William Turner - Boiler Maker

William Turner was my 2g grandfather. His life was divided about equally between Scotland, Iowa, and Washington, with a brief time in England. He was born 13 July 1828 in Burnt Island, Fifeshire, Scotland, which is on the east side of Scotland, across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh, son of Robert Turner and Isabella Cowan. His Turner ancestors had been minor landowners at Balgrochan, north of Glasgow. By the time William came along, the family fortunes seem to have gone. In 1851, the census showed that his father was a quarryman.

In 1855, William married Margaret Bell, in Glasgow.

Their first son, Robert, was born 16 October 1856 in Govan, Lanark, Scotland, on the outskirts of Glasgow. The second son, William, was born 8 March 1859 in Strathblane, Stirling, Scotland, not far from the home of his ancestors. The Turners soon moved to Sunderland, England, where William could pursue his boilermaker trade. Sunderland was known for shipbuilding and boilermakers were in great demand. The work was dangerous, but paid well.

My great grandfather, James Turner, was born in Sunderland on 2 December 1860. In 1861, the Turners lived on Aylmer Street, in the Deptford district of Sunderland. William's occupation was listed as "Iron Ship Builder" in the census of that year. The Deptford shipyard remained in use until 1985. It appears that Aylmer Street no longer exists. 

John was born in 1863, Mary in 1865 and Thomas in 1866. In 1867, the Turners left England for Iowa. The History of Polk County Iowa, published in 1880, fills in a few details. 

From this we learn that William started his own business, the Iowa Boiler Works. His wife, Margaret, had died, probably around 1876 and isn't listed in the 1880 census. They lived on Chestnut Street in Des Moines. William's nephew, Robert Turner, also from Fifeshire, came to Iowa in 1881 and bought out the business. Robert's family seems to have remained in Des Moines for some time, but William and much of his family moved away.

William's son Robert remained in Des Moines, having four children: Margaret, Rose, William and Lilly. He was a draftsman. He died in 1943.

William's son William died in Kewanne, Illinois in 1927. He followed his father's trade, working in the boiler business. He had three children: Harriet, Robert, and William.

My great grandfather, James, farmed in Crawford county, Iowa. He died in 1945. He had 11 children: Mary Maude (my grandmother), William, Robert, Nellie, Grace, Thomas, Lillian, John, Sylvia,Virgil and Fred.

John Turner was living with his father in 1880. He  married Elsie Horton in 1884 in Des Moines. In 1885, they were living with her parents in Des Moines. His occupation was blacksmith. I haven't found any further information on John, and don't know where he lived.

Mary Turner married Alfred Gaskill in Des Moines in 1887. She had four daughters: Edith, Ada, Helen, and Bernice. They lived in Wisconsin in 1905, New York in 1910, and Massachusetts in 1920. Mary and Alfred were divorced by 1930, Alfred living in Erie, New York, and Mary in Los Angeles along with Edith, Ada, and Bernice, who were running a coffee shop, all single. Mary died in 1945 and is buried in Glendale, California. 

William's youngest, Thomas Turner, lived in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he died in 1932. He had a daughter, Willa Margarette Turner.

But what happened to William? His wife had died, he sold his business and then what?

In 1895, William is living with the nephew who bought his business, Robert, in Des Moines.

William got his start in shipbuilding and grew up along the ocean. Certainly, the midwest didn't offer much in those areas, so apparently he felt a need to go to Seattle, Washington, which probably reminded him a bit of home. By 1900, he was in Duwamish, King County, Washington, working as a boilermaker once again, but alone. In 1910 he was living in Seattle, living off of his savings or other income. And in 1920, William, who was 92 years old, was still in Seattle, at 2005 Eddy Street.

William died of pneumonia 29 March 1921 at King County Hospital. His last residence was 1337 Snoqualmie St. The undertaker was unable to obtain most of the information normally on a death certificate - things that family would know - which tells me he had no family nearby. He is buried in Robbins (now Riverton Crest) Cemetery. I wonder how long it took for his family to find out.