Ruth Jane Giles
1812-1880

Born: 29 June 1812 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts1
Died: 28 December 18802
Buried: Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver, Beaver County, Utah3
FamilySearch ID: KWV9-C8R
FindaGrave Memorial ID: 51058

Ruth was the daughter of Samuel Giles and Elizabeth Reith.4

It is thought that Ruth may have been a plural wife in Nauvoo, Illinois, resulting in the birth of her son, Joseph Orson, on 12 July 1845.5 We do not know the identity of Joseph Orson Turley’s biological father. Ruth married Theodore Turley on 18 June 1850 at the Deseret Mint in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.6 They had two more children together in San Bernardino, California:

  1. Joseph Orson Turley (1845-1916) m. Elizabeth Lightner
  2. Jacob Omner Turley (1852-1924) m1. Louise Ann Woodhouse (divorced), m2. Addie Bellus (divorced)
  3. Alvin Hope Turley (1855-1872)
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Life Sketch

Ruth Jane Giles was born 29 June 1812 in the coastal community of Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts.7 She was likely the youngest child of Samuel Giles and Elizabeth Reith, who were married in 1784.8 Ruth’s father, Samuel, was a sailor and a fisherman, and he served on several different ships during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.9

Around 1842, Ruth and her older sister, Mary Meek Giles, were introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were likely taught by missionary Erastus Snow or his companions, Benjamin Winchester and Freeman Nickerson, who “preached in Boston, Salem, Marblehead and surrounding towns from 1841 to 1843.” We don’t know Ruth’s baptism date, but Erastus Snow baptized Ruth’s sister, Mary, on 4 September 1842.10

Ruth may have traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois, with other Massachusetts Latter-day Saint converts around 1843.11 We know that she was there by 12 May 1845, when she received a patriarchal blessing under the hand of John Smith.12 Exactly one month later, she bore a son. She named him Joseph Orson.13

On 6 February 1846, Ruth received her endowments in the Nauvoo Temple.14 She likely left the city soon after with other Latter-day Saints. She resided at the time with the Nathaniel Ashby family, so she probably traveled in their group.15

We don’t know much about Ruth’s whereabouts in Iowa for the next couple years, but it appears that she and her son, Joseph, traveled across the plains to Utah in 1848.16 Two years later, Ruth married the thrice-widowed Theodore Turley in the Salt Lake Valley. Church president Brigham Young officiated at the ceremony, which took place on 18 June 1850 at the Deseret Mint.17 The mint was “a small adobe building” directly east of Temple Square. Theodore Turley likely worked there with Thomas Bullock, John Kay, and others to make coinage out of the California gold brought by members of the Mormon Battalion.18

The rest of Ruth’s life sketch is forthcoming…

Joint headstone of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles at the Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver, Utah.

Determining the Parentage of Ruth Jane Giles

Written by Mary Ann Clements for the June 2011 Theodore Turley Family Newsletter.

Ruth Jane Giles was born 29 June 1812 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts. No birth records exist for her, though LDS church membership records identify her parents as Samuel and Elizabeth Giles. Based on recent research, Ruth appears to be the youngest child of Samuel Giles (1763-1838) and Elizabeth Reith (1765-1840) of Marblehead, Massachusetts.

At least two other Samuel Giles of the same time period have been mistakenly attached to Ruth Jane Giles in the New FamilySearch.19 The first is Samuel Giles (1787-1867) of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, who married Elizabeth Otto (abt 1790-). This Samuel Giles lived and died in Nova Scotia and all of his children were born in Nova Scotia; he does not appear to be the father of our Ruth Jane Giles. The second Samuel Giles (1777-) lived in Essex County, Massachusetts. He married Margaret Davis-Norwood (1790-1854) in 1811 in Gloucester and all of their children were born in the towns of Gloucester and Rockport in Essex County. Again, the location (NOT Marblehead) and the wife’s name (NOT Elizabeth) does not support the case for Ruth’s parentage.

