Frank Edwin Turner

The following information was provided by Jerry Smalley to Pam Wilson for the Arledge Family History Project (arledgefamilyhistory.org):

1. From the history book "SMOKEY RIVER TO GRANDE PRAIRIE" (Alberta, Canada) published in 1978. Dave Turner obtained a copy of this book and sent it to me. The story of the Turner Family starts on page 269. I have also included the forward to the book by Arthur B. Patterson. I think it will remind us all what kind of place and time our ancestors lived in.

FOREWORD

by Arthur B. Patterson, Editor

  " This book is a chronicle, a tribute to the pioneers who settled on the land from the Smoky River to Grande Prairie. It was, at the turn of the century, almost inaccessible, remote, and the last available virgin farmland in North America. The cost in dollars, a pittance, was $10.00 for a 160 acre homestead; the cost in endurance, hardships, labor, privations, isolation and loneliness was immense; beyond the grasp of our modern, affluent society.

   The first settlers followed the trail of the Alaskan gold rush days of 1898 from Edmonton north. They mixed socially with the native Cree Indians and the remnants of a Beaver tribe.

   The early pioneers came from all walks of life. Among them were land speculators, farmers, illicit moonshiners, perverts, gamblers, prostitutes, businessmen, cowboys, trappers, carpenters, doctors and preachers. One trait they all were endowed with was the spirit of adventure. "

FRANK E. TURNER

PIONEERING IN THE NORTH

  Frank Edward Turner was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. in 1875, and came to this country from Interior, South Dakota, where he and his family were engaged in ranching.

  The call of the Peace River Country in Alberta was irresistible to Frank, so in 1911, he packed and left for the North with his sister and brother-in-law, Ada E. and Hershel E. Alder. He filed on a homestead in the Kleskun Lake vicinity, (N.W. lh 22-72-5 W6) and staked claims for his father and mother, Lorenzo D.

(Jack) and Hulda Jane Turner in the Kleskun Hill district.

 After returning to Interior, plans were made to move North in the spring, so on March 1st, 1912, he left for the new home in Canada, accompanied by his wife Bertha, son Ralph, George, and Ben, daughters, Clara, and Helen, also his father and mother, plus three train car loads of settlers' effects, consisting of machinery, sleighs, wagons, furniture, piano, organ, some chickens, dog, cat and thirty head of horses. A good neighbor, Mr. Ike Boyer also came and helped look after the livestock. He later settled in the East Kleskun District.

  When arriving at Edson, which was the end of the steel, it was a very busy time. They had to unload the box cars, get the horses shod, start packing the sleighs and buy enough provisions and clothing for all to last until winter time. They stayed six days at the immigration Hall and left on the 20th of March with eight sleigh loads. They crossed the Athabasca River on ice, but the snow was melting very fast on the high ground so they soon had to  change to wagons. The mud was thick and deep and in some places it was necessary to use from six to ten horses to pull each wagon up the hills. The corduroy was almost completely worn out, which made travelling slow and tedious; they barely made five miles a day.

  Finally, the 100 Mile Place was reached. They rested there for three weeks, as Bertha and Frank were presented with a fine baby boy (who holds the honor of being the first baby born on The Edson Trail). He was named David Edson Turner.

  During their stay at 100 Mile House, a bad forest fire was raging and dropping hot ashes on the camp, but while the men were digging pits to put the essentials of food in and getting prepared and parked to leave. the wind started to blow from the other direction. Thanks to God as it could have been disastrous. The rest did the horses good also, as they were getting very thin and feed was getting short.

  However, after many trials and tribulations, crossing all of the rivers and streams on rotten ice, and having rabbits or prairie chickens on the menu every day,they did arrive on the 12 of June, 1912, at the three-roomed log homestead palace with a sod roof.

  Slough water was used until a well was dug by hand. A cook stove heated the house. Grease lights (rags tied with string placed in a saucer of grease) were used a lot of the time.

  The railroad did not come as far as Grande Prairie until 1916, so previous to that time, Frank and men would go by sleighs 100 miles to High Prairie each winter and bring back enough provisions, clothes, grain and garden seeds to do until the next year.

  Besides farming and ranching, Frank was one of the first pioneers to raise silver foxes in the north (known as the Peace River Silver Fox Farm) before the l920's. These foxes were equal to the best on the North American Continent. No rodeo or stampede was complete, in the early days, without Frank Turner, as he was the best practical roper in the North country. In fact he was in a class by himself. Frank passed away in 1943.

