William Turley

http://www.turleyfamily.net/genealogy/TurleyFamilyRecords.pdf

89. WILLIAM^ TURLEY (Ignatius2, Paull) was born about 1775 in Fairfax County, Virginia and died about 1805 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The evidence as to what happened to William Turley is scant and not conclusive. He probably married Selah [Celia] Bennett, daughter of James and Sarah Bennett of Spartanburg and

Carolina.133 James Bennett Sr., in his will executed 11 December 1816 and recorded 24 October 1825, made provision for his two grandsons, Aaron and Arthur Turley.^^^ Each one was to receive a horse, bridle, and saddle if they continued to live with him until they reached the age of twenty-one. To have grandchildren by the name of Turley, one of his daughters must have married a Turley. James Bennett named his children in the will: Elizabeth Edwards to receive one dollar, Roland to receive one dollar, Selah to receive one cow, William to receive one dollar, Unice to receive one shilling, Mark, James, Hiram, Rial [Jorial] one cow and calf and two sheep, Salley to receive one dollar and Jean [Jane] to receive one bed and furniture and one cow. He named his wife Saley and his son Mark to be executors. Rowland Bennett, son of James, moved to Green County, Indiana about 1835 and settled near Jacob Turley, a son of Ignatius Turley, Sr. Ignatius, thought to be a son of Jacob, married Eliza Ann, a daughter of Rowland Bennett 7 March 1839 in Greene County, Indiana. James Bennett. Sr., was a leader in the Flat Rock, or Tyger River Baptist Church. 1-^5 The church conference agreed to build a new meeting house and on 6 August 1803 Mr. Osborne West gave two acres on a small branch of Dutchman's Creek for the purpose.136 On 18 March 1804 a meeting was held at the home of James Bennett. A month later a building committee was appointed and the meeting house was built that summer. When the new building was completed, the keys were given to George Brewton, the minister, who turned them over to James Bennett. The minutes of the church show that William Turley was received by experience and baptism in September, 1802.137 p^ list of members for 1801 to 1804 includes James, Sarah and Mary Bennett. Also listed are Benjamin, Sealy, and William Turley. That Sealy was listed as a Turley and not as a Bennett makes it appear that Selah Bennett was married to William Turley. The family of Ignatius Turley, Sr., was the only Turley family in the area. William was the only son of marriageable age unaccounted for otherwise. Paul did not have a son in the 1800 census and his family would all have gone to Kentucky with him. Ignatius, Jr., was perhaps already married to Cassandra and Charles was only fifteen or sixteen in 1800. Benjamin was only seventeen. There is no other way to account for a Selah Turley than to have her to be the wife of William. These church records are the last records of William Turley that have been found. He simply disappears. He did not go to Union County, South Carolina with his parents and Charles and Letitia. He did not accompany his other brothers and sister who migrated to Warren County, Kentucky. Since it is not a normal thing for a young 132 PAUL man to abandon a young wife and two young sons, the best guess is that he met with an untimely death. Selah (Bennett) Turley married James Wofford sometime between 1803 and December, 1806.^^^ This is the same period of time in which the records of William Turley cease. Marriage records in the piedmont section of South Carolina were not kept by the counties or by the state. They were preserved in family Bibles and haphazardly kept by the ministers who performed the marriage. The Baptists kept poor records of deaths and marriages. A minister's records were his own and he usually took them with him when he moved. Another indication that Selah was the mother of the Turley boys is the estate settlement of Mark Bennett who died intestate and unmarried about 1858.^^^ Neither of the Turleys [Aaron or Arthur] was named as heir. All of Mark's living brothers and sisters were named, including Selah. All of the heirs of his deceased brothers and sisters were named, indicating that the mother of the Turleys was still alive. Selah (Bennett) Turley Wofford, listed as Celira Woford, age 70, lived with the family of Aaron Turley in 1850 in Cobb County, Georgia.-'-^^ In 1860, age 80, she still was living with her son.141 Children of William and Selah (Bennett) Turley: +401 i. Aaron Turley b. c.1800 402 ii. Arthur Turleyl42

William Turley

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• Birth: 1775 - Fairfax, Fairfax Co.,Virginia, United States
• Death: 1805 - Spartanburg District, Spartanburg Co., South Carolina, United States
• Parents: Ignatius Turley, Jr., Rachel P Turley (born Pinson)
• Siblings: Helene Frost Vandiver (born Turley), Helena Vandiver (born Turley), Helene Turley, Aaron Penson Turley, Paul Turley, Ignatius Turley Turley, Jr., Benjamin Franklin Turley, Charles Turley, Mary "polly" Garrison (born Turley), John Turley, Letitia Turley, Jacob Turley, Giles Jurin Turley, Jane Pinson, Letitia Pinson, Aaron Pinson Turley, Rolla Broadwater Turley, Keziah Pinson, Lavinia Ann Pinson, Lott W. Turley, Oliver Cromwell Turley, Zachariah O Turley, William H. Turley, James Riley Turley
• Wife: Selah Turley (born Bennett)
• Children: Aaron Turley, Arthur Turley