Sharing our Links to the Past
by Wally and Frances Gray


Theodore Turley

Turley.jpg (40331 bytes)

#M30 TURLEY, Theodore (Gunsmith, Blacksmith)
(AFN:1BGK-W5)*

Born: 10 Apr 1801 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Christened: 29 May 1801 St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Died: 12 Aug 1871 Beaver City, Beaver, Utah
Buried: 13 Aug 1871 Beaver, Beaver, Utah. (See Headstone photo under Marriage Number Five below.)

Father: William TURLEY #M60 (AFN:BOP2-G6)
     Joseph Turley says that William Turley in 1814 was a member of a Royal Battalion "so he was probably one of Wellington's soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo the following June 18 and helped at the final defeat of Napoleon."  He also says that William's father Joseph (AFN:GTCM-L2)   was a steward (manager) to Lord Dudley and clerk of the parish, "a man of understanding."

Mother: Elizabeth YATES #M61 (AFN:BOP2-HC)


*To locate person on Internet by AFN (Ancestral File Number):
Go to http:/www./familysearch.org and click Custom Search. Click Ancestral File. Scroll down to AFN. Type in the Ancestral File Number. Click Search. You may find a Pedigree Chart and a Family Group Record as well as submitters.)

Note from Webmaster: I am using a different format to list the families of Theodore Turley. We are fortunate to have biographical data on some of his children, thanks to Joseph Soll Turley, and this format allows me to present that data in a logical manner. He also gives some additional biographical information on Theodore Turley. Joseph Soll Turley is the grandson of Ruth Jane Giles, Theodore's fifth wife.

Reference is also made to biographical material in The Theodore Turley Family Book (FHL Microfilm #1321300 and call number 929.273/T848t.)

For an article on Using FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service to Find Ancestors (Using Theodore Turley as the Subject Being Researched) go to TT Research.

PHOTOS OF TURLEY CHILDREN:

The Theodore Turley family website by Tami Thompson who has published a site on the Turley family. It contains a remarkable collection of photographs of Theodore Turley descendants and their spouses. At present it is the only other Theodore Turley site we know of. Scroll down to see the Turley listings.

TRIBUTES TO THE TURLEY DEAD:

See In Memorium of Turley Family Members Lying in Unmarked Graves, a touching memorial by John Romney Pyper.

See article, The Missing Clifts: Robert, Eliza and Emma Found! by John Romney Pyper.

Marriage Number 1:

#M31 KIMBERLEY, Frances Amelia (AFN:1BGK-XB)

Born: 22 Jun 1800 St. Martins, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Died: 30 Aug 1847 Florence (Winter Quarters), Douglas, Nebraska
Buried: Winter Quarters.

Father: Thomas KIMBERLEY #M62 (AFN: BOP2-JJ)
Mother: Sarah HITCHENS #M63 (AFN:BOP2-KP)

Married: 26 Nov 1821 Harborne, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. They had 10 children.

Children of Theodore Turley and Frances Amelia Kimberley

1. (M) Theodore TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-BC 
     Born: 4 Sep 1822  Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
     Christened: 26 Nov 1822 St. Phillips, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
     Died: 1825, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
     Buried: Warwickshire, England

2. (F) Frances Amelia TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-CJ)
     Born: 1 Jan 1825 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
     Died: 1 Nov 1846 Winter Quarters, Douglas, Nebraska
     Married:  24 Jan 1846 to Cyrus DANIEL(S) (AFN:B824-H7) at Winter Quarters.

"Theodore's oldest daughter who died in childbirth at the age of about 22, was always referred to as 'a wonderful horsewoman.'" (From Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley)

3. (F) Mary Ann TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-DP)
     Born: 13 Jul 1827 Toronto, York, Ontario
     Died: 24 Dec 1904 Utah
     Married: (1)  3 Feb 1846 to Brigham YOUNG (AFN:3ZD8-KC) (annulled)
     Married:  (2) 8 Sep 1851 to John James COOK (AFN:3VZP-5M)

"Mary Ann had more of her father's courage and independence than any of his descendants that (Joseph) knows of. She married John Cook at their camp at the forks of Lydle Creek near San Bernardino under a sycamore tree while they were waiting to get possession of the Lugo Spanish Land Grant for their permanent home. She was left a widow with one son, Henry, who built and owned a white stucco apartment house in Los Angeles."  (From Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley).

Marriage information from Ancestral File. The AF gives the marriage to John Cook at Toronto, York, Ontario, which is obviously incorrect.

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 59-73. (The couple had nine children.)

