"Aunt Laura" Turpin

At some point between 1977 and 1980 while I was a student at Lee College (Cleveland, TN), I learned that I had a great-great aunt living in the Knoxville / Oak Ridge area who was approaching 100 years of age. Her name was "Laura"--"Aunt Laura" Turpin (1881-1982).

The television mini-series, Roots, had already inspired me to begin digging for my own family roots, so my close proximity to this newly discovered relative provided a great opportunity to initiate my own genealogical search.

To place Laura's own story into historical context, she was born March 1, 1881, the daughter of Serelda Turpin. Serelda was the daughter of James and Jerusha Turpin, and James was the son of Martin and Elizabeth (Russell) Turpin. (Martin was the first of our Turpins to settle in East Tennessee sometime between 1796 and 1805.)

"I'm ninety-nine years old!" Laura began in my first interview with her. Then she proceeded with the telling of stories that would answer many of my questions and stir up many new ones.

Prior to meeting Laura, all I knew was that my grandfather's name was King Turpin, that his father's name was King, and that his father's name might have been King as well. Laura opened a whole new world to me, introducing me to two additional generations of family history.

It was from Laura that I learned that her mother's name was "Rildy," or "Serelda." With King Turpin, Sr. (my great grandfather) being her brother, that meant that Serelda was my great-great grandmother. Regarding Serelda, Laura said, "You see, my mother [Serelda] never was married. She just stayed around here with these rich folks and had children by them."

Laura went on to inform me that their father's name was King Christenberry. (While I have found a great deal of evidence supporting the claim that King Christenberry was the father of her brother, King Turpin, Sr., I have not found the same degree of support for the claim that Mr. Christenberry fathered Laura and her other brother, Frank.)

Laura shared with me many stories about her life that I will include in upcoming updated versions of this post.

Today a number of people at Solway Church of God in Solway, Tennessee still remember Laura Turpin and her brother, Frank. I will include their stories in updated versions of this post as well.

A Chronology of Laura Turpin's Life:

• March 1, 1881: Born in Tennessee, the daughter of Serelda Turpin and King Christenberry.

• 1906 or 1907:  At 25 or 26 years of age, she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at home during a time when revival had broken out at Chandlers View Baptist Church. Sam C. Perry, who had been impacted by the Azusa Street Revival in California, was ministering there.  (Source:  Randy Tinch)

• 1907: Her brother, Frank Turpin, purchased 8 1/2 acres in Hardin Valley where both she and Frank would live.

• 1909: We know that Laura was married to Henry Dunaway during this time, but we do not yet know the exact year of their marriage.

• November 16, 1909: At 28 years of age, she gave birth to a son--William Sherman Dunaway.  (Source:  Randy Tinch)

• March 28, 1913: A strong earthquake shock centered at Knoxville was felt over an area of 7,000 square kilometers in eastern Tennessee. "Two shocks were felt in many places. Movable objects were overthrown, and bricks fell from chimneys. A number of false alarms were set off at fire stations. Buildings throughout the city shook violently. The Knox County Courthouse, a massive brick structure, trembled noticeably. People outdoors experienced a distinct rise and fall in the ground; there were some cases of nausea." (Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ regional/ states/ tennessee/ history.php)

• 1913: The founding of Providence Church of God--later known as Solway Church of God (Solway, Knox County, Tennessee). A man by the last name of Kirby donated the land for the building. According to Jake Popejoy, a former pastor of the church, Laura and Frank were charter members.

• 1924: her aunt, Mary Elizabeth Turpin Potter, died in Custer County, Oklahoma.

• September 27, 1926: Laura's mother, Serelda, died of cancer at the age of 75 in Frank and Laura (siblings) Turpin's home in Hardin Valley. Serelda (Rildia) was buried in the Providence Church of God cemetery.

• October 27, 1926:  Laura's aunt, Amada (Mandy), died at home (where Serelda, Laura and Frank had lived as well). She suddenly spun around and around in the floor, suffering from both a heart attack and a broken blood vessel in her head.  They managed to get her to bed, but within a short time she was dead.  She was 78 years old.  Amanda was buried in the Providence (Solway) Church of God cemetery.

• March 29, 1933:  Laura's brother, King Turpin, died in Knoxville and was buried in the Providence Church of God cemetery in Solway.

• August / September, 1934: A revival took place that led to the reorganizing and reopening of Providence Church of God after it had been shut down for some time.