  Bertha Lee Turner was born in Litchfield Michigan. in 1874. She moved to Interior, South Dakota to teach school and married Frank E. Turner in 1896.

  Although, being a mother of seven children, she still could find time to help and be active in community affairs. a member of the Ladies Institute. She was always willing to help with concerts in the district. When the Kleskun Lake School was built, she organized and conducted the first Sunday School. A musician herself, she taught piano and vocal in that area for several years. Mrs. Turner passed away in 1953.

  Ralph Everett, born in 1898, Clara Lee born in 1900, George Eugene in 1903, Ben Swart in 1906, and Helen Ruth in 1908, were all born in South Dakota. They came over the Edson Trail in 1912 with their parents Frank E. and Bertha L. Turner. David Edson, was born on the Edson Trail and Edna Frances at Kleskun Lake in 1917. Our Grandmother Hulda J. Turner brought all of us into the world.

  At one time or another, we all attended The Kleskun Lake School but for a few years there were not enough children to keep that school open, so it was amalgamated with Kleskun Hill School. That meant we drove a team of horses or a span of mules five miles. In winter time we went in a bob sleigh, with straw in the bottom, lots of heavy quilts and heated rocks to keep our feet warm as sometimes it would be fifty or sixty below. Then in the summer time, we went in a democrat.

  Ralph joined the Army in the First World War and while training, the Armistice was signed. He will be remembered as being one of the star baseball pitchers of the North Country. He married Eva Collet of Buffalo Lakes and their family are Herm, Glen, Doris and Margie. In later years, Ralph and Eva looked after light houses on the West Coast. Ralph passed away in 1961 and Eva now resides at Prince George, B.C.

  Clara taught school for a time as a sub-teacher, then worked in the office for a lawyer, George Fraser, in Grande Prairie. She married Charles Harris in 1923 and they farmed for many years. They had one son Albert; Clara and Charles passed away in 1974 and 1975 respectively.

  George was active in baseball and hockey. He married Helen Suek,a telephone operator in Clairmont in 1926. They have a family of four. Margaret,Edward,Marion and Jeanie. Besides farming for a few years,George has prospected from the Arctic to close to the 49th parallel. They reside at Merritt,B.C.

  Ben farmed in the Clairmont, Bear Lake and Glen  Leslie districts for years. He married Annie Nelson of  Bezanson, and they have a family of three: Frank, Eleanor and Brian. Later Ben went into the gravel business in Grande Prairie. He died in 1965. Annie  lives in Vernon, B.C.

  Helen worked at the Land Office in Grande Prairie for four years, then transferred to the Edmonton office in 1933. Married Chester Myers in 1936 and have a family of two, Bertha and Lois. Chester passed away in 1970. Helen resides at Sidney, B.C.

  David farmed east of Clairmont and east of Grande Prairie for a few years. He married Mildred Allen of Bezanson in 1937 and their family consists of Lee, Sharon and Robert. David has worked for 27 years for the Department of Highways, and is known far and near, from Valleyview to Hythe to Rycroft. Mildred and Dave make their home in Grande Prairie.

  Edna worked in a doctors office in Fort St. John and also taught leather tooling. She married Stanley Moore of Bear Lake where they farmed, also at Kleskun Hill before moving to Fort St. John. Their family are Warren, Glen and Marilyn. Edna passed away in 1972 and Stanley still resides at Fort St. John, B.C.

  Lorenzo Dowe (Jack) and Hulda Jane Turner settled at Kleskun Hill in 1912, 15 miles east of Grande Prairie, where they farmed and also raised silver foxes. He passed away in 1926 at the age of 82. Mrs. Turner was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota, in 1856. A natural born nurse and pioneer neighbor, she gave freely of her time and strength to care for the sick and ailing, when doctors and nurses were not available in the new community. Many babies were delivered by her. Until the age of 75 she never refused to answer a call for help, no matter how severe the weather. "Dr. Turner" as she was known, could look back on over half a century of nursing service in pioneer districts. Mrs. Turner passed away in 1947 at the age of 91.

  Hershel E. and Ada E. Alder trekked over the Edson Trail in 1911 from Interior, South Dakota, and took up land on Kleskun Hill, where they farmed most of the time. They died in 1942 and 1943 respectively.

  History of "Grandma Turner" as I (Bob Prowd) remember incidents she told of her youth in-the U.S.A.    I worked for her in the summer of 1928. Grandma was diabetic and got a cold in October of 1928 and couldn't take cough syrup because of the sugar content and rented her farm and foxes to Rhinehart Ladwig in November 1928. I never saw Grandma Turner since.

