An October 2009 trip to the cemetery at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Quantico, MD

In October 2009 my husband and I took ten days and drove from Oklahoma to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to visit the state from which my great grandfather Ashby Turpin came. It was an enlightening, enjoyable trip, although very, very wet.

Below is a video I made while visiting the graveyard at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Quantico, Maryland. Quantico is a beautiful place with lovely old homes. The cemetery at St. Philip's has been well maintained. I was overwhelmed with emotion while visiting the graves of my great great grandparents and related ancestors.

One problem: when uploading my video to YouTube, the captioning failed. Pictures of people I included in the video are those of my great great grandfather, Thomas James Turpin, my great great grandmother, Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin, and scans of their death certificates. There is also a group shot of Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin with some of her children and their spouses included in this video.

The headstones are self-explanatory except for the small markers of the actual burial spots. "Father" is Thomas James Turpin; "Mother" is Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin. "Z. F." is Zenophine Kennerly Farrington; "W. F." is William Farrington.

If you scroll back through my postings on the Cherry Walk blog, there is a lot of information for some of the people buried at St. Philip's.

Also, I took pictures of some headstones because those people or their families were mentioned in letters written my my great grand uncle, Carl Julian Turpin. If you are related to this branch of the Turpins or Kennerlys or the extended family, I will be happy to share information with you.

If you are descended from people who lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland I urge you to visit at least once in your lifetime. What a lovely place!

Death certificate and grave site for Carl J. Turpin

The latest issue of Family Tree Magazine (August 2010) has an excellent article by George G. Morgan about the analysis of death certificates. I have a three ring binder full of death certificates that I have collected over the years. Mr. Morgan points out in his article that there can be errors. He said that genealogists should treat only the facts relating to the death of that person as primary sources. All other personal information should be looked at as secondary sources and verification of those sources should be made by other means. Boy! Mr. Morgan is right!

A look at my grand great Uncle Carl's death certificate shows his mother as being "Ellmandia Kennelly." I already knew -- from other sources -- that his mother's maiden name is actually "Kennerly." But, I had received my great grandfather's death certificate just the week before -- Ashby who was an older brother to Carl Julian Turpin -- and Ashby's death certificate listed his mother as "Amanda Kennedy." In both cases, their father's name -- Thomas J. Turpin -- was correct. If one had just started researching this line and did not have any additional information, this would be confusing.

In his article, Mr. Morgan points out that the errors could be ones caused by the transcription of the information. Also, the informant for the personal information on the death certificate may not be correct. In both cases, it was the wives of the deceased men who provided the information of their husbands' mother's names. I can only assume that rather than physically filling out the information themselves, the wives spoke the information to someone else who wrote it down, giving his or her own spin on the spelling of names. I cannot imagine a wife not knowing the full name of her mother-in-law.

Information that I found to be correct on Carl Julian Turpin's death certificate was his death date and that he was buried at Fairlawn Mausoleum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. The picture of the above crypt was taken during an October 2008 visit to Fairlawn Mausoleum in Oklahoma City. It is also interesting to see what Carl J. Turpin's wife, Frances Linton Turpin, gave as his occupation: "capitalist." And it's also interesting to see the cause of death and the name of the funeral home.

Regarding ordering death certificates in general, the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma are wonderfully efficient. One is required to fill out the appropriate form which can be found on line, then along with the form, enclose a photo copy of the requestor's ID, a check and a return self-addressed envelope and in a few weeks, the certificate will be waiting in the mailbox. California takes awhile, and Iowa . . . I haven't even tried it yet. One must sign a statement in front of a Notary Public stating that you are who you say you are, plus fill out a form, plus send a photo ID yada, yada, yada.

The State of Maryland has a system where one can flip through index cards on line to find an ancestor's death certificate. It's a system that needs improvement but one that has come in handy for me. I have ordered several Maryland death certificates this way.

I urge you to take a look at Mr. Morgan's article on death certificates in the August 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine. He disects it bit by bit. Great article.

The reason why Turpin, Oklahoma is named Turpin, Oklahoma

I had always wanted to visit Turpin, Beaver County, Oklahoma, named after a paternal uncle of my grandfather's. Being a native of Oklahoma, I am accustomed to flat spaces, but even the Panhandle's flatness amazed me. Oklahoma's Panhandle has a huge BLUE tent of a sky that reaches to forever. We could see the small town of Turpin long before we actually reached it. My husband took the above picture of our children taking pictures of the post office at Turpin, Beaver County, Oklahoma. Above that picture is a picture of my great grand uncle, Carl Julian Turpin.

Turpin, Oklahoma was named for Carl Julian Turpin, a son of Thomas James Turpin and Elmanda (Kennerly ) Turpin. Carl was born on 10 Aug 1871 in Quantico, Wicomico County, Maryland. He died 20 Nov 1942 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. (1)

Carl J. Turpin was the general manager of the Beaver, Mead and Englewood Railroad. (2) In 1918, two Hardtner, Kansas farmers, Jacob Achenbach and Ira B. Blackstock, requested his assistance. Messrs. Achenbach and Blackstock had been asked by farmers in Beaver County, OK, and the surrounding areas to build a railroad through the Panhandle so that their wheat crops could be shipped to outlying markets. Achenbach and Blackstock knew how to build the railroad, but they needed someone to manage it. That is where Carl Julian Turpin came in. (3) Mr. Turpin had ample experience as a railroad man, his career beginning in 1888. (4)

Described as a “by the book” type of general manager, Carl J. Turpin was a stern, well groomed man. (5) He worked without salary, but did receive stock in the line, from 1918 until 1926. At its height, the Beaver, Mead and Englewood Railroad ran from Beaver, Oklahoma, to Eva, Oklahoma, with an extension and connection to the Santa Fe Railroad in Keyes, Oklahoma. The line connected with the Katy at Forgan, Oklahoma and the Rock Island at Hooker, Oklahoma. The BM&E was eventually sold to M-K-T (Katy) Railroad Company in 1931. (6)

“When I was a kid 20 years old, but married, I used to want to work for a railroad which paid $50 a month and furnished its agents a two-story house on the line, rent, brooms, and matches free. Maybe I still could find something like that,” he (Carl J. Turpin) said, after the sale of the Beaver, Mead and Englewood Railroad. (7)

Sources:

1. "Carl J. Turpin, Savings and Loan Official Here, Is Dead,” The Daily Oklahoman, November 20, 1942

2. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory, Nomination Form for Turpin Grain Elevator, March 18, 1983.

3. “Panhandlers,” Time Magazine, July 13, 1931

4. “Carl J. Turpin, Savings and Loan Official Here, Is Dead,” The Daily Oklahoman, November 20, 1942

5. Hofsommer, Donovan L., Katy Northwest: The Story of a Branch Line Railroad, page 190, (Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado, 1975; reprinted by Indiana University Press, 1999.)

6. “Faith in Oklahoma Reaps Rich Rewards,” The Daily Oklahoman, March 7, 1931

7. “Faith in Oklahoma Reaps Rich Rewards,” The Daily Oklahoman, March 7, 1931

(I also wrote and posted a portion of this blog posting under the entry for "Turpin, Oklahoma" on the Wikipedia site.)

Emma Leona Farrington Bishop, daughter of William H. Farrington and Zenophine Disharoon Kennerly Farrington Perry

These pictures were taken by me on an October 2009 trip to Quantico, Wicomico County, Maryland. Emma Leona Farrington Bishop is buried in the graveyard next to St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Quantico, MD. The first smaller headstone is the stone which marks the actual burial spot of Emma. The two additional shots are of the Farrington stone monument which marks where the Farrington family are buried.

EMMA LEONA FARRINGTON BISHOP was the youngest daughter of William H. Farrington and Zenophine Disharoon Kennerly Farrington. Emma was born 26 Oct 1852 in Quantico, Somerset County, MD. On 29 Sep 1879, Emma Leona Farrington married Lemuel J. Bishop in Wicomico County, MD. The June 1880 US Census shows Emma and her husband Lemuel living in Quantico, Wicomico County, MD. Lemuel is working as a clerk in a store. Sometime after this census was taken, Emma and her husband Lemuel moved to New York City, NY, where Lemuel took a job with Arnold, Constable and Co., as evidenced by the following article:

Baltimore Sun, 4 Jan 1881

“Mrs. Emma Bishop, wife of Lemuel Bishop of the firm of Arnold, Constable and Co., New York, died in that city on Friday last. She was the daughter of Xenophine [sic] Farrington whose husband Wm. H. Farrington was killed a year ago on his farm near Quantico, Md., by [John] Wesley Turpin. Mrs. Farrington was with her daughter who had not been married long, when she died. The remains of Mrs. Bishop have been taken to Salisbury for interment.”

