Benjamin TURNEY

  General Notes:

BENJAMIN TURNEY, dealer in building material, hardware and tinware, Ostrander; was born in Westmoreland Co., Penn., Nov. 14, 1818 he is eldest son of a family of eleven children of Joseph and Margaret ( Weber) Turney ; both natives of Westmoreland Co., Penn., where they were married, and remained until 1819, when they removed to Franklin Co., Ohio ; they remained there about eight years, and then came to Delaware Co. The father was a tinsmith by trade, and to that trade in early life our subject was apprenticed ; he received but a limited education, and at 18 years of age began for himself as a journeyman tinner ; his journeyings extended over quite a number of States, in each of which he stopped for some time and worked at his trade; in 1837, he came to Hamilton Co., Ohio, where he formed a partnership in his business with a gentleman of that county ; they continued in partnership about one year, when young Turney bought the entire stock, put it on a flatboat and started for New Orleans with what was called a "floating tin-shop;" the trip from Cincinnati to New Orleans occupied seven months ; on arriving there, he found his stock nearly exhausted, so, after looking around some days, he renewed his stock, and went with it to Galveston, Tex., arriving there in the winter of 1838 ; here, while disposing of his ware, he was taken sick. It was quite a common saying in that region at that time, "When a person gets sick the doctors get his pile." He found it true in his case, at least, for on his recovery he had only money enough to take him back to New Orleans, after a stay of two yours in the South, he returned to his home in Ohio ; after remaining at home about three months, he, in company with his brother, returned to the South via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on a flatboat loaded with flour and pork ; from New Orleans they went to Little Rock, Ark.; failing to find employment at that place, they went to Pine Bluff, where they engaged in floating cypress logs from the swamps and bayous to mills to be sawed into lumber ; in the spring of 1841, his brother returned to Ohio, leaving him in the wilds of Arkansas ; he remained there about. three years, engaged in sawing and floating lumber to New Orleans and intermediate landings on the Mississippi River ; in 1844, he returned home, to find that his parents had removed to Union Co. In 1852, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth E. Hutchisson, daughter of John Hutchisson, Esq., of Union Co. After his marriage, he engaged in farming until 1868, when he sold his farm and moved to Ostrander, Delaware Co., and engaged in his present business ; he is the father of seven children-Grove B., Emily J., Susie M., Flora V., John C., Chella A. and Jared C. Mr. Turney is a Christian gentleman, and a self-made man in the fullest sense of the word.

Benjamin married Elizabeth Eleanor HUTCHISSON, daughter of John HUTCHISSON and Rachel McKIRGAN, on 29 Sep 1852 in Union Co. , Ohio. (Elizabeth Eleanor HUTCHISSON was born on 14 Apr 1833 in Ohio, died on 21 Feb 1915 in Delaware Co., Ohio, United States and was buried on 24 Feb 1915 in Fairview Cem, Ostrander, Ohio.)