4. (F) Priscilla Rebecca TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-FV)
     Born: 1 Jun 1829 Toronto, York, Ontario
     Died: 21 Sep 1904 Redlands, San Bernardino, California
     Buried: Colton, San Bernardino, California
     Married: 16 Jan 1846 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, to Amasa Mason LYMAN (AFN:1JZ3-8W)

"His next daughter, Priscilla, lived in retirement in Redlands; she married the Apostle Amasa Lyman and had at least three sons I met by him. The oldest, Theodore K., born in San Bernardino, was a big man, six feet two or three inches tall and heavy-set, very friendly and popular and had the largest Livery Stables in San Bernardino and owned the Stage Lines to the mountain resorts of beautiful Lake Arrowhead about a mile high and Big Bear Lake, about 6,500 feet above sea level, where they have deep snow in the wintertime."  (From Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley)

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 74-79. (The couple had six children.)

5. (M) Frederick TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-G2)
     Born: 23 May 1832 Churchville, Peel, Ontario
     Died: 24 Feb 1875
     Married: 1 Jan 1856 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah to Amelia Louisa COUNCIL
(AFN:B824-JD)

"His son Frederick had three daughters: Amelia, who was tall and stately and carried herself like a queen, who married a furniture-store owner and carter in Riverside; they have no children but adopted a very handsome boy who grew to be 6' 3" in height. She was very friendly with my brother who was about the same age and was familiarly known as 'Milly.' Her younger sisters were twins but one of them was very short and the other one tall, named Rosella and Arzilla. One of them married a Mr. Johndrew and both lived side by side in Colton. Their husbands worked at the limestone mine and cement plant just west of Colton. Frederick died suddenly at age 45 [42] in Beaver; he was making hay and sweating on a hot day but sat down to eat his lunch, leaned against a damp haycock, caught cold, and died within three days of what was called 'quick consumption' but was probably flu or pneumonia."  (From Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley)

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 80-82. (The couple had five children.)

6. (F) Obia TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-H7)
     Born: 5 Jul 1834 Churchville, Peel, Ontario
     Died: 29 Jul 1834 Churchville, Peel, Ontario

7. Sarah Elizabeth TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-JD)
     Born: 24 Sep 1835 Churchvill, Peel, Ontario
     Died: 24 Mar 1914
     Married: 26 Jul 1859 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, to Stephen FRANKLIN (AFN:B824-KK)

"Aunt Sara Elizabeth whom I had the pleasure of visiting several times in Colton, was in bed between the years of 1911 and 1914 when she passed away. She lived the longest of any of Theodore Turley's children, aged 79. She had one son, George, who owned his own marble shop in Huntington Beach and whom I also had the pleasure of knowing. She had two daughters. The older, Elizabeth Miller, lived in retirement in San Bernardino. She had one son, a cowboy on the desert and a teen-aged daughter when I visited them in 1911. She was rather short  but was very cheerful and pleasant to me and she lived in Colton with her other married daughter, Marianne, a wonderful woman. She had suffered a bad accident in her younger years and had to hobble around on crutches but was very cheerful and sweet and did all her housework in a two-story house and cared for her invalid mother and her husband. He was a veteran of the Civil War and his name was Brown, and was in the real-estate business."  (From Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley)

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 83-85. (The couple had six children.)

8. (M) Isaac TURLEY (Sr.) #M15h (AFN:1788-B5)
     Born: 22 Nov 1837 Churchville, Peel, Ontario
     Died: 3 Dec 1908 Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
     Buried: 4 Dec 1908 Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
     Married: Sarah GREENWOOD and Clara Ann TOLTON.

Extensive biographical data is given on Isaac Turley Sr. and Clara Ann Tolton. Go to links above.

See also Turley, Isaac Jr. #M7i and Lake, Ida Mae #M8i.

For information on the temple at Colonia Juarez, click this link:  Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Temple.

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 86-473. (Isaac had 24 children, 12 by each wife.)

*9. (F)  Charlotte TURLEY #M15 (AFN:1BGL-KK)
     Born: 15 Apr 1840 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 1 Nov 1899 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah
     Buried: Nov 1899 Fairview City Cemetery, Fairview, Sanpete, Utah
     Married: 4 Mar 1857 to Jacob BUSHMAN #M14 San Bernardino, California (AFN:1KC7-8A)
* Indicates direct line to Frances Mildred McNabb Gray

Extensive biographical data is given on Charlotte Turley and Jacob Bushman. Go to links.

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 474-478. The couple had ten children.

See also Grace Honor Bushman, Jacob Isaac Bushman and Ida Roxana Bushman.

10. (M) Jonathan TURLEY (AFN:1BGL-LQ)
     Born: 13 Sep 1842 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 12 May 1846 Winter Quarters, Douglas, Nebraska

Marriage Number 2:

Mary CLIFT (AFN:B824-BC)

Born: 16 Jun 1815 Clifton, Gloucester, England
Died: 30 Mar 1850 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Buried: 31 Mar 1850 Salt Lake City,Salt Lake, Utah

Father: Robert CLIFT (AFN:GTF1-82)
Mother: Elizabeth, died 1844.  (AFN:GTFI-97)

See article, The Missing Clifts: Robert, Eliza and Emma Found!