(Note: Arnold, Constable and Co. was a famous silk merchant on lower Fifth Avenue, located on the famous “Ladies’ Mile,” a mecca for well to do shoppers in the late 1800s.)

Even though the Baltimore Sun article dated 4 Jan 1881 lists “Friday last” which was 31 Dec 1880, the monument at St. Philip’s Church, Quantico, lists 25 Dec 1880. Emma Leona Farrington Bishop died in New York City, NY and her mother Zenophine was with her. Emma died from complications during childbirth. She gave birth to Emma Farrington Bishop 25 Dec 1880 in New York City, NY. The child lived a short four years. Emma’s husband Lemuel died in April or May 1883 in New York City, NY, as evidenced by testimony given by Lemuel’s mother-in-law, Zenophine Disharoon Kennerly Farrington Perry.

Walter Clifton Turpin, son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia L. Kennerly Turpin

The pictures of the above headstones were taken by me on an October 2009 trip to Quantico, Wicomico County, MD. Walter Clifton Turpin is buried in the graveyard next to St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Quantico. The larger monument lists the family members of the Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia L. Kennerly Turpin family. The smaller headstone marks the spot where "Clif" is buried.

Walter Clifton Turpin was born 03 May 1875, Quantico, Wicomico County, MD; he died 24 Feb 1892. He was the youngest child of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia L. Kennerly Turpin.

Excerpt from a letter written by Walter Clifton Turpin’s mother, Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin, to an older brother of Walter’s, Austin Caleb Turpin, dated 19 Sep 1888, Quantico:

“We have had company, first one then another since my return from Fairmount cooking in this extremely hot weather, putting up fruit, with all other housework is the hardest work I ever did in my life because I am not strong enough to really do anything and have not had Clif’s (Walter Clifton Turpin) assistance as usual. He is working in the canning house and makes 30 cents per day. He is so ambitious. I do all I can to help him. As they will close in two weeks he will not attend school the first week as school begins Monday next. There are four canning factorys [sic]: Jones & Bro on Wes Disharoon‘s road, Geo Bounds by his house, Leo Gordy at the Cherry Walk, Thad Langsdale on the river. Everybody raised tomatoes this year. About one hundred loads pass here daily, besides other roads. All everything human from three years old upward are at work in some branch of this business, it is impossible to hire a woman or girl. Farmers are giving from 75 cents to 1.00 per day for hands to take down their fodder which is mildewing in the fields. We have had nearly three weeks of rainy weather, don‘t think I ever saw the like of it. . . . Clifton says you are owing him two or three letters, he don‘t know what to think of you.”

(The original of this letter is from the collection of Carl J. Turpin housed at the Western History Collection at the Monet Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma)

I have also posted these pictures and information on www.findagrave.com.

Meet May. She is the older sister of my great grandfather, Ashby Turpin. At different times in her life, she was a school teacher and she also ran a boarding house. As evidenced by letters from the collection of Carl J. Turpin housed at the Western History Collection at the Monet Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, May was very involved in the lives of her siblings and parents.

After William Upshur Turpin's wife passed away in 1919, May traveled out to Iowa to keep house for him. One of the daughters of Ashby Turpin also lived with her from time to time. May also raised my great grandmother Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin and Mary's sister, Blanche Sparks Rivenbark, until they married. And, Ellmandia, May's mother lived with her after May's father Thomas James Turpin died.

May Thomas Turpin was born 12 Apr 1859, Somerset County, MD. She passed away 11 Feb 1924. She was the oldest child of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia L. Kennerly Turpin. A second wife, May married Thomas B. Moore in April, 1888 after the death of his first wife, Rachel Lowe Moore in July 1887. Thomas B. Moore was 36 years older than May. Together they had one child, Emma Gertrude Moore. Emma Gertrude lived from 1892 to 1913.

From the Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr 1888

"Salisbury, MD., April 12 . . . At Quantico this morning Mr. (Thomas) B. Moore, a merchant of that place and Miss May Turpin, daughter of Magistrate Turpin, of the same town were married at the Episcopal Church by the Rev. Mr. Sweet."

Excerpt from a letter written by Zenophine Disharoon Kennerly Farrington Perry to her nephew, Austin Caleb Turpin, who was a younger brother of May Thomas Turpin Moore:

26 May 1888 Salisbury MD

“May and her husband (Thomas B. Moore) came up for the dedication but I did not see them; they dined elsewhere. She did not tell me of her marage (sic - marriage) til the day before, I received a letter. Your mother (Elmanda Kennerly Turpin, Zenophine's sister and Austin's mother) writes me she seems to be perfectly happy. “

(The original of this letter is from the collection of Carl J. Turpin housed at the Western History Collection at the Monet Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma)

The above pictures were taken by me during an October 2009 visit to Quantico, Wicomico County, MD. May's and May's daughter Emma Gertrude have their names engraved on the opposite side of the large Turpin monument in the graveyard of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Quantico, MD.

I have also posted these pictures and similar information on www.findagrave.com.

MY DEAR ASHBY AND AUSTIN

Brothers Ashby, Austin, and Carl Julian Turpin, all sons of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin, shown here in the late thirties at the farm of Ashby Turpin outside of Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas. Ashby, Austin and Carl Julian were all born in Quantico, Wicomico County, Maryland.

Copies of the following letters came into my possession through my grandfather. They are a gold mine of information, mentioning names familiar on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Family historians researching the Eastern Shore of Maryland, might see a relative or two mentioned in the following letters. My Great Grand Uncle Carl J. Turpin wrote detailed letters about his 1927 trip back east. (I find it amusing because he mentions that it rained or snowed on him and his wife Frances all the way there. We had a similar weather experience when we visited the Eastern Shore in October 2009. It rained all the time, whether we were in Oklahoma or states in between.)

Bleu

Letter from Carl Julian Turpin, dated December 12, 1927

Letterhead reads: Beaver, Meade & Englewood Railroad Company

My dear Ashby and Austin:

We arrived home today from our trip to Washington where I attended the American Short Line R. R. Assn. annual meeting and will tell you something of our trip.

We left here Wednesday, November 30, arrived in Baltimore Friday about noon in the rain; it rained all the way going or else snowed.

Friday afternoon I called on Gale Turpin who is Asst. Vice President of the Baltimore Trust Co. In the evening Frances and I went out to see Cousin Lizzie Dorman and from there to Robert Ballard's.

Cousin Lizzie was feeling very good she said but could not get around very much without holding onto something, she is 82 years old she said. Julia Giles Maddox was there. Cousin Lizzie lives with Julia and Julia's son, a young man about 35, who is an automobile salesman. They own the apartment they live in. "Cousin Julia" lost her husband Bryan 20 years ago. Cousin Lizzie talked about Austin most of the time and when we left to go to Bob Ballard's, she says, "Now Austin you be sure and give my love to Austin."

Amelia, Bob Ballard's wife, fell and injured her ankle and could not walk. Bob was looking well and we had a very nice visit with them. Their son Lester is Asst. Pastor of the M.P. Church at High Point, NC and is married, only married recently. He is over thirty years of age.

Did not get to call on Dolly Ballard Ward; it was very disagreeable weather, rained all the time.

Saturday morning we left for Salisbury via Wilmington and arrived a little late - 2:30 P.M. Judge Joe Bailey had his man meet us at the train and take us to the house. He was in Cambridge and arrived home just as we sat down to the table as Mrs. (Astelle McNeil) Bailey was waiting dinner for him. He brought some oysters with him and had them on the half shell. He also brought a wild goose which we had for dinner the next day. He told me that Slick Collier had died Friday. He was called Slick and that we would go to the funeral Sunday which we did in the rain. The church was full of people but when we came out, we went to the car to get out of the rain, except Joe and he went to the grave against the protest of his wife. Joe ordered his driver to drive to his sister's Ida who married a Hodgson and who died leaving one son, Herman. She then married Lee Taylor, a brother of Orlando Taylor, and had one son named Paul.

Paul and Herman are law partners in Salisbury. Herman is about 38 and Paul is about 25. Herman lived with Joe and Paul lives with his mother at Quantico, driving back and forth each day as on the paved roads now it is only about 20 minutes drive. Austin will remember Herman. Paul was at law school when he was there. After the Judge had his visit out with his sister, Ida, we started to leave the house and I saw a pan of Maryland biscuits on the table and took one, Joe took a half dozen. She saw us and got a sack and filled it. We ate some at Baileys and I brought some home that Mrs. Bailey put in a metal candy box for me.

