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Franklin Parnham Turner
Franklin Parnham Turner
Born	April 17, 1829; Charles County, Maryland, US
Died	January 1, 1889 (aged 59); Richmond, Virginia, US
Buried	Mountain View cemetery (Sharpsburg, Maryland)
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service / branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–64 (CSA)
Rank	Major
Commands	36th Virginia Infantry
Battles / wars	American Civil War
Alma mater	Franklin and Marshall College
Other work	Delegate to Virginia Secession Convention of 1861

Franklin Parnham Turner (February 28, 1827 – January 1, 1889) was an American lawyer who became a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 where he spoke and twice voted for secession. During the American Civil War Turner raised a company to fight with the Confederate States Army in the 36th Virginia Infantry and later became a staff officer.^[1]

Early and family life

Born in Charles County, Maryland to Thomas Turner (1774-1836) and his wife Martha Adams Turner, Franklin Turner lost his father when he young, but received an education appropriate to his class. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College and read law.

Turner married Frances Amelia Miller (1834-1902), daughter of War of 1812 veteran Capt. John Miller. They had six children, but most died before reaching adulthood; only Frank Van Lear Turner (1866-1939) would survive both parents.

Career

By the 1850 federal census, Franklin P. Turner was a young lawyer living with his uncle, Rev. John Adams in Washington County, Maryland.^[2] A decade later, Turner had moved across the Appalachian Mountains to Jackson County, Virginia. He had married and practiced law in Ripley, the county seat, and owned 5364 in real estate and nearly as much personal property (his name does not appear on the single page slave schedule that survived).^[3]

Jackson county voters elected Turner as their delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861^[4] where he spoke and twice voted for secession. Within a month after secession, Turner raised an infantry company in Roane County, which became Company G of the 36th Virginia Infantry (later Company E), and became its captain. However, when the company reorganized in May 1862, George Duval replaced Turner as its captain.^[5] Turner left for the capital at Richmond, and in June was assigned to the staff of Gen. Stonewall Jackson. He fought at the Battle of Antietam near his childhood home. Turner served on other staffs after Jackson's death, was promoted to the rank of major before the war's end.^[6]

After the war, Turner remained in Richmond, and practiced law there and in Sharpsburg.^[7] His firstborn son, John, who had been working as a page in the Virginia House of Delegates, was killed during the collapse of a floor of the Virginia State Capitol on April 27, 1870. Turner also assisted former CSA General Armistead Lindsay Long with preparing his biography of General Robert E. Lee in support of the Lost Cause.^[8]

Death and legacy

Turner died in 1889 and is buried at Mountain View cemetery in Sharpsburg in the family plot. His wife would survive him by decades, but only Frank Van Lear Turner (1866-1939) would survive both parents.

References

^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2019-08-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Subdivision 2, Washington County, Maryland, family 951 p.108 of 169
^ 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Ripley, Jackson County, Virginia, family 9 p.2 of 9
^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 475
^ J. L. Scott, 36th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, H.E. Howard Inc. Virginia Regimental History Series, 1st edition 1987) p. 115
^ Robert E. L. Krick, Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia (2003 University of North Carolina Press) p. 289
^ Roane County in Hardesty's Biographical Atlas (1882) p. 248
^ Roger Keller, Roster of Civil War Soldiers from Washington County, Maryland (Genealogical Publishing Company 1993) p. 236