• November 4, 1934: The reorganizing and reopening of Providence Church of God after it had been shut down for some time. Laura Turpin and her brother, Frank, were instrumental in the reopening of the church.

• August 4, 1951: Laura's brother, Frank Turpin, died.

• 1956: The name of Providence Church of God was changed to Solway Church of God.

• April 12, 1979:  The day I (Randy Turpin) first met Aunt Laura.

• 1980:  My second and last visit with Aunt Laura.

• November 1, 1982: Laura Turpin died and was buried in the cemetery at Solway Church of God.

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Martin Turpin of Anderson County, Tennessee

A major concern in my research has been to form a more complete picture of the life of Martin Turpin (b: abt. 1783 in VA)--the first of our Turpins to settle in East Tennessee. On the basis of what we know thus far, we can construct the following timeline for Martin Turpin's life:

• Abt. 1783: born in Virginia.

• 1783: end of the Revolutionary War.
  

• (?) Abt. 1783 - unknown date: may have lived in Gap Valley, Virginia--present-day Gap Mills, West Virginia [connection with the Gap Valley Turpins uncertain]

• (?) March 1783: land dispute at Second Creek between William West and a man who was possibly Martin's father--Martin Turpin. [Source: http:// files.usgwarchives.org/ wv/ greenbrier/ court/ record1.txt citing The History of Monroe County West Virginia, by Oren F. Morton, B. Lit., Originally Published: Staunton, Virginia, 1916, Reprinted, Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988, pages 68-78.]

• (?) 1783-1785: a woman who was possibly his mother, Agnes, either died or was divorced from a man who was possibly Martin's father--Martin Turpin.

• (?) March 8, 1785: when our Martin was about 2 years old, a man who was possibly his father, a Martin Turpin, married Nancy Jane Fleming at Linville Creek in Rockingham County, Virginia (or Richmond, Virginia). (Source: familysearch.org)

• (?) June 16, 1785: when our Martin was about 2 years old, a man who was possibly his father, a Martin Turpin, was "placed under bond for good behavior for a year and a day." [Source: http:// files.usgwarchives.org/ va/ botetourt/ court/ minutes129gwl.txt citing Annals Of S W Virginia, June 1785. Botetourt County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Court, Minutes, County Court June 1785.]

• (?) 1785: when our Martin was about 2 years old, the elder Martin (possibly our Martin's father) and his wife, Nancy, had a son named James.
  

• (?) 1786: when our Martin was about 3 years old, it is noted that the elder Martin (possibly our Martin's father) had 1 slave, 2 horses and 3 head of cattle.

• (?) 1788: when our Martin was about 5 years old, the elder Martin (possibly our Martin's father) and Nancy had a daughter named Tabitha. (Some records show the name as Talitha.)
  

• (?) Bef June 29, 1789: recorded on this date, some of Solomon Turpin's (possibly our Martin's deceased grandfather) land was conveyed to his son, Martin, who may have been our Martin's father.
  

• (?) Aft. June 29, 1789: when our Martin was about 6 years old, Solomon's son, Martin (possibly our Martin's father), sold out along with several other Gap Valley Turpins (i.e., Moses, James, Solomon, Jr., Aaron).

• (?) 1790: when our Martin was about 7 years old, the elder Martin (possibly our Martin's father) and Nancy had a son named Martin, giving the senior Martin two sons bearing his name.

• (?) Bef. July 31, 1792: when our Martin was about 9 years old, recorded on this date, a land transaction showing a Martin (possibly our Martin's father) and wife Agness (or Agnes--possibly our Martin's mother) Turpin selling 147 acres for 5 shillings to William Haynes. This transaction probably took place prior to 1785. (The land was part of the Solomon Turpin survey on the head of Second Creek adjacent to David Johnston.)

• Time Gap: 1792-1805: transition from Virginia to Tennessee.

• (?) 1792: when our Martin was about 9 years old, the man who may have been his father, Martin Turpin, moved to Madison County, Kentucky in 1792--the same year in which Kentucky became a state. (This elder Martin later moved to Garrard County, Kentucky and then to Pulaski county, Kentucky.) [Source: http:// jwebber.tripod.com /pafdata/ pafn197.htm]

• May 2, 1797: A person named Martin Turpin was "bound to David Love" for purposes yet unknown in Montgomery County, Virginia. [Source: Lewis Preston Summers' Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769-1800, vol. 1. Johnson City, Tennessee: The Overmountain Press, p. 868.] Our Martin Turpin would have been about 14 years old at this time. (See "More Martin Turpin Speculation")

• 1792-1800?: the elder Martin Turpin (possibly our Martin's father) moved from Madison County, Kentucky to Pulaski County, Kentucky. [1800 Census as cited at http:// jwebber.tripod.com/ pafdata/ pafn197.htm.]