Another incorrect parent is Elizabeth/Betsy Wadleigh who sometimes appears to be the mother of Ruth Jane Giles. Elizabeth/Betsy Wadleigh (1791-1875) of Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, was actually married to Samuel Hoyt (1788-1841) in 1811. All of their children were born in the towns of Salisbury or Amesbury in Essex County, Massachusetts. Many of Samuel Hoyt’s records had been mistakenly combined with Samuel Giles in the New FamilySearch. Given the date of the WadleighHoyt marriage (1811), it is unlikely that Elizabeth/Betsy Wadleigh is the mother of Ruth Jane Giles (b. 1812).

Samuel Giles (1763-1838) married Elizabeth Reith (1765-1840) on 13 June 1784 in Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts. According to Marblehead birth records they had at least ten children born there between 1785 and 1807. Samuel Giles appears as head of household in the 1800, 1810, 1820, and 1830 censuses in Marblehead. A female under the age of ten is listed in his household in the 1820 census, and this appears to be Ruth (no other known children in that family match the individual).

Joseph Soll Turley (Ruth’s grandson) told in his 1971 letter to the descendants of Theodore Turley that Ruth descended from “a long line of ship captains.” Ruth’s father, Samuel Giles (1763-1838), was described as “one of the many heroic privateers-men for whom the town of Marblehead was noted in the second great contest between the United States and Great Britain.”20 Another history book tells of Samuel’s exploits during the Revolutionary War:21

SAMUEL GILES sailed in 1778, with Captain Stiles, in the schooner Swan. They went to Baltimore in the State service and carried a load of flour. On their return they were captured by a British vessel on George’s, and carried to Halifax. After his release, he sailed on four cruises in the brig Tiger, during which eighteen prizes were taken. His next cruise was in the ship Jack, of eighteen guns, Captain Brown. After being out a short time they took five prizes. During another cruise with Capt. T. Collyer, in a ship of eighteen guns, a large ship loaded with provisions was captured. Giles subsequently sailed one cruise in the ship-of-war Thorn, during which four prizes were captured. He was afterwards on board the ship Jason. A short time after sailing, this ship fell in with and captured a British privateer brig of tweny guns, after an action of two hours. The captain, one of the lieutenants, and several sailors of the British brig, were killed. The Jason had seven men killed. The prize was dismantled and sent ashore. They soon after took another prize, which was sent in.

After this, Mr. Giles sailed in the ship Henry, which, after taking several prizes, was captured by a British ship. The crew were sent to New York and put on board the frigate Balfour, in which they were carried to Jamaica and imprisoned. Giles finally succeeded in escaping, and shipped on board a vessel bound for New York, where he arrived after peace had been declared. He returned to Marblehead about 1783.

Samuel Roads, Jr., The History and Traditions of Marblehead (Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1880), 197-198, digitized at Archive.org.

Related Links

Timeline

1812
June 29: Ruth Jane Giles was born in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts,22 to Samuel Giles and Elizabeth Reith.23

1841-1843
Ruth and her sister, Mary Meek Giles, were introduced to the gospel by missionaries preaching in Essex County, Massachusetts. Ruth’s sister was baptized by Elder Erastus Snow on 4 September 1842.24

1845
May 12: Ruth Jane Giles received a patriarchal blessing from John Smith in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.25
July 12: A son, Joseph Orson, was born to Ruth Jane Giles in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.26

1846
Ruth Jane Giles resided in the Nathaniel Ashby home in Nauvoo with several other women who were plural wives of church leaders.27
February 6: Ruth Jane Giles received her endowment in the Nauvoo Temple.28

1848
July 29: Ruth Jane Giles was likely the “Miss Giles” mentioned in the journal of Catherine E. Mehring Woolley while her group was traveling along the Mormon Trail near Scott’s Bluff, Wyoming. “29th.—Laid by on account of our oxen’s feet being sore. This evening B. Young’s company came here. Mr. Young not very well. Aunt Minnie was to see me this evening, and two [too?] Miss Giles, Miss Pratt and Miss Taylor.”29