  Grandma Turner (Hulda) was married at 14. A son, Frank, was born at 15, and a daughter, Ada (Mrs. Hershel Alder) at 17. By the time Grandma Turner's children reached their teens Grandma had time on her hands to spare. She studied to be a doctor and got her   Medical Certificate when she was thirty. An Indian friend of hers, Mrs. John Grey became a nurse, about the same time. Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Grey looked after the health of the Indians on the reserve till the Turners left for the Peace River Country in Canada.

  Mr. and Mrs. John Grey came to Alberta about the same time, also Ike Boyer, one of the Turner ranch hands. Grandma always said Ike was the bravest man she knew. The Turners located on the south slope of Kleskun Hill. The Greys and Ike Boyer on the East slope, just south of Kleskun Lake.

  The Turners had long legged saddle horses and ran down and killed coyotes with a club. Their start in fox farming began from a fox caught from horseback with a sheep hook and more fox were caught in padded traps outside the fox pen. It proved to be a very profitable business until the early thirties.

  I remember trying to help Grandma Turner set a dislocated shoulder for a Mr. Parker of Crystal Creek. Grandma Turner, because of her age, was not quite strong enough to get the joint back in the socket. I wasn't much help. I became faint and was just able to get outside and lay down on the lawn. Grandma

Turner put the shoulder in and came out to see to me before I was back on my feet.

    _____________________________________________

2. ANOTHER FRANK TURNER STORY

     Christmas of '93 I received a book as a gift.  The book was " Reflections of the Badlands" by Philip S. Hall. The book contains several references about my ancestors and their families.

Chapter 9 of the book is called " The Last Years of the Open Range" and opens like this.

    "The Badlands were a cattleman's paradise in 1896. The government owned it, but no one came to collect the rent. Thousands of cattle grazed between the Badlands walls and grew fat on the protein rich buffalo grass. There was not a barbed wire fence from Stearns west to the Cheyenne River. When  Frank Lynn tried to string one up in 1905, he was shot ten times with a 30-30 Winchester. The murderer, Frank Turner, rode to Pierre and informed the law of the incident. No charges were brought. The Badlands were the cattlemen's exclusive domain, and in those days they ruled it to suit themselves."

     I contacted the author, Phil Hall, first to thank him for writing such a wonderful book on the Badlands area and it's people, and second to find out if he knew any more about this incident. Phil said that the only information that he had was what was in the book with one exception. He told me that Frank Lynn's grave was on the old Dude Rounds ranch now owned by Norman Amiotte. On the evening of June 28,1994, I called Norman to ask if he knew anything more about this incident. I told him who I was and how I was connected to the people in the story. He related to me a whole new version of the incident that was passed on to him by a member, now deceased, of the Bradfield family who lived in the Badlands for many years. The story goes like this..............

     "The shooting of Frank Lynn was not over barbed wire at all, but over a woman. Frank Turner used to haul firewood to Frank Lynn and his wife. Frank Lynn and his wife did not have a very cordial relationship with each other and Lynn got to thinking that Turner was  "sparkin" his wife. One day Lynn went to Dude Rounds and borrowed a six-shooter and then went to Interior and

proceeded to get very drunk. When Lynn got to the right stage of intoxication, he went looking for Turner with blood in his eye. Lynn found Turner on the Dude Rounds place erecting some sort of building for the owner. Lynn confronted Turner and started blazing away at him with the borrowed six-gun, but being in an intoxicated state could not hit what he was aiming at. At this point, Turner, fearing for his life, emptied his 30-30 Winchester into Frank Lynn. Turner then rode to Pierre and informed the law of the incident. No charges were brought."

     The Frank Lynn grave is on the the Norman Amiotte place but has no marker, just a sunken spot in the ground and the remains of a wire fence around it.

                                                    Jerry Smalley

                                                    29 June,1994

3. Obit from the Grande Prairie, Alberta (Canada) "Herald" page 1, column 7, July 8,1943.

         "Old timer of Kleskun District Passes Away"

    Frank Turner,well-known old-timer of the Kleskun district, passed away at the Grande Prairie Municipal Hospital on the afternoon of July 4, after ailing for two years. The funeral will be held from St. Paul's United Church, Grande Prairie, tomorrow,(Friday), at 3 P.M. Interment will be in Grande Prairie cemetery.