• May 2 1797 - 1798?: at 14 or 15 years of age [based on the possibility of the aforementioned Love family connection], entered Tennessee by raft on the Clinch River [according to oral tradition].

• 1798: Martin may have settled at Campbell's Station with the Love family. David Love's father was Joseph Love who settled at Campbell's Station (west of present-day Knoxville) in 1798. [Source: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=1940love&id=I0373 ]  Worth Ray's Tennessee Cousins notes that Joseph Love was Sheriff of Knox County and that David Love was Deputy Sheriff of Joseph Love of Knox County [Page 230].

• 1800: when Martin was about 19 years old, the elder Martin Turpin (who may have been our Martin's father) lived in Pulaski County, Kentucky. [1800 Census as cited at http:// jwebber.tripod.com/ pafdata/ pafn197.htm.]
  

• 1803?: when Martin was about 22 years old, Andrew Russell (possibly the father of Martin's soon-to-be wife) had come from Virginia to visit his son, Matthew, in Knox County and died there. [Source: http:// joepayne.org/ houston.htm citing Dorthy Day Gillespie, "Biref History of the Family of William Gillespei, Sr. (1734-1826)", in Ther Heritage, 20th Anniversary (Hot Spring County, AR: Hot Spring Historical Society), vol. XV, 1988, p. 35-47.] [This Matthew Russell, Martin Turpin's brother-in-law, may have been the same Matthew Russell noted as the first known settler in the Concord, TN area (1787). He settled on land granted by the government for serving in the Revolutionary War. Source: http:// www.knoxcotn.org/ knoxcotn/ 2001/ knoxcodigestv1_182.htm and Centennial history of First Baptist Church, Concord (published in 1991).]
  

• 1803: "The Last Will and Testament of Andrew Russell" of Augusta County, Virginia was probated in Knox County, Tennessee. Elizabeth Russell (possibly the same Elizabeth as the soon-to-be the wife of Martin Turpin) is listed as his daughter, possibly implying the Russell family's presence in Knox County in 1803. [Worth Ray, Tennessee Cousins, a History of Tennessee People, 212]

• October 28, 1805: At about 22 years of age, Martin Turpin married Elizabeth Russell in Knox County, Tennessee. The marriage certificate was signed by both Martin Turpin and James Scarborough. (Eleven years later in a court record dated October 14, 1816, both James Scarborough/Scarbro and Martin are listed as workers on a road. Source: Anderson County Tennessee Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes, 1814-1819, page 111.)

• Time Gap: 1805-1812?: transition from Knox County to Anderson County.

• 1805-1812?: moved from Knox County to Anderson County, Tennessee.

• Abt. 1807: At about 24 years of age, Martin's son, James Turpin, was born.

• Abt. 1809: At about 26 years of age, Martin's son, William Turpin, was born.

• Abt. 1811: At about 28 years of age, Martin's son, David Turpin, was born.

• 1812: At about 29 years of age, Martin Turpin was drafted to serve as a Private in the East Tennessee Militia, 5th Regiment (Col. E. Booth's Regiment; Capt. Richard Marshall is also noted in the record). However, the record shows that he was "discharged for inability." (Source: Noted by Barbara Oliver. Also Sarah Turpin citing listing from Tennesseans in War of 1812, page 503.)

• Abt. 1812: At about 29 years of age, Martin Turpin's son, Thomas Turpin, was born.

• Oct. 12, 1812: At about 29 years of age, Martin Turpin was appointed as a juror in Anderson County, Tennessee.

• Oct. 13, 1813: At about 30 years of age, Martin Turpin was appointed as a grand juror in Anderson County, Tennessee.

• Abt. 1816: At about 33 years of age, Martin Turpin's son, Martin Turpin, was born.

• October 14, 1816: At about 33 years of age, Martin Turpin, James Scarbro/Scarborough and others were associated with work on a road in Anderson County, Tennessee. (Eleven years earlier on October 28, 1805, James Scarborough signed Martin and Elizabeth's marriage certificate. Source: Anderson County Tennessee Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes, 1814-1819, page 111.)

• Abt. 1819: At about 36 years of age, Martin Turpin's son, Isaac Turpin, was born.

