My Genealogy Hound

Nathaniel Berry Turner, a large planter of Cypress Township, is a native of South Carolina, and is the owner of 1,320 acres of land, with over 400 acres under cultivation. Besides being the owner of a steam cotton-gin, which he erected in 1873, he is quite an extensive stock-raiser, and the largest hay producer in his township. His principal crop is corn and cotton, of the last of which he raises from 100 to 160 bales annually. He was born in South Carolina, March 7, 1834, and is a son of John and Nancy (Cooper) Turner. John Turner, a native of South Carolina, died in that State in 1855. His father, Joseph Turner, was a Virginian by birth. The mother of our subject, originally from South Carolina, died in May, 1871. She bore a family of eleven children, five boys and six girls, three of whom are living in South Carolina, one in Alabama, and three in this county. The rest are now deceased. The subject of this sketch remained in his native State until 1859, when he came to Arkansas, and located in Phillips County. Here he was married, in 1868, to Miss Ellen McDowell, who was born in Mississippi, in 1847. They are the parents of eleven children, eight of whom survive: John L., Laura A., Nathaniel G., Ellis, James C., Nellie, Blanche and Liza Josie. Mr. Turner enlisted in June, 1862, in Company C, of Johnson’s regiment, in which he served until the close of the war. He is a strong Democrat, and one of the influential men of his township. He has served as school director for six years, is a member of the County Wheel, and is a self-made man. When he came to this county he was employed as overseer of a gang of negroes, and had no property. Now he is one of the largest land owners in the county.