1850
June 18: Ruth Jane Giles was married to Theodore Turley at the Deseret Mint in Salt Lake City by President Brigham Young. Willard Richards and Thomas Bullock witnessed the ceremony.30

1851
March/April: Ruth was enumerated in Theodore Turley’s household in Utah County for the 1850 United States Federal Census.31

1852
January 30: A son, Jacob Omner Turley, was born to Ruth Jane Giles and Theodore Turley in San Bernardino, California.32

1855
November 13: Another son, Alvin Hope Turley, was born to Ruth Jane Giles and Theodore Turley in San Bernardino, California.33

1856
September 28: Brigham Young, in a speech to Latter-day Saints at the Salt Lake Bowery, argued for the use of handcarts. He used Ruth Jane Giles Turley as an example of a woman who had the endurance to walk many miles in a day. “Our American women think it strange to advance such an idea as women’s walking, but I will refer you to one individual that many of you know, and that is [S]ister Turley who now lives in San Bernardino; after working hard all the week she and her husband frequently used to walk twenty or thirty miles on the Sabbath, and attend three meetings.”34

1857
December 25: The Turley family, including the families of Frederick & Amelia Turley, Sarah E. & Stephen Franklin and Charlotte & Jacob Bushman, left San Bernardino in company with about twenty other families. They spent Christmas Day in the Cajon Pass on their journey back to Utah.35

1858
January 22: The extended Turley family arrived at the Muddy River, at that point within the borders of Utah Territory.36
February: The extended Turley family reached Cedar City about the first of February. They resided there for most of the year.37
August 6: Erastus Snow and John D. Lee dined at the home of Theodore and Ruth Turley in Cedar City. 38 Erastus Snow was one of the missionaries that had introduced Ruth and her sister, Mary, to the gospel in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the early 1840s.39
November or December: The Turley family moved to Washington, Washington County, Utah.40

1860
February 23: The Turley family left Washington with several other families to settle in Minersville, Beaver County, Utah.41
July 21: Ruth was enumerated in the household of Theodore Turley in Beaver, Beaver County, Utah, for the 1860 U.S. census. They were living in Minersville at the time. (It appears that the census taker recorded all inhabitants of Beaver County as residing in Beaver City.)42

1862
April 20: Two of Ruth and Theodore’s sons, Omner and Alvin, were listed on a roster of students attending the Minersville School in 1862.43

1865
November 12: Theodore and Ruth Turley moved to Beaver, Utah.44

1870
July 17: Ruth was enumerated in the household of Theodore Turley in Beaver City, Beaver County, Utah, for the 1870 U.S. census.45

1871
August 18: Ruth’s husband, Theodore Turley, died in Beaver from mouth cancer.46

1872
May 29: Ruth’s youngest son, Alvin Hope Turley, died at Amasa M. Lyman’s home in Salt Lake City from Typhoid Fever. He was sixteen years old.47
May 30: Alvin Hope Turley was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery next to Mary Clift Turley, Theodore Turley’s previous wife.48

1873
September: Ruth’s son, Jacob Omner Turley, purchased a home for her in Fillmore, Millard County, Utah.49

1880
June 7: Ruth was enumerated in the household of her son, Jacob Omner Turley, in Beaver for the 1880 U.S. census. The census taker noted that Ruth was suffering from neuralgia.50
December 28: Ruth Jane Giles Turley died on 28 December 1880, likely at her son’s home in Beaver, Beaver County, Utah.51

1881
(March?) Ruth Jane Giles Turley was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver, Beaver County, Utah.52