Married: Jan 1842. They had four children.

Children of Theodore Turley and Mary Clift

1. (M) Jason TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-RM)
     Born: 20 Oct 1842 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 26 Oct 1843

2. (M) Ephraim TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-SS)
     Born: 11 Feb 1845 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 6 Jul 1845

3. (M) Theodoreus TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-TO)
     Born: 28 May 1848 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 31 Dec 1848

4. (F) Francis (Frances) Kimberley TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-V5)
     Born: 22 Mar 1850 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
     Died: 26 May 1914
     Married: (1)19 Jul 1864 to Benjamin Franklin PARSONS (AFN:GTD7-LH). He died in 1878.
     Married: (2) 24 Jul 1879 to Thomas William MCINTOSH (AFN:GTF1-BD)

Source of these marriages is the Ancestral File. Another source is JoAnn Hedrick of Quincy, California, who is a descendant of Frances Kimberley. She lists the children of Frances by both husbands. Her information is listed at JoAnn Hedrick.

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, p. 543. Frances had five children by Benjamin and four by Thomas.

Marriage Number 3:   

Sarah Ellen CLIFT (AFN:B824-DP)

Born: 3 May 1817 Clifton, Gloucester, England
Died: 4 May 1847 Winter Quarters, Douglas, Nebraska

Father: Robert CLIFT (AFN:GTF1-82)
Mother: Elizabeth, died 1844.  (AFN:GTFI-97)

See article, The Missing Clifts: Robert, Eliza and Emma Found!

Married: (1) SELWYN (AFN:GTCM-5S) (divorced)
Married: (2) 26 Apr 1844 to Theodore TURLEY. They had three children and adopted two of Mr. Selwyn.

Children of Theodore Turley and Sarah Ellen Clift

1. (M) Adopted: Longmire Congrove Clift SELWYN (AFN:GTCM-60)
     Born:
24 Apr 1839 Cheltonham, Gloucester, England
     Died: 16 Apr 1932

2. (M) Adopted: George Augustus Clift SELWYN (AFN:GTCM-75)
      Born: 24 Feb 1841 Cheltonham, Gloucester, England
      Died: Unknown
      Married: 10 Feb. 1868 to Louisina (Lucy) FISHER.

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 544-545. The couple had five children.

(Spelled Agustus in Ancestral File.)

3. (M) Princette TURLEY (AFN:GTCL-010)
     Born: 2 Aug 1845 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 2 Sep 1847

4. (M) Joseph Smith TURLEY (AFN:GTCL-25)
     Born: 5 Dec 1846 Winter Quarters, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa
     Died: 5 Mar 1847

5. (M) Hyrum Smith TURLEY (AFN:GTCL-3B)
     Born: 5 Dec 1846 Winter Quarters, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa
     Died: 29 Apr 1847

Marriage Number 4:   

Eliza CLIFT (AFN:B824-CJ)

Born: 2 Jul 1813 Clifton, Gloucester, England
Died: Unknown

Father: Robert CLIFT (AFN:GTF1-82)
Mother: Elizabeth, died 1844.  (AFN:GTFI-97)

See article, The Missing Clifts: Robert, Eliza and Emma Found!

Married: 6 Mar 1844 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois. They had two children:

Children of Theodore Turley and Eliza Clift

1. (F) Henrietta TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-XH)
     Born: 6 Aug 1845 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 6 Mar 1846

2 (F) Emma TURLEY (AFN:GTCK-ZN)
     Born: 7 Jan 1847 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: Unknown

Marriage Number 5:

Ruth Jane GILES (AFN:B824-FV)

Born: 29 Jun 1812 Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts
Died: 28 Dec 1880 Beaver City, Beaver, Utah

Father: Samuel GILES (AFN:GTF1-6P)
Mother: Elizabeth (AFN:GTF1-7V)

Married: 18 Jun 1850. They had two children and adopted one.

She was a descendant of a long line of sea captains according to Joseph Soll Turley.

Stone.jpg (66302 bytes)

Headstone at the graves of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles
at Beaver, Utah, cemetery. Over 200 of Theodore Turley's
descendents were present at the dedication of the headstone in August 1997.

