Johnathan Turley
1842-1846

Born: 13 September 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois1
Died: 12 May 1846 in Garden Grove, Decatur County, Iowa2
Buried: 13 May 1846 near Garden Grove, Decatur County, Iowa3
FamilySearch ID: KWVM-X7W
FindaGrave Memorial ID: 111759489

Johnathan was the son of Theodore Turley and Frances Kimberley.

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Life Sketch

Johnathan Turley was born 13 September 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.4 He was the tenth and last child of Theodore Turley and his first wife, Frances Kimberley. Johnathan was only three years old at the time the Turley family evacuated Nauvoo in February 1846.

The Turley family likely reached Garden Grove camp in modern-day Decatur County, Iowa, at the end of April. Brigham Young ordered the establishment of the way station, 128 miles away from Nauvoo, on 24 April 1846. The Turleys would’ve been a few days behind. Church historians explained that Brigham Young and other leaders “decided to create a substantial camp at this site, a sort of temporary settlement to serve the thousands of weary and destitute pioneers who would yet come this way. Cabins were erected, grounds were fenced and plowed, crops were planted, and individuals were chosen to remain and oversee the camp. The bodies of several Saints were laid to final rest in a windswept lot known as the ‘cow yard.'”5

Johnathan Turley died at this location on 12 May 18466 and was buried the following day. We don’t know what caused Johnathan’s death, but sickness was likely the culprit. One researcher commented on the ill health of those at Garden Grove. “Because of their poor nutrition and lack of shelter for two months prior to their arrival, the people were more susceptible to disease than they would otherwise have been.”7

Eliza R. Snow, a prominent figure in the early history of the Church, recorded the burial of Johnathan Turley in her diary. “I saw the funeral train following to its wilderness grave a little child of br. Turley. It was a lonely sight—my feelings truly sympathize with those who are call’d to leave their dear relatives by the way.”8

Related Links

Timeline

1842
September 13: Johnathan Turley was born in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. He was the tenth child of Theodore Turley and Frances Kimberley.9

1846
January 19: Johnathan’s parents, Theodore Turley and Frances Kimberley, were sealed at the Nauvoo Temple.10
February 22: Theodore Turley was at Sugar Creek Camp in Lee County, Iowa. Hosea Stout recorded, “In the evening Col. Turley came to my qua[r]ters to assertain the number of Waggon makers and Black Smiths in camp, as it was the intention to set them to work while we lay here.”11
March 10: The Turley family arrived at Richardson’s Point Camp near Keosauqua, Van Buren County, Iowa.12
March 19: The Turley family was still at Richardson’s Point Camp. Hosea Stout recorded, “Today the camp moved again. Amasa Lyman & Theodore Turley staid not being ready for want of teams. & I left Capt. L. H. Calkins and his company to stay with them and come on when they did.”13
April 10: The Turley family was at Locust Creek Camp. Strong winds blew down tents and “turned over Bro. Turle[y]s Buggy.”14
May 12: Three-year-old Johnathan Turley died at Garden Grove Camp in Iowa.15
May 13: Johnathan Turley was buried near Garden Grove in Iowa.16

Important Places

Nauvoo, Illinois: Johnathan Turley was born in Nauvoo in September 1842. He was three years old at the time the family evacuated the city in early 1846.
Garden Grove, Iowa: Johnathan died only a few months after leaving Nauvoo. The family was at the temporary settlement of Garden Grove in Iowa at the time, and Johnathan was buried there.

  1. Family Memorial.
  2. Family Memorial.
  3. Eliza R. Snow recorded in her trail diary, “I saw the funeral train following to its wilderness grave a little child of Br. Turley. It was a lonely sight—my feelings truly sympathize with those who are call’d to leave their dear relatives by the way.” Eliza R. Snow trail diary, 13 May 1846. See Ann Lewis’ blog post “Jonathan Turley b. 13 September 1842, Nauvoo.”
  4. Family Memorial.
  5. “Garden Grove,” Church History Department, https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/trek/garden-grove?lang=eng, accessed July 2021.
  6. Family Memorial.
  7. Jill N. Crandell, “Garden Grove, Iowa: From Mormon Way Station to Permanent Settlement, 1846-1852” (2010), M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, p. 6, https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2375, accessed July 2021.
  8. Eliza R. Snow trail diary, 13 May 1846. See Ann Lewis’ blog post “Jonathan Turley b. 13 September 1842, Nauvoo.”
  9. Family Memorial.
  10. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 523-524, entries for Theodore Turley and Frances Kimberley, FHL 183374.
  11. Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout 1844-1861 (Salt Lake City, Ut.: University of Utah Press, 1964), 126.
  12. Journal History of the Church, 10 March 1846.
  13. Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout 1844-1861 (Salt Lake City, Ut.: University of Utah Press, 1964), 139.
  14. William Huntington Diary, 10 April 1846.
  15. Family Memorial.
  16. Eliza R. Snow trail diary, 13 May 1846. See Ann Lewis’ blog post “Jonathan Turley b. 13 September 1842, Nauvoo.”