Important Places

Essex County, Massachusetts: Ruth Jane Giles was born 29 June 1812 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts. It was in Essex County that Ruth was likely introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by missionaries in the early 1840s. (Ruth’s sister, Mary Meek Giles, was baptized in 1842 by Elder Erastus Snow.)
Nauvoo, Illinois: Ruth likely traveled to Nauvoo with other Massachusetts converts in the early 1840s. Her first child, Joseph Orson, was born in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois in July 1845. Ruth resided for a time with the Nathaniel Ashby family in Nauvoo.
Mormon Trail: Ruth would’ve followed the main body of the Latter-day Saints across Iowa to Winter Quarters in 1846. Ruth likely traveled from Winter Quarters to Utah in 1848.
Salt Lake City, Utah: Ruth Jane Giles was married to Theodore Turley in June 1850 at the Deseret Mint in Salt Lake City, Utah. Years later, in 1872, Ruth’s sixteen-year-old son, Alvin, died in Salt Lake City and was buried there.
San Bernardino, California: The Turley family joined a group of Latter-day Saints to colonize San Bernardino in Southern California. Ruth lived there for about six years. She had two sons there: Jacob Omner Turley and Alvin Hope Turley.
Central and Southern Utah: The Turley family lived for a short time in Cedar City (1858) and Washington (1858-1860) before moving to Minersville in Beaver County in 1860. A few years later, in 1865, Theodore and Ruth moved to Beaver. Ruth remained there for a couple years after Theodore’s death in 1871. In 1873, Ruth’s son, Jacob Omner, purchased a home for her in Fillmore, Millard County, Utah. By 1880, Ruth had returned to live in her son’s household in Beaver. She died in December 1880 and was buried next to her husband, Theodore, at the Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver.

