I thought there might be interest in it and I've added thoughts and a few other finds at the end. ------------------- The following is located in the Vertical File "Turner, Elisha" at the Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, as of February 1999. Transcribed by Jo Ann Rowley-Minhoto in February 1999. Italics/[brackets] indicate added information. "Jackson, Mississippi Oct. 5, 1954 Mrs Llerena Friend Librarian Barker Texas History Center Austin, Texas Dear Mrs Friend: - In your letter of Aug. 2, 1954 you suggested that I write to the County Clerk of Kaufman County regarding the will of Elisha Turner. I had already written twice to the County Clerk, enclosing a return stamped envelope each time and asking regarding the cost of a photostatic or type written copy of the will but I never received an answer. So this time I had my wife write for same and she did receive an answer, by Billie Curry, District Clerk, and Bessie Lee Melton, Deputy. In Book 5 on Page 367 No 156, of the District Court minutes is the following, July 11, 1874 S. W. Turner - Executor of Elisha Turner, Deceased. Ordered that the hearing of this application be continued until Wednesday, July 15, 1874. Henry Erwin, Dist. Clerk. Then on July 15, 1874 it was ordered that the said instrument of writing is proved and be recorded as the last will of said Elisha Turner, deceased and that the testimony aforesaid be also recorded with said will. It is further ordered that letters testamentary thereon be issued with one or more securities in the sum of One Thousand Dollars and taking the oath prescribed by law - Henry Erwin, Dist Clerk. Then on July 20, 1874 In the matter of the Estate of Elisha Turner, dec'd. The bond of S. W. Turner as executor of the last will of said deceased, having been approved and filed and he having taken the oath required by law as such execution, it is ordered that letters of Executorship issue thereon to him the said S. W. Turner. Henry Erwin, Dist Clerk. However, the will could not be found anywhere, all files were checked and the No 156 in the files is now altogether a different matter. The County Clerks files also show No 156 as having to do with someone else. All indexes, old books old papers etc. showed nothing regarding Elisha Turner's will. So it appears that the will has been lost. The S. W. Turner referred to was Samuel W. Turner, the grandson of Elisha Turner who must have been about 87 yrs of age at the time of his death in 1874. The father of Samuel Turner was Zachariah Turner, son of Elisha Turner, he died about 1869. Elisha Turners daughter, Lucinda Magby Turner, was my wifes great grandmother. She first married someone by the name of Wallace and in Feb. 1838 married Mastin Ussery [unsure of spelling], my wifes great grand father. We found the license of this marriage in the Court House at San Augustine, Texas. Tracing a family history is some task but I have traced the Usserys to Lunenbury County Virginia and the Turners came from Georgia. Thanking you for the interest you have always taken I am Sincerely yours Otto H. Rosenkranz - M.D. 787 Launcelot Road." --------------------- [My "thoughts: I checked Kaufman County's 1850 census for the Elisha and Zachariah mentioned above. Elisha is shown age 62 b in GA (abt 1788) but the "Z.N." is 39-year old farmer born TN! This would make "Z.N." b 1811. The Zachariah mentioned above, his dying in 1869, would be kind of stretching it to fit in the timeframe of "our" Zachariah, brother of Nathan, possible son of William and Sally, but could fit nicely the "Z.N" b 1811 in TN. The rest of that 1850 Kaufman County household: Martha age 30 b SC, Rachel age 12 b LA, Mary age 10 b LA, Elisha R. age 8 b TX, Samuel W age 6 b TX, Frances (f) age 4 b TX, Zintha (f) age 2 b TX. Theory: Based on the above, the Elisha b GA 1788 had a BROTHER Zachariah (#1). Zachariah #1 was also in GA, with brother Nathan and brother/father William, as substantiated by land deals in GA before 1806. All - Elisha, Zachariah, Nathan, William - left GA for TN, but not necessarily at the same time, and not necessarily to the same TN county. When Elisha had a son, while living in TN, he names him Zachariah (#2), after his brother in TN. The brother Zachariah in TN (#1) is the one found in the 1812 Bedford county tax list, along with an Elisha in the 1830 Roane County, TN census (I don't