The Judge is a busy man. We were to start for Quantico the next morning as it had cleared up but did not get started until after two o'clock. At Quantico called at the stores of Will Gillis, Elmer Disharoon and George Graham and saw those boys. Also Lillie Brady and Crawford. Crawford lives with Lillie He was injured in a B & O wreck and draws a pension from the B. & O. as a retired employee.

We saw Charlie Gillis on the street and he took me in to see Fanny. The two live in the same house. They are brother and sister and Charlie is a brother of Will. Also saw John Bailey, a brother of Joe's. By that time, it was getting late and Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Taylor were in Quantico. I just had to ride in his car down to his house and the Bailey car followed.

They showed us all the vast amount of presents they got on their 50th wedding anniversary several years ago and opened up a bottle of homemade strawberry wine. They showed us all through the house and I brought some horse chestnuts back with me from the trees that Grandfather Caleb Kennerly planted. Before going down to the Taylors, however, we stopped at the church yard and I copied some of the inscriptions from some of the old tombstones of our people. I also took some snap shots. We left Taylors after dark and went back to Salisbury. The Judge expected to take me in another direction the next day Tuesday, but I had not seen all of the folks I wanted to see so we were to start back the next morning but did not get started until 11 o'clock. Somebody stopped the Judge downtown and we waited for him until it was after twelve and then he decided to go back home and get dinner so we did not get started again until two o'clock. At Quantico called on Mr. and Mrs. Albert Jones, Ella Brady, Graham George's wife who was getting ready to kill hogs but glad to see us. Saw Tom Venable and his wife who was Rena Kennerly. Then Dashiell who had been quail hunting the day before and said he did considerable fox hunting. He lives alone and is 70 years old, he said. Stopped at the house next to the Church and called on Irving Kennerly's widow who lives alone with her granddaughter. When Austin and I were there three years ago, there was a younger woman spoke to him and said she lived in that house and I expected to see her but could not remember who it was. Mrs. Kennerly is quite old and feeble and had fallen down and hurt herself. Joe insisted that we call on Mrs. Tell Collier which we did although I did not remember her only by name. We did and she was very glad to see us and kissed us good by for old times sake, she said.

Sadie Jones Chesnut had visited her about two weeks before. Mrs. Collier said that Sadie felt hurt because she was not notified of her cousin May's death. I told Mrs. Collier that I did not and was sure that Austin did not have her address.

We drove on down to Hebron and back to Salisbury which I will write you about in another letter as I think you have about all you want of this in one sitting.

Will say this, however, in this letter that most everybody called me Austin and asked all about Ashby and Austin and Ruth and wanted to be remembered to them. I forgot to say that I also called on Lee Ackworth's widow, May Kennerly. Lives just around the corner in the Disharoon property. They were killing hogs as were a number of others.

Will send the second installment of this when I get time and am not as sleepy as I am now.

Love to all from us both,
Carl J. Turpin

* * * * *


December 13, 1927

Ashby and Austin:

This is the second installment of my letter about our trip to Maryland. I wrote a part of it last night and was so tired and sleepy that I had to quit. Frances says that I have to finish it tonight before I forget what we did.

Frank Howard's place adjoins Hebron on the railroad. Cousin Lula Langsdale, Frank Howard's wife, was at home, but Frank had just left for Salisbury. She was glad to see us. All her children are grown up and married. Don't know how many she has but know she has one who married Boss Bounds. We had a little visit with her and she was glad to see us.

We drove over to Hebron and called on Clifton (Boss) Bounds and Will Phillips. They have a big outfit - canning factory, basket factory & etc. Boss is the business end of it while Will looks after the factories and shops. Judge Bailey said they had made lots of money and plenty of funds. They certainly looked prosperous. Boss was better dressed than I was. We drove back to Salisbury via Spring Hill, all paved roads. Before leaving Quantico, I saw Lit Cotman, the colored man who used to live in that little house in the edge of the woods on the left hand side of the road from our old home to Quantico. He lives between Quantico and Hebron and owns the place he lives on so he said and that he was fixed for the rest of his life and did not owe anyone. Judge Bailey told me afterwards that his wife had the money when he married her and Lit had done very little work since. He used to take me fishing with him when I was a little fellow.

We also drove up to Marion Messick's house (the old Dashiell farm) and had a little visit with he and his wife. This was before we left Quantico for Hebron. Also I went to see Retta Langsdale who must be about 90 years old. She talked freely and intelligently in whispers; wanted to know about Ashby and Austin and sent her love. They say she has been about like that for twenty years. I never saw a person before so near skin and bones. Gladys Langsdale who I think is her granddaughter takes care of her. I ask lots of questions at the time and then get mixed up and forget who is who and which is which.

I went back from Hebron to tell you what I had failed to tell about Quantico. Judge Bailey had invited Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Taylor to take dinner with us at his home so they were there and we had a very pleasant evening. This was Tuesday evening. Mr. Taylor told all about how Father (Thomas James Turpin) had made him rich by persuading him to buy the Waters farm and some other farms which I am not sure about. Told a lot of stories, he and Bailey, some of which I thought I had hear Father tell. Joe Bailey sang a son which he said he used to sing when he was a boy, a part of which is something like this:

There are no old maids in Kansas
When they get 31, the Sheriff takes his gun,
And shoots them for fun - in Kansas.

He says he sure wants to go to Kansas if he ever comes to see me in Oklahoma.

Orlando Taylor told me about cutting down the largest pine tree (which he always regretted) that he ever saw; that had an eagles' nest 125 feet from the ground and a growing corn stalk in the nest with tassels on it. He and his wife and one girl live in the old Kennerly-Farrington Place, the other children are all married and live by themselves. I saw Clifford in Quantico; he came to the car during the funeral and spoke to us. I saw Bird in Salisbury; he is County Commissioner, both sons of Orlando.

I also saw Will Brady and Rodney Jones in Quantico. Rod, in the language of Judge Bailey, is just "wore out"; he is very feeble.

Will Brady gets around very well and looks well. Larry Jones, Albert Jones's younger son runs a filling station in Salisbury.

Well, after supper Tuesday night the Taylors went home and the Judge decided that we would drive to Ocean City Wednesday morning. We got started after a while; it had cleared up some. It was, of course, out of season at Ocean City. There had been a storm and washed things around and out more or less. After looking at the ocean a while and taking a stroll on the board walk, we started for Snow Hill, where the judge stopped to see somebody and showed us the courthouse where he holds court and etc. From there to Pocook City; enquired where Emma Blades lived and found her out in the street. Did not get out of the car except that I got out to let her in. She was much disappointed that we would not go in, but we had to catch our train at 3:06 P.M. and dinner was waiting for us at Mrs. Bailey's home. Mrs. Bailey was with us but she had given orders. I told her that I wanted her to stop calling me Austin, that everybody down to Quantico called me Austin and would say, “Austin, now give my love to Austin." She said she didn't care; she wanted to send her love to Austin, too; that he was nice to her and sent her a Christmas card every Christmas. We had to break away and leave. Drove within a half mile of Westover and through Princess Anne, but could not stop to see Cash Dashiell as had only a little over an hour until train time.

We made the train all right and arrived in Washington at 8:40 P.M. and drove to the Willard Hotel. Was there Thursday, Friday, and until 2:15 P.M. Saturday. Attended the Short Line RR convention and transacted business with the Fourth Section Bureau of the Interstate Commerce Commission. We got to shake hands with "Cal" (President Calvin Coolidge) while there.

That is about all I can think of so goodnight with love from us both to all.

Yours,
Carl J. Turpin

LETTERS TO AUSTIN CALEB TURPIN

These letters are being posted on my Cherry Walk blog in the hopes that family historians who are researching the people mentioned in these letters will find them through internet searches.

Bleu

From the collection of Carl J. Turpin housed at the Western History Collection at the Monet Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.

I will preface Zenophine’s and Ellmandia's letters with this information: My great grand uncle, Carl Julian Turpin, was a railroad man. He also was vice president and treasurer of the Capitol Federal Savings and Loan Association in Oklahoma City. He, along with two other men, built a short line railroad through the panhandle of Oklahoma. There is a town named after him in Beaver County, Oklahoma. The town's name is Turpin. Uncle Carl died first and his wife left all their papers to the Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. I have visited the collection three times.