Children of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles

1. (M) (Adopted) Joseph Orson TURLEY (AFN:B6WB-JN)
     Born: 12 Jul 1845 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois
     Died: 29 Dec 1916 Ogden, Weber, Utah
     Buried: 31 Dec 1916 Provo, Utah, Utah
     Married: Elsie Elizabeth LIGHTNER

"Ruth Jane Giles had one five-year old son, Joseph which he [Theodore Turley] adopted. Joseph remained loyal to the faith all his life and  though he came back to Colton, three miles from San Bernardino in 1875 and later moved to Los Angeles, he went back to Utah to die. He had five daughters and one son, Lester, who became chief electrical engineer of the Los Angeles Street Railways System. His oldest daughter, Elsie, married a mining engineer who became State Senator. She had one 6' 6" son who became a Los Angeles policeman and another son who remained in Utah. His daughter Ruth was a beautiful blonde with hair that reached below her knees, but became a cripple when she was about grown. The streetcar in San Bernardino started up too soon and she fell to the pavement and always walked with a limp thereafter. She had a beautiful disposition and was well-liked by everybody. His youngest daughter, Louise, married an engineer and went to Miami, Florida before World War I and rode back. The climate down there was so hot and humid, so debilitating that if you dropped a handkerchief you didn't have energy enough to bend over and pick it up." (From Letters of Joseph Soll Turley.)

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, p.. 546. The couple had eight children.

2. (M) Jacob Omner Turley (AFN:GTCL-6T)
     Born: 30 Jan 1852 San Bernardino, Los Angeles, California
     Died: 22 Sep 1924
     Married: 4 Jul 1876 to Louisa Ann WOODHOUSE (AFN:GTD7-P1)

They had seven sons, one of whom was Joseph Soll Turley. Soll goes into great detail regarding his brothers and himself. See Letters of Joseph Soll Turley under the headings "Families of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles" and "Joseph Soll Turley's Family."

See The Theodore Turley Family Book, p. 547. The couple had seven sons. Only six are listed in the family book. Joseph reports one still-born.

3. Alvin Hope TURLEY (AFN:GTCL-71)
     Born: 13 Nov 1855 San Bernardino, Los Angeles, California
     Died: 1872 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Biographies

1.Biography and Autobiography of Theodore Turley appears in The Theodore Turley Family Book (Family History Center Microfilm #1321300 and call number 929.272/T848L.) The entire biography appears with the permission of its author Ella Mae (Turley) Judd on this site.  Click here for the biography.

2. Letters from Dr. Joseph Soll Turley. Extensive biographical information on Theodore Turley and his children and other family members. Dr. Joseph Soll Turley (middle name is actually Ingersoll) is the son of Jacob Omner (son of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles) and Louisa Ann Woodhouse Turley. He was born on October 4, 1887 and married Lyla Doench.

3. Richard E. Turley, Jr.  is running a series on Theodore Turley in the Theodore Turley Family Newsletter which is produced by the Turley Family Organization Theodore Turley Family Newsletter which is produced by the Turley Family Organization (Editor is Ella Mae Turley Judd. Her address is 6615 W. Lupine, Glendale, AZ 85304 GfjEmjPub@aol.com phone 623-412-3955.). Richard Turley plans to eventually publish the biography after considerable revision of the drafts being run in the newsletter.

The following books on Theodore Turley are found in the Family History Library:

The Theodore Turley Family Book, 1978, 574 pages with illustrations. Compiled under the direction of Lawrence Turley and Nancy Romans Turley. (FHL Microfilm #1321300 and call number 929.273/T848t.)

Biography and Autobiography of Theodore Turley by Ella Mae Turley (Judd.) 71 leaves. Photocopy of typescript. (FHL Microfilm #0962258, item 3 and call number 921.73/A1 No. 86.) (This is the one that is posted on this site.) Click here for the biography.

Sketch of Life and Missionary Journal of 1840 of Theodore Turley. 14 leaves. By Theodore Turley. (FHL Microfilm #0962585, item 6. and Call no. 921.73/A1 No. 93.)

Pedigree Chart and Family Group Records

In order to obtain a pedigree chart and related family group records of Theodore Turley, go to the LDS FamilySearch® site at http://www.familysearch.org and then to Custom Search. Click on Ancestral File, scroll down and where requested, type in Theodore Turley's Ancestral File Number 1BGK-W5.  You will be able to access the pedigree charts  for both Theodore and his wife Frances Amelia Kimberley. At the fourth generation click on Richard Turley and start the process again. It will go seven generations to John Turley. Other lines and wives may also be followed. By clicking on "family" at appropriate places you will get the family group records. Sources may also be determined.

Here are some links on the Internet on Theodore Turley:

The Theodore Turley family website by Tami Thompson who has published Turley Family History Page  contains a remarkable collection of photographs of Theodore Turley descendants and their spouses. At present it is the only other Theodore Turley site we know of.

"John Taylor's Faith in Financial Help." Includes a statement by Turley. From B.H. Roberts, Life of John Taylor, pp. 72-74.

"Called to Serve in England." Account of missionary departure of Brigham Young and company and also of Elders George A. Smith, Reuben Hedlock and Theodore Turley. From B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:24-25.

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