  1. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374.
  2. Ruth’s death date of 28 December 1880 is found in her church membership record. Confirmed via 22 January 2018 communication with Marie Erickson, Reference Librarian at the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reference #CH82334, response in full: “Mary Ann, Our patriarchal blessings department has access to all membership records. I asked them to check and they said that the death date on Ruth’s official membership record is 28 December 1880. I hope that helps.”
  4. See section on determining the parentage of Ruth Jane Giles below.
  5. Utah, U.S., Death and Military Certificates, 1904-1961, Weber Co., 1916, cert. no. 433, death cert. of Joseph Orson Turley, 29 Dec. 1916, image at Ancestry.com.
  6. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  7. Although no birth records have been found for Ruth, she gave her birthdate and birthplace on early church records. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374; Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, Giger, Martha Lydie (Webb) – Glover, Chester L., Ruth Giles, patriarchal blessing index card, image 1420 of 5423, image at FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997B-KY3N?i=1419.
  8. Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Marblehead, Births, Marriages and Deaths, no. 3257, marriage of Samuel Giles and Elizabeth Reith, 13 Jun. 1784, image at Ancestry.com.
  9. John Adams Vinton, The Giles memorial : genealogical memoirs of the families bearing the names of Giles, Gould, Holmes, Jennison, Leonard, Lindall, Curwen, Marshall, Robinson, Sampson, and Webb; also genealogical sketches of the Pool, Very, Tarr and other families, with a history of Pemaquid, ancient and modern; some account of early settlements in Maine; and some details of Indian warfare (Boston: Henry W. Dutton & Son, 1864), 42, digitized at Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/gilesmemorialgen00invint/page/42/mode/2up; Samuel Roads, Jr., The History and Traditions of Marblehead (Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1880), 197-198, digitized at Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/historytradition00road/page/196/mode/2up; Duane Hamilton Hurd, History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. 2 (Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888), 1127, digitized at Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/historyofessexco01hurdd/page/1127/mode/1up.
  10. Jennifer Mackley, “Fifth in a Series on Wilford Woodruff’s Wives: Mary Meek Giles (September 6, 1802-October 3, 1852),” WilfordWoodruff.info, http://www.wilfordwoodruff.info/2013/02/third-in-series-on-wilford-woodruffs.html.
  11. We know that Ruth resided for a time in the home of the Nathaniel Ashby family who immigrated from Massachusetts to Nauvoo in the fall of 1843. Jennifer Mackley, “Fifth in a Series on Wilford Woodruff’s Wives: Mary Meek Giles (September 6, 1802-October 3, 1852),” WilfordWoodruff.info, http://www.wilfordwoodruff.info/2013/02/third-in-series-on-wilford-woodruffs.html; Robert L. Ashby, Ashby ancestry; something of the origin of the name and family; family pedigree; story of Nathaniel and Susan Hammond Ashby; autobiography of Benjamin Ashby (Salt Lake City, Utah: Stringam Ashby Stevens, 1941), 14, digitized at Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/ashbyancestrysom00ashb/page/14.
  12. Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, Giger, Martha Lydie (Webb) – Glover, Chester L., Ruth Giles, patriarchal blessing index card, image 1420 of 5423, image at FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997B-KY3N?i=1419.
  13. Joseph Orson Turley was born on 12 July 1845. His biological father is unknown, but it’s possible that Ruth was a plural wife in Nauvoo. Utah, U.S., Death and Military Certificates, 1904-1961, Weber Co., 1916, cert. no. 433, death cert. of Joseph Orson Turley, 29 Dec. 1916, image at Ancestry.com.
  14. Ruth’s name was misspelled “Ruth Jane Childes” in a later summary compiled by the Temple Index Bureau. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 593 and 604.
  15. Robert L. Ashby, Ashby ancestry; something of the origin of the name and family; family pedigree; story of Nathaniel and Susan Hammond Ashby; autobiography of Benjamin Ashby (Salt Lake City, Utah: Stringam Ashby Stevens, 1941), 14, digitized at Archive.org, https://archive.org/details/ashbyancestrysom00ashb/page/14.
  16. “Miss Giles” was mentioned in the journal of Catherine E. Mehring Woolley on 29 July 1848 near Scott’s Bluff, Wyoming. “29th.—Laid by on account of our oxen’s feet being sore. This evening B. Young’s company came here. Mr. Young not very well. Aunt Minnie was to see me this evening, and two [too?] Miss Giles, Miss Pratt and Miss Taylor.” J. Cecil Alter, “In the Beginning: Near Scott’s Bluff,” Salt Lake Telegram, Wednesday, 9 Jan. 1935, p. 4, col. 4, Newspapers.com.
  17. Willard Richards and Thomas Bullock served as witnesses to the ceremony. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  18. Leonard J. Arrington, “Coin and Currency in Early Utah,” Utah Historical Quarterly Vol. 20 (1952), 70.