In the first file of the first box of the collection (the collection is 3 cubic feet in length) was this letter from Zenophine Kennerly Farrington Perry, age 58, to 23 year old Austin Caleb Turpin, a brother of Carl Julian Turpin's and Zenophine's nephew. The letter reads as follows:

Salisbury
May 26, 1888

Dear Austin,

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your very unexpected letter and how glad it made me to know you were thinking of me. You and Willie (William Upshur Turpin, Austin's brother) both wrote to me long ago and I intended to answer your letter hoping to hear directly from you again. But my du ties were so laborious with my very poor health and little or no help that I rarely ever found time to write and after awhile the letters were misplaced and I did not know where to direct to. I asked some of the family for directions. They failed or forgot to tell me so it went on just so.

I have felt sorry that we did not sometimes correspond for the next best thing in this life to seeing one's friends and talking with them is to communicate with them by writing, it keeps up affection between them. It is a great comfort to those who love each other.

And I, dear Austin, have sadly the need of all the comfort I can obtain in this life for I am all alone, alone, and O, so lonely. But God has been my refuge. Nothing but my trust in His grace and my own strong will has kept me going through all the sorrows, visitudes (sic), and tryals (sic) I have indured (sic) and still suffer. Sometimes I feel that I have no one in the wide world to care anything for me yet I am told that I have many friends and sympathizers in this place but I have learned to know that such friends don't put themselves to much trouble for others except they have something to make by it themselves. The world generally is selfish and I have never learned to know it so well as I have the last three years.

I am sure that you have heard that Mr. Perry and I have separated. It was a great mistake I made as we all make mistakes sooner or later. In my lonely destitute condition, with no male relative to look up to or protect and assist me in my way, I thought at least to find a protector, but I only got into other troubles and my sufferings have been so intense that I had to rid myself of them or go mad. I could not endure more, being all ready broken down with sorrow.
I will say no more of myself for I have been writing of myself altogether. Yet I am not afraid of tiring you. You won't scarcely know Salisbury now at least the business part of the Town or City as they now term it. The stores are all built with glass fronts, the streets widened and everyone seems to vie with each other in trying to excell both in stores and dwelling houses. Some of the dwellings are perfect palaces. The Episcopal Church which was destroyed is again built of brick, the inside finished with different colors brick, blue, red and cream color, but it is not yet completed for the want of funds, but finished sufficiently to hold services in since Christmas. We have some cards distributed among some of the members of the church to collect from ther (sic) friends abroad. I have one with me I will enclose to you and see if you can get a little for us. Everyone puts their name on one line with amount given if only one dollar. I have been asked to call on my friends in the Cities and elsewhere but have not done so. If you are a mind to call on your acquaintances and help us a little if ever so small we will be glad of it. The Northern Methodist have completed their Church, a large stone one, it is a splendid edifice, the finest and most expensive Church in Town. They dedicated it last Sunday. There were crowds of people in town to attend the dedication and see the building. William Jackson contributed greatly towards it. He told them to do what they could and he would do the balance. Tis ???? it was built to excell the Southern Methodists' church, a very pretty one which was built four years ago when thers (sic) was burned. Li Sue J. (??) is a member of the S. M. May (Austin's sister and Zenophine's niece) and her husband (Thomas B. Moore) came up for the dedication but I did not see them; they dined elsewhere. She did not tell me of her marage (sic - marriage) til the day before, I received a letter. Your mother (Elmanda Kennerly Turpin, Zenophine's sister and Austin's mother) writes me she seems to be perfectly happy. Camden nor Newtown were not burned by the fire. I escaped that loss for my old furniture from my old home that is more precious to me than eligant (sic) new would have been a loss not to be replaced.

I still live in Camden.

I am glad that Willie (William Upshur Turpin, Zenophine's nephew and Austin's brother) is so happily married. I hope he will do well. Give my love to him and Carl (Carl Julian Turpin, Austin's brother and Zenophine's nephew) when you write to them. Dear Carl, I miss him, he would come to see me sometimes. Write again, Austin, I will always be glad to hear from you.

From your loving Aunt
Zenophine

At the top of the first page of her letter, written vertically on top of the horizontal text is this:

I forgot that you inquired for Willie Fulton. He is now in Wilmington, Del. He came here a few months ago and got a situation in the P.O., but left when he was offered the other place. John F. has returned and settled here and his sisters live with him. He is just recovering from a severe illness; is practicing medicine and is to be maried (sic) before long. When you write again, give me your full directions. I fear I will not . . .

* * * * *

This letter was discovered on my second visit to the Carl Julian Turpin collection. It was written by my paternal great great grandmother Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin to her son, Austin Caleb Turpin. Bleu

Quantico
Sept. 19th, 1888

My dear Austin,

Your letter, with contents reached me night before last and your present last night. I can’t express the thanks I feel. You know I prized it when I shed tears as I always do for joy as well as sorrow to know you thought so much for me. So thoughtful even for a spool of cotton and trimmings. Yes, the buttons suit nicely and the dress is beautiful. Except (sic - accept) many thanks. I do appreciate it very much, but above all, to know You sent it to me so far. I will have it made up nicely and there is another (?) to alter and make over with for another season which will make it last me so much longer. I was very impatient for mail to arrive the day after receiving your letter. “Woman’s curiosity” you know and will say I would have written last night. Ginnie and Levin Gale (Note: Levin Gale was the brother of Clara Gale Turpin who was married to John Wesley Turpin, brother of Thomas James Turpin. An article in the 30 Apr 1886 issue of the Baltimore Sun states that he was involved with the development of the Nanticoke and Wicomico Railroad; in 1885 Levin Gale was elected Register of Wills for Wicomico County, MD. He appointed Joseph L. Bailey his assistant. Joseph L. Bailey was the judge whom Carl Julian Turpin visited in December 1927. Ginnie, Levin’s wife, was Virginia A. L. Rider Gale. Bleu) were here and prevented me. Tis now ten p.m. The room is full of girls talking so much I fear I shall not finish my letters. Since writing to you I have been very sick, but only in bed for a few days. Yet I know my sickness is as much from overwork as anything. We have had company, first one then another since my return from Fairmount cooking in this extremely hot weather, putting up fruit, with all other housework is the hardest work I ever did in my life because I am not strong enough to really do anything and have not had Clif’s (Note: Clif is Walter Clifton Turpin, son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin. Bleu) assistance as usual. He is working in the caning (sic-canning) house and makes 30 cents per day. He is so ambitious. I do all I can to help him. As they will close in two weeks he will not attend school the first week as school begins Monday next. There are four canning factorys (sic): Jones & Bro on Wes Disharoon’s road, Geo Bounds by his house, Leo Gordy at the Cherry Walk, Thad Langsdale on the river. Everybody raised tomatoes this year. About one hundred loads pass here daily, besides other roads. All everything human from three years old upward are at work in some branch of this business, it is impossible to hire a woman or girl. Farmers are giving from 75 cents to 1.00 per day for hands to take down their fodder which is mildewing in the fields. We have had nearly three weeks of rainy weather, don’t think I ever saw the like of it.

We have not rented for another year yet. There is no house in town to rent. Mrs. Ker says she is coming here, did not tell us so. We do not want to remain here if we can get another smaller and comfortable. In the first place this is very unhealthy, again we cannot pay the rent though the garden here is really worth to us $25.00 which makes up for a house we would otherwise pay $40 or $50 for.

Victor (Note: brother to Austin and son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin. Bleu) too has been at work. You never saw a boy grow as fast as he does. He is constituted just like Willie. His lips give him much trouble, is now taking “Forbes Solution.”

I have not written a letter since to you last. I don’t know what Carl and Willie are thinking of me. I do not have an opportunity. I often sit up sewing till 12 pm. May (Note: May Thomas Turpin Moore, daughter of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin. Bleu) had a letter from Ashby last night. He says times are awful dull there. Jennie Turpin (Note: I have not figured out who Jennie is yet. Bleu) has been here nearly two weeks. Went down to Wesley’s (Note: I believe Wesley is a reference to John Wesley Turpin, Thomas James Turpin’s brother. Bleu) today. Will return tomorrow.

Levin and Ginnie Gale spent the evening yesterday. Today Emily Donehs(?) and husband took dinner with us. I opened a bushel of oysters myself this evening. Wish you had them to enjoy. We have been living high on trout and oysters for a week past. When it gets colder I don’t expect they will bring any up as they command high price at the Shore.

