GROWTH OF THE TURNBO FAMILY On September 14, 1876, the oldest Turnbo boy, Hugh Anderson, married Elleanora Sands Feich. This is the last official use of the spelling "Turnbow", as this marriage certificate lists that spelling. All future spellings of the family name carry the modern spelling "Turnbo". Some believe that Hugh Turnbo's young wife was Indian. Little, however, is known about her immediate family. She was born March 2, 1856, in Texas and they were married in Comanche Gap, Texas. It has been said that Hugh Turnbo's descendants carry the Indian facial features and this could be attributed to Ellenora. (It is also said that Andrew Jackson himself was half Chickashaw Indian but this has never been proven). On August 28, 1877, the next Turnbo boy, William (or "Bill") was married. His wife, Nancy Elizabeth Gibbs, was also a native Texan, and was born December 13, 1858. In 1883 or 1884, James (or "Jim") Turnbo married Leora Bonner Sanders. She was born June 21, 1866, In Alabama. In 1884, amidst the happy times of the Turnbo children marrying and raising families, another tragedy struck the family. The youngest child of Andrew and Louisa, John, became very ill with measles, which led to pneumonia. On April 4, 1884, at the age of 19 he died. For unknown reasons, he was not buried near his father but rather at the Live Oak Cemetery. One can speculate that he was buried there because Andrew Jackson's burial site was no longer used because the church had been torn down and moved elsewhere. With the death of the youngest Turnbo child, Louisa was at home alone. However, this was a close knit family and two of the boys lived adjacent to their mother. Hugh and his wife, Ellenora, and their daughter, Olla, lived on one side of Louisa, while Bill and his wife Nancy, lived on the other side. In the 1880's the Bill Turnbos also had a teenager by the name of John Essary living with them; he helped with the family's farming business. This family likewise suffered the loss of a child in the early l880's. Their first daughter, Evva, who was born July 18, 1878, died on November 7, 1882 from unknown causes. The Bill Turnbo's next child was born January 18, 1884, and was named after his grandfather, Andrew Jackson Turnbo. |
From the book "The Texas Turnbo's"
By: Charles A. Turnbo
Page 36