  19. New FamilySearch was the forerunner to today’s FamilySearch Family Tree.
  20. This description of Samuel Giles is found in the biographical sketch of his grandson, Francis Boardman. Duane Hamilton Hurd, History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. 2 (Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1888), 1127, digitized at Archive.org.
  21. Samuel Roads, Jr., The History and Traditions of Marblehead (Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1880), 197-198, digitized at Archive.org.
  22. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374.
  23. See above section on determining the parentage of Ruth Jane Giles.
  24. “Erastus Snow, with companions Benjamin Winchester then Freeman Nickerson, preached in Boston, Salem, Marblehead and surrounding towns from 1841 to 1843.  At this point in time Mary probably lived in Salem.” Jennifer Mackley, “Fifth in a Series on Wilford Woodruff’s Wives: Mary Meek Giles (September 6, 1802-October 3, 1852),” WilfordWoodruff.info, http://www.wilfordwoodruff.info/2013/02/third-in-series-on-wilford-woodruffs.html, accessed March 2021.
  25. Utah, FamilySearch, Early Church Information File, Giger, Martha Lydie (Webb) – Glover, Chester L., Ruth Giles, patriarchal blessing index card, image 1420 of 5423, image at FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997B-KY3N?i=1419.
  26. Utah, U.S., Death and Military Certificates, 1904-1961, Weber Co., 1916, cert. no. 433, death cert. of Joseph Orson Turley, 29 Dec. 1916, image at Ancestry.com.
  27. Benjamin Ashby, son of Nathaniel Ashby, wrote that in early 1846 Ruth Jane Giles was living in his family’s Nauvoo home with several other women who were plural wives. “The river was soon frozen over and they crossed on the ice. At this time we had living with us some of the wives of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Bishop Hunter, viz. Mrs. Powers, Harriett Cook, Susanna Wasm, Ruth Jane Giles.” Robert L. Ashby, Ashby ancestry; something of the origin of the name and family; family pedigree; story of Nathaniel and Susan Hammond Ashby; autobiography of Benjamin Ashby (Salt Lake City, Utah: Stringam Ashby Stevens, 1941), 14, digitized at Archive.org. It does not appear that Ruth was a plural wife of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or Edward Hunter.
  28. Ruth’s name was misspelled “Ruth Jane Childes” in a later summary compiled by the Temple Index Bureau. Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergara, The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), 593 and 604. Note: on page 608 of The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, it is stated that Theodore Turley was sealed to Ruth Jane Giles on 6 Feb. 1846 in Nauvoo. This appears to be an error. I could not find any record of that sealing in the Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, FHL microfilm 183374.
  29. J. Cecil Alter, “In the Beginning: Near Scott’s Bluff,” Salt Lake Telegram, Wednesday, 9 Jan. 1935, p. 4, col. 4, Newspapers.com.
  30. Nauvoo and sealing record “A”, 1846-1857, p. 773-774, sealing and marriage entry for Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, FHL 183374. Related blog post: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.”
  31. 1850 U.S. census, Utah Territory, Utah Co., family 65, Ruth Turley in household of Theodore Turley, image on Ancestry.com; “The Seventh Census of the United States: Utah and Slavery,” Utah Historical Quarterly Web Extra (Spring 2017), https://history.utah.gov/repository-item/the-seventh-census-of-the-united-states-utah-and-slavery-spring-2017/, accessed April 2020, . Related blog posts: “In the Valley of the Great Salt Lake” and “Celebrating the U.S. Census with Theodore Turley’s Census Records.”
  32. Idaho Death Certificates, 1911-1937, Filing no 46291-29000 (1924-1925), no. 46925, death cert. of Omner Turley, 22 Sep. 1924, image 641 of digital film 4192452 at FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6SKQ-QPH, accessed July 2021.
  33. Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book B, p. 89, interment no. 2900, Alvin Turley, 29 May 1872, image 204 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TTG6?i=203&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021.
  34. “Remarks,” Deseret News, Wednesday, 8 Oct. 1856, p. 2, col. 3, Utah Digital Newspapers.
  35. Jacob Bushman recorded in 1902 that he left San Bernardino on 25 December in company his father-in-law, brothers-in-law, and about twenty other families. Joseph Soll Turley wrote in 1971, “Brigham Young ordered their return to Utah in mid-winter and Aunt Sara told me they spent Xmas day camped on summit in El Cajon Pass in the snow.” Letter from Joseph Soll Turley, 6653 Olcott St., Tujunga, CA 91042, grandson of Theodore Turley and Ruth Jane Giles, to the Theodore Turley Family Organization on 4 Aug. 1971, see 1971 Letter from Joseph Soll Turley to Descendants of Theodore Turley; “Jacob Bushman, Autobiography, Typescript, BYU, 1943” available at Ann Lewis’ family history blog.