• Abt. 1822: At about 39 years of age, Martin Turpin's son, Henry Turpin, was born.

• 1830: according to census, lived in Anderson County (Source: http:// www.geocities.com/ Heartland/ Meadows/ 9081/ 1830AN.html)

• Apr. 26, 1832: When the senior Martin Turpin was about 49 years old, his first grandson, Martin Turpin (son of James Turpin), was born.

• November 12, 1836: When Martin Turpin was about 53 years old, he sold a parcel of land (50 acres located on the north bank of the Clinch River in Anderson County) to Joseph Harden for the sum of $300. (Source: Sarah Turpin citing from Anderson County, Tennessee Deed Book I-1, Pg. 253)

• February 6, 1837: When Martin Turpin was about 54 years old, he acquired 300 acres (Anderson County) from the State of Tennessee. (Source: Sarah Turpin citing Land Grant No. 712)
  

• 1840: according to the census, lived in Anderson County

• January 4, 1843: A severe earthquake in the Memphis, Tennessee area was strongly felt in Knoxville, caused considerable alarm, but did no damage. (Source:
  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ regional/ states/ tennessee/ history.php)
  

• 1850: according to census, lived in Anderson County

• August 23, 1853: When Martin Turpin was about 70 years old, Abraham J. Hagler and Jacob C. Hagler sold him 100 acres of land for $100 in Anderson County on the side of Chestnut Ridge (on the north side of the Clinch River). (Source: Sarah Turpin citing Anderson County, Tennessee Deed Book Q-1, Pg. 564)

• May 28, 1857: At abt. 74 years of age, Martin Turpin gave his son, Henry Turpin, a parcel of land in Anderson County, Tennessee as a gift for Henry living with him and taking care of him in his old age. No acreage amount is mentioned in the record. (Source: Sarah Turpin citing Anderson County, Tennessee Deed Book S-1, Pg. 397)

• April 17, 1858: At abt. 75 years of age, Martin Turpin sold William Turpin (son?) 100 acres in Anderson County, Tennessee on the north side of the Clinch River for $165. (Source: Sarah Turpin citing Anderson County, Tennessee Deed Book P-1, Pg. 570-572)

• 1858: Martin Turpin appears in the 1858 Tax List for Anderson County owning 200 acres valued at $500. (Source: Sarah Turpin)

• 1858-1859: presumed death at abt. 75-76 years of age. (Source: Sarah Turpin: Martin's widow (Elizabeth) appears in the 1859 Tax List for Anderson County, owning 210 acres valued at $420. Elizabeth also appears in the 1860 census alone.)

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The Blockhouse Valley Turpins

On Blockhouse Valley Road in Anderson County, Tennessee there is a little place called "Turpin Spring." I first discovered it on Google Earth, and I had the opportunity to drive by it several months ago.

In an earlier post, I asked the question, "What is the origin of this place name? Could it have been the homeplace of one of the early Turpin households in Anderson County?"

If I were to find out that Martin Turpin (b: abt. 1783 in VA) or his son, James, lived there, that would indeed be a golden discovery. However, nothing seems to suggest that such was the case. In light of notes provided by John Strunk, we probably should be more inclined to believe that the homestead was closer to the Roane County line in the vicinity of present-day Oak Ridge.

Yet one reader has responded with some interesting comments regarding the Blockhouse Valley Road site:

I read your inquiry about the Turpin family on Blockhouse Valley Road. I live about 2 minutes from their old home place. Harrison and Bessie Beets Turpin had two children: Howard and Bess Turpin. They have all since died and the home place has been sold off in lots. There is a spring on the property. The farm is located in South Clinton on Blockhouse Valley Road, about one and a quater mile from 25W highway in South Clinton. Hope this helps you. Howard, the son, when he died had his ashes scattered over the farm.

A Ms. Taylor, who is a member of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society, provided this information by email. She lives on Blockhouse Valley Road.

The Above Photograph: The house shown in the Google Earth Street Level photograph above is at the site of the Harrison Turpin farm located on Blockhouse Valley Road near Clinton, Tennessee.

It has not yet been confirmed that Howard Turpin's ashes were scattered on the property. Carolyn Johnson notes that Howard does have a gravesite at Farmers Grove Baptist Church.