Sister (Note: May Thomas Turpin Moore, Ellmandia’s and Thomas James Turpin's daughter. Bleu) has had a surge of company. Just as one or two leaves others come. She and the cook are quite broken down. First season makes it hard now on housekeepers, particular those who have not servants. Lilla Bounds is having it quite lively -- a housefull [sic] every night of a certain Saturday. She is wearing a diamond ring Lee Taylor borrowed from a lady in Philadelphia costing $150.00. She tells it is her ingagement [sic] ring. John Dorman is one of her admirers now. By the way, Lee Taylor has spent nearly all his property [sic] reports say.

Mr. Perry and Aunt Phine are living together again. (Note: “Phine” is Zenophine Kennerly Farrington Perry, Ellmandia’s sister. In a letter to Austin written earlier in 1888, Zenophine had told him that she and Mr. Perry had separated. Zenophine married George Perry five years after John Wesley Turpin, a brother of Ellmandia’s husband, Thomas James Turpin, killed her husband, William H. Farrington in a dispute over livestock crossing onto neighboring properties. Bleu)

Sharlotte Rider was here today. She is in much trouble. Frank died one week and Noah the next. She is the finest looking negro I ever saw. Jennie and I spent yesterday evening or rather afternoon with Aunt Elizabeth. Aunt May, Fanny and Lizzie all send love. Always inquire for you and many others.

I want you to send me Gertrude’s (Note: Gertrude is Iva Gertrude Lawry, the wife of Austin Caleb Turpin. Bleu) picture to see. I will return it. I think of you very, very often, but never sleep till I have returned thanks to our Father for his care and blessings bestowed upon you, and entreat a continuance of the same, and that we all may meet again in the flesh, if it is his will, if not, that we may meet in the Spirit Land where there is no more parting. Did I answer your long and confidential letter? Really I don’t know. Truly I hope all things will work together for the best.

Carl (Carl Julian Turpin was a son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin; brother to Austin Caleb Turpin. Bleu) does not seem to like Ettie (Note: Henrietta Elledge Turpin, the wife of William Upshur Turpin. Bleu). He has told me lotts [sic] but I always tell him never to notice anything or never to speak in any way unkindly. He said in his last (letter) she charged him 20 cents for sewing up a little slit in his shirt sleeve and again 10 cents for 2 buttons on. That is unkind.

I do comment on her to him but say to him …well never mind, he will soon be able to go somewhere else if he likes and this must stimulate him to study the harder. Ashby (Note: Ashby is the son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin; brother to Austin Caleb Turpin. Bleu) thinks it terrible Carl pays board. I do not yet there are things Willie could change privately if he wished.

“Alls well that ends well.” My hand is swelling. I will close. Guess you are tired out with this scroll.

Now let me thank you again for my dress, it come just in time when we appreciate such things best.

Your truly loving
Mother

AN ANALYSIS OF ANOTHER TURPIN PHOTOGRAPH

My dad gave me this picture a couple of years ago. On the back of the picture the caption says that Grandpa (Thomas James Turpin) is in the picture and that it was taken with the Smith neighbors. The caption mentions that the picture is for Uncle Carl (Julian Turpin) and it’s signed “Gertrude.”

The name “Gertrude” once led my father and me to believe that it had been taken in Kansas. We thought maybe it had been taken during Thomas’s visit to his son Ashby’s farm in Cowley County, KS, in September, 1906. Recently, I took out the picture again to study. Ashby’s and Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin’s daughter, (Flora) Gertrude was born in 1916, 10 years after the death of her grandfather, Thomas James Turpin, so she could not have been the Gertrude who wrote the note on the back of the picture.

HOWEVER, Ashby’s older sister, May Thomas Turpin Moore, with whom sisters Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin and Blanche Anna Sparks Rivenbark lived, had one child with her husband, Thomas B. Moore. (Emma) Gertrude Moore was born 26 Sep 1892 and she died 22 Sep 1913, just before her 21st birthday. May’s daughter never married.

The picture was taken between 1900 and Thomas’s death in 1906. In 1900, Ashby and Mamie were living in Fort Dodge, IA, where their first child, Milton Ashby Turpin, was born. A search of the 1905 Kansas State Census, the year before Thomas visited Ashby and Mamie, shows that Ashby and Mamie lived in Pleasant Valley Township, Cowley County, Kansas. However, in studying the people that lived around Ashby and Mamie in that 1905 Kansas state census, no Smiths are to be found.

In June 1900, in Dwelling #706, Salisbury, Maryland, lived May and her family, along with Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin’s sister, Blanche. May is listed as a school teacher and with them live, in addition to Blanche, (Mamie had already married Ashby in Jan. of that same year), 12 other people listed as boarders.

Two dwellings away, Dwelling #708, live the Smith family: husband E. Smith, age 37; wife Lillian Smith, age 33; daughter Margaret, 3; E. Smith’s brother, William G. Smith, age 41; and E. Smith’s mother, Margaret A. Smith, age 66.

The 1900 US Census, taken in June 1900, shows Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin living in Dwelling 763 in Salisbury, MD. They had moved from Quantico to Salisbury, according to an article published in the Salisbury Advertiser on 13 Jan 1900:

“Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Turpin have removed from Quantico to Salisbury and are now comfortably situated in their home on Bush street, which they purchased recently from Mr. Frank Mitchell.”

(As a side note, Bush Street no longer exists as it did in 1900. I asked when I was at the Nabb Research Center in Salisbury in October, 2009, and I was told that when U.S. Highway 50 came through, a lot of houses were torn down and streets renamed. Salisbury was changed by U.S. Highway 50. However, it did allow the town to grow and attract more business.)

So back to the original question: where was this picture taken? I believe it was taken in Salisbury, Maryland sometime between 1900 and 1906. The hairstyles of the woman sitting next to Thomas and the young women sitting in front of him indicate the early 1900s. www.fashion-era.com indicates that the pompadour was fashionable during that time period as were large hats.

Also, in looking at Thomas in this picture, he appears that he has more weight than in the picture that was taken at the 101 Ranch at Bliss, OK, two months before his death. (The small photo on the left of the group picture shown above was cropped from the photo being analyzed in this blog posting; the small photo on the right of the group picture shown above was cropped from a positively identified picture taken in September 16, 1906, of Thomas James Turpin at the 101 Ranch in Bliss, Oklahoma.)

My paternal great great grandfather, Thomas, was (Emma) Gertrude Moore’s maternal grandfather and Carl Julian Turpin was her maternal uncle. The 1910 census shows Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin, Thomas’s wife and my paternal great great grandmother, living with her daughter May, May’s daughter (Emma) Gertrude, and some boarders.

My theory is that once Ellmandia passed away in 1911, May and her daughter Gertrude probably went through pictures and things and distributed them to family members. On the back of the picture is written “for Uncle Carl from Gertrude.” Then when Uncle Carl (Julian Turpin) passed away, his wife Frances probably once again distributed pictures and the picture went to Ashby since he was still alive when Uncle Carl died, or even to my paternal grandfather (Milton Ashby) since he and his family were living in Oklahoma City when Uncle Carl (Julian Turpin) passed away.

I don’t know who the young women are sitting in front of Thomas, and, in fact, the only woman I can feel fairly safe in identifying is the oldest woman in the picture. I believe her to be Margaret A. Smith, age 66, the mother of E. Smith whose porch on which this picture was taken. The other gentleman in the picture is either E. Smith or his brother William. But this is based on the assumption that the entire Smith family is sitting on that porch with Thomas.

I even wonder if one of the young women sitting in front of Thomas is, in fact, (Emma) Gertrude Moore, May’s daughter. I wonder this because on the back of the picture is written “for Uncle Carl from Gertrude.” She wouldn’t need to identify herself because Uncle Carl would know what she looked like. The youngest woman on that front row appears to be the dark haired girl second from the left. But, even at that, (Emma) Gertrude Moore was 14 when her grandfather, Thomas James Turpin, died, so even though, people did look older sooner back then, I don’t know if this is a face of a 12 or 13 year old girl in the early 1900s.

I always hope that someday new information or positively identified photographs will turn up.

VICTOR NOIR TURPIN (9 MAR 1873-23 MAR 1927)

The following information about Victor Noir Turpin, a son of Thomas James Turpin and Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin, was gathered and assembled by me, a great grand niece, over a period of time from 2006 through this 21st day of January 2010. As more records and newspapers are scanned and become available on the Internet, this information can be expanded.