  36. “Jacob Bushman, Autobiography, Typescript, BYU, 1943” available at Ann Lewis’ family history blog.
  37. “Jacob Bushman, Autobiography, Typescript, BYU, 1943” available at Ann Lewis’ family history blog. Theodore and his son, Isaac, appeared in the account books for the Deseret Iron Company through November 1858. Theodore’s daughter-in-law, Amelia Louisa Counsell Turley (Frederick’s wife), also appears in the Cedar City Relief Society minutes.
  38. “Sat, 6th. The investigation continued till near Night. Bro. E. Snow & I Dined with Bro. Theodore Turleys.” Robert Glass Cleland and Juanita Brooks, eds., A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee, 1848-1876 Vol. 1 (San Marino, Calif.: The Huntington Library, 1955), 179, digitized at HathiTrust.org.
  39. Ruth’s sister, Mary Meek Giles, was baptized by Erastus Snow on 4 Sep. 1842 in Essex County, Massachusetts. Jennifer Mackley, “Fifth in a Series on Wilford Woodruff’s Wives: Mary Meek Giles (September 6, 1802-October 3, 1852),” WilfordWoodruff.info, http://www.wilfordwoodruff.info/2013/02/third-in-series-on-wilford-woodruffs.html, accessed March 2021.
  40. Washington County land records indicate Theodore Turley owned Lots 7 & 18 in the town of Washington along Machine Creek (later named Millcreek) beginning in 1858. A handwritten list of lots claimed and issued by the probate court in the early 1870s includes a note about Lots 7 and 18, both owned by Erastus Snow. “Original on 7 & 18 Theodore Turley 1858 to John D. Lee & Dec. 1861 to Erastus Snow.” Historic Washington, 1857-1982, image 40 of digital film 8939109 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1654718.
  41. “About 9 morning T. Turley, including Fred & Stephen Franklin & their Families, also Wm. Wood, McKnight, Jos. Glossop & Jno. Lee & their Families, & effects all roled out for Minersville, Beaver county.” Robert Glass Cleland and Juanita Brooks, eds., A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee, 1848-1876 Vol. 1 (San Marino, Calif.: The Huntington Library, 1955), 237, digitized at HathiTrust.org.
  42. 1860 U.S. census, Utah Territory, Beaver Co., Beaver, p. 135, dwelling 1141, family 1018, Ruth J. Turley in household of Theodore Turley, image on Ancestry.com.
  43. The Minersville School list of 20 April 1862 included “Theadore Lyman, Ira Lyman, Omner Turley, Alvin Turley,…Elizabeth Franklin.” Minersville Centennial Committee,They Answered the Call: A History of Minersville, Utah, 2nd ed. (Bountiful, Utah: Family History Publishers, 1997), 143.
  44. David Roche Turley II, Minersville and Beaver Field Trip timeline, no citation.
  45. 1870 U.S. census, Utah Territory, Beaver Co., Beaver, p. 15, dwelling 122, family 109, Ruth Turley in household of Theodore Turley, image on Ancestry.com.
  46. Family records, based on a handwritten note on the Family Memorial for Sarah Ellen Clift, state Theodore died on August 12, 1871. Amasa M. Lyman’s journal (entry of 22 August 1871) and Theodore’s 1872 probate record both give his date of death as August 18th. Probate Records and Registers, 1856-June 1883,” Probate record of Theodore Turley, dated 30 July 1872, FHL 485230; Scott H. Partridge, ed., Thirteenth Apostle: The Diaries of Amasa M. Lyman, 1832-1877 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2016), 666. Related blog post: “Do We have Theodore’s Death Date Wrong?”
  47. Utah, Salt Lake City Cemetery Records, 1847-1896, Record of the Dead Book B, p. 89, interment no. 2900, Alvin Turley, 29 May 1872, image 204 of digital film 7420258 at FamilySearch.org, digitized from FHL 1299167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CR-TTG6?i=203&cc=2094273&cat=23661, accessed March 2021.
  48. Amasa M. Lyman purchased Alvin’s burial plot on behalf of the Theodore Turley estate.
  49. Amasa M. Lyman journal entry for 24 Sep. 1873. “Sold some Peaches and Apples to Omner Turley who started for the South this Morning. While here he Bought Mr. Paul’s place for his Mother, a home they [will] have in a month.” Scott H. Partridge, ed., Thirteenth Apostle: The Diaries of Amasa M. Lyman, 1832-1877 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2016), p. 779.
  50. 1880 U.S. Census, Utah Territory, Beaver Co., Beaver City & Precinct, p. 8-C (stamped), Ruth Turley in household of Jacob O. Turley, image at Ancestry.com.
  51. Ruth’s death date of 28 December 1880 is found in her church membership record. Confirmed via 22 January 2018 communication with Marie Erickson, Reference Librarian at the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reference #CH82334, response in full: “Mary Ann, Our patriarchal blessings department has access to all membership records. I asked them to check and they said that the death date on Ruth’s official membership record is 28 December 1880. I hope that helps.”
  52. FindaGrave.com, memorial page for Ruth Jane Giles Turley (29 Jun 1812–1 Mar 1881), Memorial no. 51058, citing Mountain View Cemetery, Beaver, Beaver County, Utah, USA.