The previously cited statement by Ms. Taylor showing Howard's sister with the name "Bess" also needs to be confirmed. Carolyn Johnson notes that Howard's sister's name was actually "Mildred." While Ms. Taylor has stated that Howard's sister is deceased, it has not yet been verified whether or not she is still living. More work is needed to verify which body of information is correct.

Regarding the dividing of Harrison Turpin's farm, Carolyn Johnson notes that the farm was indeed sold off in lots, but that the house and a considerable amount of acreage went together.

After receiving Ms. Taylor's email, I spoke with her by phone. She described the Turpin property as beginning at the intersection of Blockhouse Valley Road and Lanes Bluff Road. When turning from Blockhouse Valley Road onto Lanes Bluff Road, the land running along the left hand side of Lanes Bluff Road is the area that once belonged to the Turpins.

When I asked Ms. Taylor whether or not she thought that this could have been the original homestead of the earliest Turpins to settle in the area, she stated that it very well could have been, seeing that this area is one of the oldest settled parts of Anderson County.

A quick search of the Social Security database at familysearch.org reveals that a Harrison Turpin of Clinton (Anderson County), Tennessee was born August 4, 1892 and died in December of 1970.

Carolyn Johnson has provided a few additional details about Harrison Turpin's life:

I checked the 1910 census and found Harrison Turpin living with my ggrandparents, John and Mary Johnson as a boarder. He was married in the 1920 and 1930 census.

When they [Harrison and Bessie Turpin] died, their son Howard Turpin continued to live there....

He [Howard] was crippled, I believe from polio, but he got around on a crutch and ran a service station in South Clinton for years. He was a very pleasant fellow....

When Howard died, the remaining heir was a sister whose son lived there. He died of cancer a few years ago, and the farm was sold. The beautiful old house that was there burned not long after, and the lady living there almost died in the fire. Although the house was not completely destroyed, it was razed and rebuilt. The farm is now for sale again.

A Google search of the name "Harrison Turpin" reveals a listing of gravesites at Farmers Grove Cemetery on Blockhouse Valley Road. There we learn that Harrison was born on August 4, 1892 and died on December 26, 1970. His wife, Bessie Beets Turpin, was born on November 17, 1894 and died on November 14, 1979.

Howard L. Turpin (Harrison and Bessie's son) was born June 30, 1917 and died January 15, 1985.

Readers are invited to submit any additional information regarding "Turpin Spring" and/or clues to locating the Anderson County (TN) homeplace of Martin Turpin and/or his son James.

Contact Randy Turpin at jrturpin2008@gmail.com.

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Turpin Origins in Chattanooga, TN

On July 1st I spent the day in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a video camera in hand to search for sites of significance to our Turpin family history.

My grandfather, King ("Little King") Turpin, Jr. was born in a house boat on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga on Februrary 3, 1903. Until his early teens, Chattanooga seems to have been Little King's home town.

In addition to scenes of the Tennessee River, the following video also captures shots of (1) the approximate place where King's mother died, (2) the children's home where he lived after the authorities removed him and his sister from their father's home, and (3) the site of Captain Frazier's estate where Little King and his sister stayed after running away from home.

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Return to Hardin Valley

I have located the place where Serelda Turpin reportedly died--thanks to an email from YouTube viewer Daron Long and a guided tour by property owner Mike Presley.

At some point in the latter quarter of the 1800's, Serelda Turpin and her children (Frank, Laura, and King) roamed homeless until they ended up in Hardin Valley (Knox County, Tennessee). We do not yet know exactly where Serelda and her children initially settled; however, contrary to my comments in the video, we do now know that it was not at the site identified here in this post and video.

A title search has uncovered the following information about the parcel of land shown in the video:

November 5, 1907 (Book 218, Page 270)
Grantee: Frank Turpin (King and Laura Turpin's brother)
Grantor: Robert Brashears
8 1/2 acres in district 9 (Hardin Valley area)
Purchase Price: $80
My Note: It appears that Frank Turpin is the first Turpin to own land in Knox County.

The home shown in the following video is the Hardin Valley home of Frank and Laura (siblings) Turpin--two of Serelda's children.

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The Kindness of Captain Frazier

At some point between 1908 and 1915, "Little King" Turpin and his sister, Minnie Belle, ran away from their home at Mullins Cove on the Tennessee River and were embraced for several days by the kindness of a gentleman in Chattanooga, Tennessee referred to as "Captain Frazier."

The complete story is told in the post entitled, "Runaways at Mullins Cove."

Minnie described Captain Frazier as old, wealthy, and kind. She also reported that he had sons who became well-known lawyers. He had house servants as well.