The information was gathered from www.genealogybank.com; www.archive.org; www.footnote.com; www.ancestry.com; www.worldvitalrecords.com; www.findagrave.com; the Carl Julian Turpin collection at the Western History Library at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; a copy of a letter from my paternal grandfather to his sister in which he refers to Victor‘s widow, Margaret; and information from the Turpin Family Tree compiled by paternal great aunt. Thanks to my father, a great nephew of Victor Noir Turpin, for his continuing interest in this project, and for providing copies of the picture from which the above image was cropped and the letter from Milton Ashby Turpin to Ella Turpin Person.

Rather than presenting the information in a narrative form, it is presented for your consideration in a chronological order.

Excerpt of letter from Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin to her son Austin Caleb Turpin, dated 19 Sep 1888, Quantico (Maryland).

“Victor too has been at work. You never saw a boy grow as fast as he does. He is constituted just like Willie (William Upshur Turpin, a brother of Victor‘s). His lips give him much trouble, is now taking Forbes Solution.””

* * * * *

Fort Worth Mail-Telegram 28 Jul 1902

“Victor N. Turpin Has Gone to Wed.

“Victor N. Turpin, city passenger and ticket agent for the Rock Island lines left Saturday night for Coldwater, Mich., where he will wed Miss Paddock. Mr. Turpin and bride will return to Fort Worth Sunday next.”

* * * *

The Dallas Morning News, 05 Jul 1905

“Died in Michigan. Special to the News.

Fort Worth, Tex., July 4 -- News has been received here of the death of Mrs. V. N. Turpin, the wife of the city ticket agent of the Rock Island lines, at Coldwater, Mich., last night. Mrs. Turpin had been ill for some time and was taken to Coldwater, her old home, for a surgical operation. Mr. Turpin left this morning for that point to attend the funeral.”

* * * *
The Fort Worth Telegram 06 Jul 1905

“Mrs. Turpin Dies

Victor N. Turpin, city ticket agent of the Rock Island railroad, received a message Tuesday stating that his wife had died at Coldwater, Mich. He left for Coldwater immediately. Mrs. Turpin left Fort Worth about two weeks ago for her Michigan home to undergo an operation. She died at the home of her parents."

The first wife of Victor Noir Turpin, Lola Silence Paddock, was the daughter of Bryan D. and Harriet Paddock of Branch County, Michigan. She graduated from Coldwater High School, Coldwater, Michigan, in 1889. She attended the University of Michigan for two years, transferring to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1892. Lola is listed as the founder of Nebraska Lambda-Pi at the University of Nebraska in “A Paragraph History of Sigma Alpha Epsilon from the Founding of the Fraternity to the Present time” by William C. Levere (1916) and available at www.archive.org. According to Arthur J. Tuttle with the Michigan Iota-Beta, Lola‘s initials “LP” were chosen thus Lambda-Pi. (Page 72 of previously cited publication.) Lola was a teacher in Lincoln, Nebraska beginning in 1894 through to her marriage to Victor in July, 1902. Her name appears frequently in two Lincoln newspapers from that time period.

It was in Lincoln, Nebraska that 30 year old Lola met 26 year old Victor Noir Turpin as evidenced by the following article:

Nebraska State Journal, 19 Feb 1899

“Society

Friday evening Miss Lola Paddock entertained her friends at the home of Mrs. Ed Green, 1336 R street. Progressive euchre* furnished the entertainment. The royal prize, a water color, was won by Mr. Turpin. The booby prize, a box of chocolates, by Miss Wirt. The guests were Professor and Mrs. Fling, Mr. and Mrs. Will Green, Misses Wirt, Morgan, Clark, Deweese, Hammond, Hoover, Graham, Getner, Macfarland, Kirker, Douglas; Messrs. Whitmore, Turpin, Pancoast, Whipple, Mattson, Haggard, Paine, Marlay, Sheldon, Davidson, Clark, Kennard.”

*According to www.ehow.com, Progressive Euchre is a fast-paced card game played mainly by four people, broken down into two teams of two. Progressive euchre is a way of playing the game with multiple tables of players in a tournament. It is played with A-K-Q-J-10-9 of the four suits. With four players, five cards are dealt. After bidding to make the trick, trump is named and one team has to win at least three of five tricks, while the opponent team tries to stop them. After each round, partners change.

An additional two sources show Victor being in Lincoln, Nebraska at the same time. I finally located Victor in the 1900 US Census. He is living in Lincoln, Nebraska, listed on the census as “Viola N. Turpin, female!” The birthday is the same and when scrolling over for the occupation, “stenographer” is shown. He is living at a boarding house and there are two other people boarding there that work for the railroad. I think there must have been an error in the census. The Hoyes 1899 and 1900 Directory for Lincoln, Nebraska, shows “Turpin, Victor N., Opr. C., R.I.&P. Ry. 20th cor. O, rms 231, s. 15th.“ This is the same address where “Viola N. Turpin” is living on the 1900 US Census. (I read an article in a genealogy magazine that cautioned that the U.S. Census reports can have errors. It is depends on the individual gathering the information and putting it on forms. Or perhaps it was just the Turpin sense of humor shining through!) In any event, I am certain this is Victor. I have been searching for him in 1900 for some time. Finally, I clicked on Viola because everything else matched: the initials V. N. Turpin, the birthplaces of the parents, and the month and year of birth. Viola is Victor.

* * * * *
Dallas Morning-News, 7 Aug 1907

"Turpin-Loving Wedding

Special to the News.

Fort Worth, Tex., Aug. 6 - V. N. Turpin, city passenger and ticket agent for the Rock Island and Mrs. Margaret Loving were married at the home of the bride, 1523 Cooper Street, at 8 o'clock this morning by Rev. B. B. Ramage. A. C. Turpin and wife of Toronto, Canada, and C. J. Turpin and wife of Springfield, Mo., brothers of the groom were present. After a wedding breakfast was served the bride and groom left for a trip to Salt Lake City. They will be at home at 1523 Cooper street to their friends after Sept. 1."

* * * *
Dallas Morning News, 11 Aug 1907

Fort Worth Society

“Turpin-Loving Wedding; Marriage Ceremony is read by Rev. B. B. Ramage at the Home of the Bride

Mrs. Margaret Loving and V. N. Turpin were married Wednesday morning at the home of the bride, 1523 Cooper street, Rev. B. B. Ramage officiating. Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Turpin of Toronto and Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Turpin of Springfield, Mo., were present and a few other relatives. After an elaborate wedding breakfast Mr. and Mrs. Turpin left for a trip to Salt Lake City. They will be at home to their friends, 1523 Cooper Street, after Sept. 1.”

Dallas Morning News 29 Sep 1909

“Fort Worth Railway Notes - Special to the News

Fort Worth, Tex., Sept. 28

. . .C. J. Turpin, agent for the Rock Island at Clinton, Ok., is in the city on account of the serious illness of his brother, Vic Turpin, city ticket agent of the same road at this place. Mr. Turpin is reported slightly improved."

* * * * *
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 04 Jul 1911

“Child Burned to Death by Explosion of Oil

Heat Causes Kerosene to Ignite, Catching Clothing of Margaret Turpin

A can of kerosene exploding from the heat of the sun was responsible for the death of little Margaret Turpin, the 12 year old daughter of V. N. Turpin, city ticket and passenger agent of the Rock Island railroad, Monday evening. The child was playing on the back porch of the family residence, 1523 Cooper street, when the can exploded, enveloping her in a mass of flames. Her mother, standing in the kitchen, saw the child just after her clothing caught fire, but the porch having also caught could not reach her for intervening flames. With rare presence of mind she ran through the house and around to the rear. The child, her clothing still blazing, ran into her mother's arm, sobbing and almost unconscious. The mother extinguished the flames.

A physician was called at once, but there was no chance for the child to recover, and three hours later she died in terrible pain. There was no portion of the little girl's body that was not burned.

For a time the house was threatened by fire, but a negro woman employed at the Turpin residence extinguished it.

The funeral was conducted Tuesday afternoon from the First Congregational Church, Rev. George W. Ray officiating. Interment was made in Oakwood."

* * * * *
I do not believe the child, Margaret Loving Turpin, was the natural born daughter of Victor. According to her death certificate available on footnote.com, Margaret, the child, was born in 1901 in Texas. Victor and Margaret Loving the elder did not marry until 1907. On the death certificate for Margaret Loving Turpin, the widow of Victor Noir Turpin, it states that her father’s name was Owen Gibbs. Her mother’s name was given simply as “D.K.” (don’t know) A genealogical mystery surrounds Margaret Loving Turpin, the elder. I believe Margaret Loving Turpin was married previously and had a daughter, Margaret Loving, by her first marriage.


