Harvey Griswold Turner (June 7, 1822 – November 22, 1893) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served two years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Washington County, and five years as county judge of Ozaukee County. He was also the youngest delegate to Wisconsin's 2nd constitutional convention, which produced the Constitution of Wisconsin in the Winter of 1847–1848.
Harvey G. Turner | |
|---|---|
| County Judge of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| In office April 1853 – December 31, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | J. C. Downs |
| Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 11th district | |
| In office January 6, 1851 – January 3, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick W. Horn |
| Succeeded by | Thomas T. Whittlesey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 7, 1822 East Oswego, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1893 (aged 71) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Influenza |
| Resting place | Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Emeline Griswold Teall
(m. 1846; died 1886) |
| Children |
|
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Eugene S. Turner (brother) Griswold family |
Biography
editBorn in East Oswego, New York, Turner received his primary education at Oswego Academy.[1] He moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin Territory, in 1840, with his parents and siblings, where they were some of the first settlers in the area. Beginning in 1842, he read law at the law offices of Finch & Lynde in Milwaukee.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and quickly moved to set up a legal practice in Grafton, in Washington County.[2]
In 1847, Turner was elected as a delegate to Wisconsin's 2nd constitutional convention.[3] He was the youngest delegate at the convention, and was assigned to the committee on executive, legislative, and administrative provisions.[2] Following the referendum which ratified the constitution, Turner was considered a candidate for Wisconsin circuit court judge in the 3rd circuit, but he withdrew after the nomination of Charles H. Larrabee.[4]
In 1850, he was elected as Washington County's representative to the Wisconsin State Senate, running on the Democratic ticket. In 1853, Ozaukee County was created from the eastern quarter of Washington County and Turner was elected as the first county judge of the new county. He was subsequently re-elected and served until 1858.[5]
In 1854, the Ozaukee County Democratic Party rejected the renomination of John B. Macy for Congress in Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district, and instead nominated Turner.[6] Turner consented to the nomination, but came in a distant 3rd in the November general election.[7]
He subsequently moved to Manitowoc, where he formed a law practice in partnership with his son, William. The partnership ended in 1882, when William moved to Milwaukee. But the elder Turner subsequently moved to Milwaukee, after the death of his wife, and the two resumed their partnership in 1887. Harvey Turner retired from the practice just a few months before his death in 1893.[8]
Family
editHarvey Turner was a son of Joseph Turner and his wife Mary (née Griswold). The Turners and Griswolds were both descendants of early and prominent settlers of Connecticut Colony. The passage of Connecticut's first Blue laws were attributed to an ancestor of the Turner family.[9] The Griswolds were related to Connecticut governors Matthew and Roger Griswold.[8]
Joseph Turner served in the War of 1812, then brought his family to the new Wisconsin Territory in 1840.[9] He served in the Territorial Legislature and subsequently served in the Wisconsin State Senate during the 1st State Legislature.[9] Later he became one of the founders of Menasha, Wisconsin.[8] Harvey's younger brother, Eugene S. Turner, also served in the Wisconsin Legislature and was a prominent lawyer in Port Washington, Wisconsin.[5]
Harvey Turner married Emeline Griswold Teall, a cousin of his mother.[8] They had one son, William J. Turner, who also became a prominent lawyer and served as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.[8]
Electoral history
editU.S. House of Representatives (1854)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 7, 1854 | |||||
| Republican | Charles Billinghurst | 13,359 | 55.94% | ||
| Democratic | John B. Macy | 8,596 | 36.83% | −19.42% | |
| Independent Democrat | Harvey G. Turner | 1,924 | 8.06% | ||
| Plurality | 4,763 | 19.95% | 0.84% | ||
| Total votes | 23,879 | 100.0% | -9.34% | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | 39.05% | |||
References
edit- ^ a b Reed, Parker McCobb (1882). The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. M. Reed. p. 290. Retrieved October 16, 2021.P. M. Reed&rft.date=1882&rft.aulast=Reed&rft.aufirst=Parker McCobb&rft_id=https://archive.org/details/benchandbarwisc01reedgoog&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Harvey G. Turner" class="Z3988">
- ^ a b Tenney, Horace A. (1880). Memorial Record of the Fathers of Wisconsin. D. Atwood. pp. 259–260. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "H. G. Turner Dead". Oshkosh Northwestern. November 22, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Third Judicial Circuit". Rock River Pilot. August 2, 1848. p. 2. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b History of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company. 1881. p. 492. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Ozaukee County Democratic Mass Meeting". The Weekly Wisconsin. November 1, 1854. p. 2. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b c d e Watrous, Jerome A. (1909). Memoirs of Milwaukee County. Vol. 2. Western Historical Association. pp. 790–792. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Usher, Ellis B. (1914). Wisconsin, its Story and Biography, 1848-1913. The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1709–1710. Retrieved October 17, 2021.