In light of Minnie's words, Captain S. J. A. Frazier fits the description.

S. J. A. Frazier was a former Confederate captain residing in Chattanooga at the time of the runaway story. Some details about his life may be reviewed at Chattanoogan.com.

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Laura Turpin's Walk to Church

March Video Tour - Part 7

My great-great aunt, Laura Turpin (1881-1982), used to walk at least four miles from her home in Hardin Valley to the Solway Church of God (Solway, Tennessee) every Sunday.

On March 3, 2008, I drove the exact route that Laura and her brother, Frank, used to walk. In the following video, you will join me as I drive from the Solway church to the approximate location of Laura's home in Hardin Valley.


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A Visit to Solway Church of God

March Video Tour - Part 6

"Aunt Laura" Turpin and her brother Frank were responsible for the establishing (or re-establishing) of the Solway Church of God (Knox County, Tennessee) in the early twentieth century.

In the following video, you will be taken to the Solway church and to its adjacent cemetery where several notable Turpins are buried: Rildia (Serelda) Turpin, Amanda Turpin, King Turpin, Ida Belle Turpin, Laura Turpin Dunaway, Frank Turpin, and others.


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A Visit to Bethel Valley

March Video Tour - Part 5

In the following video clip you will note my almost child-like excitement over the fact that I had stumbled across the eastern entrance to Bethel Valley near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Please understand that I first heard about the significance of this place to our family history about ten years ago, yet I had never been there.

Bethel Valley is significant in that it may have been one of the places where the Turpins lived after arriving in the Knox County, Anderson County, and Roane County area in the early 1800s.


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A Visit to the Clough-Christenberry Cemetery

March Video Tour - Part 4

Here is some very rough video work--the worst series of clips from my little family history video tour yet. Sorry. I really wish that I had taken more time, but I was in a bit of a rush.

On this part of my journey, I discovered the Clough-Christenberry cemetery located in a wooded area in the middle of the Oak Ridge Country Club golf course. Only a few of the grave markers were legible.

I discovered later that some of the Christenberry names that I mentioned on the clip are connected with the Christenberry families that I visited earlier in the day at the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church cemetery.

Note that the Scott Cemetery (where a number of Turpins are buried) and this Clough-Christenberry cemetery are within sight of one another. In view of the proximity, I am wondering if the country club site may be the site where the Turpins and Christenberrys once lived side by side. As you view the video, ponder that question with me. Hopefully somebody out there in cyberspace has some answers.

Okay, enough for the text. On with the show....


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A Visit to Scott Cemetery

March Video Tour - Part 3

Join me as I search for the gravesite of Martin Turpin (the son of James Turpin, the son of Martin Turpin) at the Scott Cemetery near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.


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A Visit to George Jones Memorial Baptist Church

March Video Tour - Part 2

My family history video tour continues with a visit to the George Jones memorial Baptist Church cemetery, located at the site of the Wheat Community near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Here I am in search of Joshua King Christenberry's gravesite.


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En Route to Oak Ridge

March Video Tour - Part 1

On March 3, 2008 I took a trip to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee area to explore possible sites where the Turpins may have settled near the Clinch River in the late 1700's and early 1800's. The following video (Part 1) documents the first part of my journey, taking the viewer to the site of the Wheat Community in Roane County.

In this video I make reference to a "Mary Elizabeth Russell" as being the wife of Martin Turpin. Since producing this clip I have learned that her name was simply "Elizabeth Russell"--"Mary" was not her first name.



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My Interest in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Has anyone heard of Oak Ridge, Tennessee? Does the term "Manhattan Project" sound familiar?

In the 1940s the United States government built this secret city called "Oak Ridge" to initiate the "Manhattan Project"--an endeavor that would result in the creation of the world's first atomic bombs.

So what does any of this have to do with the Turpin family?

Between the years 1797 and 1805, Martin Turpin entered Tennessee by raft on the Clinch River. He first lived someplace in Knox County, but soon he and his family were living in what is now Anderson and/or Roane Counties. According to family historian, John Strunk, the Turpins lived in Bethel Valley--the site where one day a high security plant known by code name "X-10" would be built.

(The property passed into the hands of the Christenberry family in the 1860s or 1870s; the Turpins lived elsewhere at the time when the government began the Manhattan Project.)

This week I am making a personal trip to Oak Ridge to gain a better sense of where Martin Turpin and his son, James, may have lived.

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