Fort Worth Star-Telegraph 28 Apr 1916

“Gypsies Go Shopping for a "Place to Go" by Order of Police

This sounds like an old vaudeville gag, but it is certified and sworn to: "What stations have you?" inquired the chief of a party of foreigners who called at the Rock Island ticket office yesterday. "What size station do you want?" inquired V. N. Turpin, city ticket agent. "We want gude size ceety -- beeg place, beeg as Fort Wort," the chief said. Whereupon, Turpin told them all about Oklahoma City, Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, giving an industrial review of each. The chief wanted to know which city had the most restaurants, hotels and candy kitchens in it. They also wanted to know which city "cost the most." Turpin recommended Kansas City. The men were Gypsy leaders, who have been in Fort Worth with their families, totaling twenty-seven people, for three weeks. They are to leave Fort Worth Monday - moving on police orders. The Gypsies cannot get along with Fort Worth people, they say. They have tried three neighborhoods, but at each place the neighbors complained. They are now at Arizona and Henrietta streets. The men are coppersmiths and want to go to a place where there is the most of this work available."

* * * *

Fort Worth Star-Telegram 22 Apr 1915

“Accused of Fan Theft

An electrician was arrested Thursday by detectives and charged with theft in connection with a fan alleged to have been stolen from V. N. Turpin, city ticket agent of the Rock Island. Turpin sent the electrician to his home to repair the fan. He took it away from home and never returned it, it is said. Questioned Thursday morning, he said he had given the fan to a boy to be delivered at Turpin's home."

* * * *

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Dec 1916

“V. N. Turpin, city passenger agent of the Rock Island, will see one of his brothers for the first time in nineteen years when he reaches Chicago Sunday morning to attend a family reunion. He left Friday night, accompanied by Mrs. Turpin. The reunion will be held at the home of his brother, A. C. Turpin, ticket agent at the LaSalle Street station of the Rock Island in Chicago.”

* * * *

Victor Noir Turpin: Described as tall with brown eyes and light brown hair on WWI Draft registration card, 1918. Has false teeth.

* * * * *

In 1921 Victor N. Turpin was listed as City Passenger Agent working at 116 Ninth Street, Fort Worth, TX in the back of a publication entitled “Colorado: Under the Turquoise Sky.” The publication was put out by the Rock Island Railroad.

* * * * *

Dallas Morning News, 25 Mar 1927

“Railroad Man Had Premonition of Death

Fort Worth, Texas, March 24 (Sp) -- Funeral services for Victor N. Turpin, 53, city ticket agent for the Rock Island lines, who died at his home, 812 West Magnolia Avenue, Wednesday, will be held Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the First Congregational Church.

Mr. Turpin had been connected with the Rock Island since 1891. Death was due to heart failure. According to Mrs. Turpin, her husband had a premonition of his death and only a few days ago instructed her as to what to do in case he died suddenly.

He is survived by his wife, three brothers, Carl J. Turpin of Oklahoma City, Austin Turpin of Detroit and Ashburn (sic) Turpin of Winfield, Kan.”

* * * * *

From the papers of Carl Julian Turpin housed in the Western History Collection at the library at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.

American Railway Express Company
Office of Traffic Manager
46-48 Trinity Place
New York

April 30, 1927

Mr. C. J. Turpin,
Vice President and General Manager
Beaver, Meade & Englewood Railroad Co.,
Oklahoma City, Okla.

Dear Mr. Turpin:

Absence from the city has prevented earlier acknowledgement of your note of April 22nd.

The package referred to has also been received and I appreciate your kindness as well as that of Mrs. V. N. Turpin.

Mrs. Lee or her sister will, no doubt, write Mrs. Turpin.

I was quite shocked to learn of Victor's death. While we have not seen a great deal of him during the past few years, I always made it a point to see him when going through Fort Worth, and I recall that he was out to our house for dinner some two or three years ago. He was a very likeable chap and I know will be missed by his many friends.

Yours very truly,
George S. Lee,
Traffic Manager

* * * *
Excerpt from letter from Milton Ashby Turpin to his sister Ella Turpin, dated 9 Dec 1929:

"Aunt Margaret is still in Fort Worth and has moved her house to some new lots and had it remodeled. Guess it is pretty well fixed by this time. She is still pretty sensitive about Victor yet. You know she gave me his watch and chain. Every time she sees it, a sadness comes over her. She was up here in Nov. when Uncle Austin was down this way."

One more posting for the 14th of January, 2010

For those of you who enjoy genealogy research, take a look at GenSmarts. This is a great software program that analyzes the family tree software you have on your computer. I recently purchased a copy of it and I am so pleased with it. For me, it was easy to install and I watched the hour long tutorial about how to use it. The software analyzes your files, and then lines up the problems it sees -- missing data, sources, etc. You choose if you want to pursue that avenue. It has on-line capabilities. To the right side is a link one can click if further online research is required for that particular person. If you have a membership in Ancestry.com, Footnote, World Vital Records -- any of these subscription programs -- the GenSmart software will take you directly to your research objective. It is not always a direct hit, but I have had success. It works with numerous genealogy software programs. Happy researching. Bleu

Quotations pertinent to Time and Family History

In her excellent book, Four Souls, Louise Erdich writes:

"Time is the water in which we live, and we breathe it like fish.

time is an element no human has mastered . . .

For what is a man, what are we all, but bits of time caught

for a moment in a tangle of blood, bones, skin and brain."

and in David Ray's luminous poem, Thanks, Robert Frost, he quotes the poet as follows in answer to the question "Do you have hope for the future?"

"Yes, and even for the past, he [Frost] replied,

that it will turn out to have been all right for what it was,

something we can accept,

mistakes made by the selves we had to be,

not able to be, perhaps, what we wished,

or what looking back half the time

it seems we could so easily have been, or ought..."

* * * * *

We are all simply moments caught in the time in which we were born. And life does go on and, yes, it does end. Family history, though, gives one a sense of continuity.

Ashby Turpin: A Brief Timeline of a Life

Meet my paternal great grandfather, Ashby Turpin. From left to right are pictures of Ashby from 1891, 1900, 1936, and 1939. He is buried at Highland Cemetery, Winfield, Cowley County, KS.

What follows is a brief timeline of his life. More will be written about him later. Always a mysterious man, one of his grandsons made him sound like possibly the meanest man who ever lived. I never got to meet Ashby, but I did get to visit his wife, my paternal great grandmother, Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin, before her death in 1965. In researching my paternal great grandfather's life, I have come to understand Ashby a little bit better.

THE TIMELINE OF THE LIFE OF ASHBY TURPIN

　
BIRTH
22 Apr 1862. Born in Quantico, Somerset County, Maryland to Thomas James Turpin
And Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin.

1867 DEATH
Ashby’s older brother, Albion Farrington Turpin (b. 1860) dies at the age of 7.

1870 RESIDENCE
1870 US Census shows Ashby living with parents and siblings -- May Thomas, William Upshur, Austin Caleb and Zenophine -- in Quantico Maryland.

06 Nov 1879 DEATH
Ashby’s younger sister, Zenophine, dies at the age of 10. Ashby is 17.

11 Nov 1879 DEATH
Seventeen year old Ashby Turpin witnesses the shooting death of his uncle by marriage, William Farrington. William Farrington is married to Ashby's mother's sister, Zenophine Kennerly Farrington. Farrington is killed by Ashby’s uncle by blood, his father’s brother, John Wesley Turpin.

May 1880 EVENT
Eighteen year old Ashby Turpin testifies in favor of the prosecution in the State of Maryland v. John Wesley Turpin.

1891 EVENT
Ashby is in group picture with mother and siblings. Picture taken in Holton, KS.

24 Feb 1892 DEATH
Ashby’s younger brother, Walter Clifton Turpin (b. 1875) dies at age 16.

10 Jan 1900 MARRIAGE
Thirty-seven year old Ashby Turpin marries 19 year old Mary Virginia Sparks, a ward of Ashby’s older sister, May Thomas Turpin Moore, in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland.

14 Jun 1900 RESIDENCE
US Census shows Ashby Turpin and his wife, Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin, living in Wahkonsa, Webster County, Iowa. Three boarders are living with them: L.M. Dean, E. J. Elliot, and William Hailey. Ashby’s occupation is difficult to read.

26 Nov 1900 BIRTH OF FIRST CHILD
Milton Ashby Turpin, son of Ashby and Mary Virginia Sparks Turpin, is born in Ft. Dodge, Webster County, IA. Ashby is 38 years old.

