thomas Evant (note: probably Avant).

Separate answer of Archibald Cox shows that James Turner one of the children of intestate died intestate since the death of AmosTurner and two of the complainants John Turner and ThomasTurner left the country about 10 years ago. 11 Oct. 1823. Philip Bartell under oath 10 Feby. 1832 states that he was present at sale of estate of Amos Turner and saw Benjamin Axum "who had married Mary Turner now  Mary Avant one of the complainants soon after he had purchased a gun for $20.00...”

When considering specifically the earliest members of the Turner family found along the Pee Dee river, there appears to be two distinct progenitors.  One being a John Turner, born ca 1740 in North Carolina and settling in South Carolina by 1790; the other being an Amos Turner, born 1755, who was a Pee Dee resident by the 1780s and maybe even born in area.

John Turner’s family was listed consistently in SC census records as free coloreds (or mullatos).  There are at least two documented references which point to John Turner being a freed black slave who was a son of a white North Carolina Plantation owner.  John Turner’s wife, Patience, was also of mixed heritage, but with a white Irish mother and black father.  John and Patience began the line of Turners who settled mainly in an area which today is Marion County.  Their known children were: Reuben, John Jr. William, Catherine, Penelope, Milly and Sarah.  Two of these, John, Jr. and Reuben appear to have lived around the east side of Catfish Creek.

The Amos Turner line (a different set of Turners) settled around Lynches Creek, an area what is now Hanna in Florence County.  Amos probably had the following brothers: Benjamin,, Elias and George.  Amos and Benjamin Turner were known to live in the same general area near the west side of Lynches Creek; where Elias and George lived is unclear.  Some of these men's descendants are buried at the Mt. Zion and Beulah Baptist Churches of Pamplico.  All of these had families which mainly populated themselves west of the Pee Dee.