have the details for this census, however -- to see if the ages fit; there's also an Elisha in Dickson county in 1820, Dickson being still further west of Roane and Bedford; need details for this census, too). Elisha then comes to San Augustine TX in 1832 (in the San Augustine "Report for October 1838, 1st class", an "Eli S" states he arrived in Texas in 1832) but without his son "Z.N", who, from the above would be Zachariah #2 and, in 1832, would be about 19 yrs old. Zachariah #2 leaves TN but goes to Louisiana first, where 2 daus (Rachel and Mary) are born, 1838 and 1840 respectively. Then he comes to San Augustine Texas 20th April 1841, because his father is there. It's Zachariah #2 who gets a land grant in San Augustine (San Augustine 3rd class, #33-1/2 for 640 acres via Texas certificate #9, class 4; E. Turner (Elisha?) is one of the chain carriers for the survey). A son is born to Zachariah #2 in 1842 and is named Elisha R -- in celebration of being united with his father, perhaps? Both Elisha & Zachariah are on the 1846 tax rolls for San Augustine (and some years earlier) but not in 1848. Zachariah #2 sells the headright to his San Augustine grant in October 1847 (note: no wife was mentioned as being interviewed but unsure if this procedure necessary for a headright certificate in Texas). Both Elisha and Zachariah #2 probably leave San Augustine late 1847 or early 1848, when they move to Kaufman county, and are counted in the 1850 census. One loose end is a Zachariah #3 who, in AL, gets married in 1826 to Ann Jackson. The Zachariah #3 may be "related" to the other Zachariah(s) but the 1830 Marengo county AL census has his age as 20- 29 (b betw 1801-1810). He's not Zachariah #1, for sure, but is close in age to Zachariah #2. It is possible that this Zachariah #3 could be same as Zachariah #2: he'd leave TN for AL, m Ann Jackson 1826, sell land in AL, Marengo Co, in 1836, move to Louisiana and stay there til 1841 when he comes to TX. But by 1850, he has different wife, Martha. Tis all possible. Need to look in Louisiana!!! In our family stories, there are "connections" to Louisiana, which would fit the above family, with "Z.N." (Zachariah #2) having daughters Rachel and Mary b Louisiana. Another Zachariah is the one Gail Turner Barnfather discussed in her 28 Jan 1999 email: Zachariah B (#4) b 1820 Bedford Co, TN - this one is born too late to fit Zachariah #1, #2, or #3. But Gail mentions that Zachariah B's father may be William (b 1800) and William's father may be John and John may be son of Zachariah, who'd be Zachariah #1. Working the generations back, it would be about every 20 years a son would be born - with William's father (John?) born around 1790 and then William's grandfather (Zachariah #1?) born about 1770. If Zachariah #1's father was the William who married Sarah "Sally" Denny about 1770, this line and timing would work. It also works with Zachariah #1 being the father of Robert Whatley Turner, who's said to be born betw 1793-1799. But did Zachariah #1 also have a son William and a son John, as our family notes indicate? Yes, all these John's and William's are hard to keep straight. One would think finding the right ZACHARIAH would be a piece of cake! I realize this is a VERY long note, with lots of info but putting it down and thinking about it more has helped me identify some possibilities and get a possible pattern to investigate further. I hope it helps someone else. It would be great if anyone happens to know Dr. Rosenkranz's relatives - from the article that resulted in my theorizing. Then, we could get their information in this loop, too!! One last thing - I am going to Salt Lake City Sunday Feb 28 for a week's stay and one of my top priorities is this Turner line. If you have anything you can suggest I look for to identify these people more precisely, please let me know. I know many of you have searched for this "elusive Zachariah" for quite some time but the exchange of information and ideas has been VERY beneficial to me. Thank you! I will have my laptop with me and will be checking my email. Hope we can work together and find that breakthrough! (If some of you get 2 copies of this message, my apology: I was uncertain about who was on the Turner Mailing List for sure or who wasn't.)] ____ jo ann rowley-minhoto, hrgg41a@prodigy.com <Prodigy Distribution List> CC: HRGG41A CC: HRGG41A