1905 RESIDENCE
1905 Kansas State Census shows Ashby Turpin, along with his wife, is living in Pleasant Valley, Cowley County, KS. Occupation: Farming. They have two children: Milton Ashby and Ella Leona.

16 Sep 1906 EVENT
Picture of Thomas James Turpin, Ashby’s father, taken at 101 Ranch, Bliss, Oklahoma. In an account of Ashby Turpin’s life, it is mentioned that Thomas James Turpin came west once to visit his son. (However, additional research has proven this to be incorrect. Thomas James Turpin came west ca 1850 when he was around 16 years old according to his 1906 obituary.)

30 Nov 1906 DEATH
Thomas James Turpin (b. 1834), father of Ashby Turpin, dies in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland, at age 72. Ashby is 44.

1910 RESIDENCE
US Federal Census shows Ashby and family are living in Clinton, Custer County, OK. Children are Milton, Ella, Virginia May, Blanche Ethel, and Ruth Vivian.

12 Jun 1911 DEATH
Ellmandia Kennerly Turpin (b. 1836), mother of Ashby Turpin, dies in College Park, Prince George, Maryland, at age 74. Ashby is 48.

1915 RESIDENCE
Kansas State Census shows Ashby and family are living in Pleasant Valley, Cowley County, KS. Six children: Milton, Ella, Virginia, Blanche Ethel, Ruth, Ivan Roscoe and Vincent Vermillion.

1920 RESIDENCE
US Census shows Ashby and family are living and farming in Pleasant Valley, Cowley County, KS. There are 7 children: Milton, Ella, Virginia, Ruth, Ethel, Ruth, Ivan, Vincent, and Gertrude.

13 Jun 1922 DEATH
Ashby’s brother, William Upshur Turpin (b. 1863), dies at age 58 in Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa.

2 Jul 1922 MARRIAGE
Ashby’s oldest child, Milton Ashby Turpin, marries Pansy Beth Holt.

5 Apr 1923 BIRTH
Ashby’s first grandchild, Julia Ann Turpin, is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, OK, to Milton and Pansy Holt Turpin. Ashby is 61 years old.

11 Feb 1925 DEATH
Ashby’s older sister, May Thomas Turpin Moore (b. 1859), dies in Maryland at age 65.

23 Mar 1927 DEATH
Ashby’s youngest living brother, Victor Noir Turpin (b. 1873), dies in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TX at age 54.

1930 RESIDENCE
The last US census that has been made public shows Ashby and family are living and farming in Pleasant Valley, Cowley County, KS. There are three children at home: Ivan, Vincent and Gertrude.

28 Feb 1939 DEATH
Ashby’s younger brother, Austin Caleb Turpin (b. 1865) dies in Detroit, Michigan at age 73.

20 Nov 1942 DEATH
Ashby’s younger brother, Carl Julian Turpin (b. 1871) dies in Oklahoma City, OK at age 71.

10 Dec 1944 DEATH
Ashby Turpin (b. 1859) dies at Winfield, Cowley County, KS, at the age of 82.

Fay Turpin, daughter of Austin Caleb Turpin and Iva Gertrude Lawry Turpin

A couple of years ago I discovered a gold mine in the form of a collection of letters and documents left by my great granduncle Carl Julian Turpin and his wife Frances Linton Turpin to the Western History Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. I discovered wonderful correspondence between great aunts and uncles and great great grandmothers and great great grand aunts whom I had never met. They wrote back and forth, however, about relatives whom I did have the opportunity to meet, although they were young children and young adults during the time period that these letters cover. These letters have enriched the living Turpin family immensely. Handwritten correspondence was frequent in the early part of the 1900s, the post being delivered twice a day. I am not sure what email and texting is going to leave behind for future family historians.

* * * * *

The beautiful young woman shown above is Fay Turpin, my first cousin twice removed. She born 09 Dec 1892 in Holton KS. She was the daughter of Austin Caleb Turpin and Gertrude Lawry Turpin. According to my paternal great aunt, Ella Turpin Person, Fay attended Chicago public schools and the Chicago Art Institute.

At one point during W.W.I, Fay was planning to marry a soldier. On 6 Jan 1918, Gertrude Lawry Turpin, Fay's mother, writes to Carl Julian Turpin's wife, Frances Linton Turpin:

"I think Austin said he wrote Carl of Fay's engagement to Burton Carnes and the gay time I had. Made 2 trips to Fort Riley in November. Austin and I stopped there the first of November and when Burton wrote that he could not get the furlough he expected as they were ordered to Texas, Fay decided to go to Fort Riley. Of course I had to be chaperone. We had supper with Burton in Manhattan (KS) Thanksgiving Day. We should have arrived in Manhattan at 3 p.m. but missed connections and had to drive from McFarland to Manhattan in a Ford, arriving there at 6 p.m. Burton's troop left the next day so we did not see much of him. . . . Fay announced her engagement Dec. 9. . . . I told Fay I would try to give her something for her hope box every payday (it will not be much while I am paying coal bills)."

(Source: Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

Gertrude writes to Frances again on 27 Oct 1918 the following: "Fay would be overjoyed to have you attend her wedding. The trouble is we do not know just when it will occur but think about the middle of the month. It will be a quiet affair."

(Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

On 22 Dec 1918 Gertrude writes to Frances: "Burton cannot get leave to come home Christmas. We are in hopes that means he will get his discharge immediately after. If not he says he will try and get leave to come and get Fay and then he will not care how long they keep him down there. I don't suppose Carl (Julian Turpin) ever goes to Little Rock (Arkansas). If he does tell him to look up Lieutenant Carnes of the Depot Brig. Burton would be glad to see him." (Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

Then on 18 Mar 1919, in a letter to Frances, Gertrude writes: "Fay has just started in a studio of her own and is therefore a little short of cash so I am going to make her dress as I want her to go to the dance. She broke her engagement with Burton about the 1st of February and she feels pretty badly. You know Fay does not do anything by halves. When she loved, she loved with all her heart. And when she found the object of her affections was not worthy of it she was all broke up. She and two other girls have a studio together. She went in with them the first week in February and she is doing real well. I think she will do better than when working for someone else as she can stop and rest whenever she pleases."

(Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

In 1919 Fay traveled to Toronto as told in this 22 Dec 1919 letter from Austin's wife to Carl Julian Turpin's wife, Frances: "Fay is going to take a little vacation and to go Toronto the day after Christmas and last Friday she rec'd a letter from Helene telling her to be sure & bring her party dress as they were having formal dances again with everybody in full evening dress." (Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

Fay verifies her trip in this letter she wrote to Carl Julian Turpin's wife Frances on 9 Jan 1920: "I suppose some other members of the family have told you that I took a little trip to Canada after Christmas. I didn't have one minute to write up there and mighty few since I came home." (Carl Julian Turpin collection, Western History Library, University of Oklahoma)

In the 1920 US census, Fay is living with her parents in Chicago and working as a commercial artist. She illustrated for children's books. One of the books she illustrated was Little Sally Dutcher by Beth Proctor. First printing was 1924 by the Albert Whitman Company in Chicago.
(A copy of that illustration appears above. It was scanned from an actual book in my possession.)

On 5 Apr 1926 Fay married William Jabine. They took their honeymoon in Hamilton, Bermuda as reflected by the passenger list for the liner, Fort Victoria.

William was born in Yonkers NY on 8 Jan 1886. His parents' names were Theodore and Florence Jabine. (1910 census) I believe William met Fay when he moved to Chicago, IL to take the position as editor of a Chicago newspaper. In the 1920 census, he is lodging with the Fox family in Chicago. When he was living in New York City, he was a reporter for a newspaper there. (1910 US census) Austin Caleb Turpin and his family were also living in Chicago according to the 1920 US census.

Ella Turpin Person's notes show that Fay separated two years later from Mr. Jabine. In 1928 Fay set up her own artist's studio at 321 East 43rd Street in New York City. (Source: Ella Turpin Person) The 1930 US census shows Fay living in Manhattan and working as a studio artist.

Fay was Episcopalian and attended a little church around the corner from where she lived called Church of the Transfiguration. (Source: Ella Turpin Person.)

In 1931 Fay took a trip on the Empress of Britain. She departed 3 Dec 1931 and returned 8 Apr 1932. The passenger list shows her living at 6 Prospect Place, NYC.

Fay Turpin Jabine passed away 02 June 1967. Her last address was New York City, NY. (Social Security Death Index.)