Frances Kimberley
Frances Kimberley (1800-1847) was a fellow Birmingham native and married Theodore there on 26 November 1821. Theodore and Frances moved their growing family first to London and then across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. It was there that they met missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were baptized in March 1837. Theodore and Frances experienced many trials as they joined with their fellow Saints, first in Far West, Missouri, and then in Nauvoo, Illinois. Frances was one of many Turley family members that succumbed to illness in Winter Quarters. She died 30 August 1847.
Theodore and Frances had ten children together: Theodore Turley, Jr., Frances Amelia Turley, Mary Ann Turley, Priscilla Rebecca Turley, Frederick Turley, Obia Turley, Sarah Elizabeth Turley, Isaac Turley, Charlotte Turley, and Johnathan Turley.
Mary Clift
Mary Clift (1815-1850) was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England. She was the first of her family members to accept the gospel when it was preached to them by the Latter-day Saint missionaries, and she was in the group of 200 Saints that Theodore Turley led back to Nauvoo in 1840 at the end of his mission. Mary Clift’s plural marriage with Theodore is traditionally dated January 1842. Historical records now point to a later date for their plural marriage, likely 1844 or later. Theodore and Mary were sealed together in the Nauvoo temple in February 1846. Mary Clift was the only wife to travel with Theodore Turley across the plains to Utah. Unfortunately, she died from complications of childbirth in March 1850, only a few months after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley.
Mary Clift had four children: Jason L. Clift (son of Gustavus Hills), Ephraim Turley, Theodoreus Turley, and Frances Kimberley Turley (named after Theodore’s first wife).
Eliza Georgianna Clift
Eliza Clift (1813-1882) was one of three sisters who married Theodore Turley as plural wives in Nauvoo, Illinois. Eliza joined the Church with her family in England and came to America with her parents in 1841. While on the journey, Eliza married fellow British passenger George G. Fidler in July 1841. They lived in Nauvoo together for several years, eventually moving to Galena, Illinois. Eliza stated that George abandoned her in early 1845. This conflicts with the traditional dating of Eliza’s plural marriage to Theodore Turley on 6 March 1844 in Nauvoo. Historical records confirm that Eliza and Theodore were sealed together in the Nauvoo temple in February 1846, but it’s unclear how long the marriage lasted. Instead of moving west with the other Latter-day Saints, Eliza took her only living child, Emma Georgianna, and moved 100 miles north to Davenport, Iowa. There she remarried (twice) and lived a long life, passing away in 1882. Note: Eliza adopted the middle name “Georgianna” after settling in Scott County, Iowa.
Eliza Clift had two children: Henrietta Fidler and Emma Georgianna Fidler.
Sarah Ellen Clift
Sarah Ellen Clift (1817-1847) was one of three sisters who became plural wives of Theodore Turley in Nauvoo, Illinois. Sarah apparently had two children from a previous relationship prior to immigrating to America, though only one of her children accompanied her (George Augustus). Sarah married Theodore on 26 April 1844, and they were later sealed in the Nauvoo Temple in January 1846. Sarah was the first of Theodore’s wives to pass away. She died from illness in May 1847 at Winter Quarters. (Only a few short months later, Theodore’s first wife, Frances, suffered the same fate).
Sarah Ellen Clift had five children: Congreve Clift Selwyn, George Augustus Clift Selwyn, Princetta Turley, Joseph Smith Turley (twin), and Hyrum Smith Turley (twin).
Ruth Jane Giles
Ruth Jane Giles (1812-1880) was a native of Massachusetts who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint with her sister, Mary Meek Giles, in the early 1840s. Ruth gathered with the Saints to Nauvoo and may have entered a plural marriage there. Her first child, Joseph Orson, was born in Nauvoo in 1845, but the identity of his biological father is unknown. Ruth likely crossed the plains in 1848 with her son. She was married to Theodore Turley on 18 June 1850 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Theodore and Ruth spent over twenty years together before Theodore’s death in 1871. Ruth died in 1880.
Ruth Jane Giles had three children: Joseph Orson Turley, Jacob Omner Turley, and Alvin Hope Turley.