A. J. Turner

Augustus John Turner
Nickname(s) A. J.
Born (1818-10-12)October 12, 1818
Spartanburg County, South Carolina, U.S.
Died May 14, 1905(1905-05-14) (aged 86)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Allegiance  Confederate States of America
Service/branch  Confederate States Army
Years of service 1862
Rank Chief Musician
Unit Company Band, 5th Virginia Infantry
Battles/wars

American Civil War

Spouse(s) Kate M. Aby
Relations Charles W. Turner (son)
Thomas Memory Turner (son)
Milton Stuart Turner (son)
George Aby Turner (son)
Frank C. Turner (son)
Katherine Turner Wash (daughter)
Cora Turner Freijs (daughter)
Maude E. Turner (daughter)
Claude Eugene Turner (son)
Florence A. Bancroft (daughter)
Carrie Turner (daughter)

Augustus John Turner, (October 12, 1818 – May 14, 1905), known as "A. J. Turner", was an American composer, band leader and music professor. He was the first director of the Stonewall Brigade Band of Staunton, Virginia,[1][2][3] the oldest continuous community band funded by tax moneys in the United States.[4] Turner was a professor of music at both the Wesleyan Female Institute and the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute, and he played a part in the temperance movement.

Ancestry and early years

Augustus John Turner was born on October 12, 1818, in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, to Samuel M. Turner and Mahala Johnson Chapman.[2][5] His father Samuel was a farmer living near the site of Fort Prince.

Both Turner's grandfathers fought in the American Revolution. His father Samuel's father was James Turner, who settled in South Carolina near Coulter's Ford on the Pacolet River with his father George Turner, after the death of his mother Hannah Middleton in Virginia.[2][6] James Turner prepared beef for the patriots the night before the Battle of Cowpens.[6] He married Margaret Headen. Horseshoe Robinson married Sarah Headen, making James Turner and Robinson brothers-in-law.[2]

Turner's mother's father was Jack Chapman, a Revolutionary war captain in Virginia. Jack Chapman married the sister of Jammie Seay.[2]

Frederick County

Before moving to Staunton, Turner lived in Middletown and Newtown (now Stephen's' City), near Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia. He married Catherine ("Kate") Montrose Aby on July 1, 1845, in Frederick County. The ceremony was performed by John Allemong.[7][n 1] Turner also spent time at Greenville, where he played with banjoist Joel Sweeney,[12] and organized a band in Middlebrook.

Turner's house in Newtown was destroyed in a fire on December 2, 1856.[13]

Staunton

Stonewall Brigade Band

In Staunton, Virginia, in 1855, David W. Drake sought help in founding a band. He enlisted the help of Turner, his former music teacher in Newtown, persuading him to move to Staunton.[4][14] Together with two other citizens of Staunton, they formed the Mountain Saxhorn Band.[15][16][17] They gave their first formal concert on July 17, 1857, at Union Hall on Beverley Street in Staunton.[18] By 1859 the band had come to be known as Turner's Silver Cornet Band.[19][20] At Armory Hall on April 4, 1861, Turner's Silver Cornet Band, together with the Staunton Musical Association and the Glee Club, presented the last concert to be given before the Civil War.

Civil War

The band was mustered into the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment under Stonewall Jackson and Colonel William S. Baylor, and left Staunton on April 17, 1861.[4][21] Soon after the Battle of First Manassas, the band earned the name Stonewall Brigade Band,[22] and has been known as such ever since. As well as playing their instruments, band members fought and acted as couriers and letter bearers[23] or medical assistants.[22][n 2] In addition to entertaining the troops in the field, the band frequently appeared in concerts in Fredericksburg, Richmond, Staunton, and elsewhere to support recruiting rallies, clothing drives, and war relief fundraising.

Turner enlisted for the Confederacy on April 1, 1862.[25] He was in the Churchville Cavalry Troop, 14th Virginia Infantry Company I for a time, commanded by James A. Cochran, before transferring into the 5th.[26] He served through the Valley Campaign, the Seven Days Battles around Richmond, and was at the Battle of Cedar Mountain.[27][26] He was discharged because of his age on August 22, 1862.[28]

Post-war

The band was reorganized in 1869 with Turner as leader and his son T. M. Turner as assistant leader.[29] A. J. Turner directed the band until 1884.[25] In 1881, he organized Fravel's Cornet Band in Woodstock.

Music teacher

Turner could play many instruments.[30] An 1860 advert for his services reads, "Teaches Piano, Guitar, Flute, Violin, &c, &c; also Ballad Singing".[31] An 1896 ad reads, "Prof. A. J. Turner respectfully solicits a class of young people of both sexes in music ... Instruments: violin, piano, guitar, mandolin, cello and cornet."[32] He was also an agent for the sale of Stieff pianos.[4][33][34]

Wesleyan Female Institute

Turner's first job in Staunton was teaching vocal and instrumental music at the Wesleyan Female Institute.[4][35]

Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute

Turner was appointed professor of music at the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute in November 1866 and served there for several years, teaching the blind pupils.[36][37][38][39] He "evolved many of the methods now in vogue for giving blind children a musical education."[40] One account of the institute's annual concert praises the pupils for "a high degree of musical taste and talent".[41] His salary was increased $200 in 1871.[42]

Temperance

Turner was active in the temperance movement and in 1878 was elected the Most Worthy Grand Chief of the Sons of Jonadab,[25][43] for the district covering Virginia and West Virginia.[26]

Indianapolis

Turner left for Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1900 to live with his daughter Cora Turner Freijs.[44] He would reside there until his death in Washington Township.[45][46] His former house in Staunton sold for $3,350 soon after his death.[47]

List of compositions

  • "Gallopade", 1857[4]
  • "At Eve Beneath Stars' Soft Light: or Memories of Old", 1858[48]
  • "Bessie Bell Waltz", 1858[49]
  • "Pray Maiden, Pray", 1864[50]
  • "Palmetto Schottisch", 1864[51]
  • "Spring time polka", 1864[52]
  • "La Perle", 1875[53]
  • "Peyton Summerson's Funeral March", 1879[54]

Notes

  1. ↑ Kate Aby's father was a shoemaker and veteran of the War of 1812.[8][9] Her mother, who lived at Thorndale Farm, was the daughter of a drummer in the American Revolution.[10][11]
  2. ↑ Though not in the band, Turner's first son Charles was an orderly and courier for Stonewall Jackson.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Zenas J Grey (October 4, 1881). "The Blue and the Gray at Carlisle, PA". Staunton Spectator.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Landrum 1900, p. 407
  3. ↑ "A Band of 1845 (sic)". Popular Science. March 1935.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stonewall Brigade Band". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Obituary". Spartanburg Herald. June 11, 1879. p. 3.
  6. 1 2 Moss 1991, p. 293
  7. ↑ Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers.
  8. ↑ Cutter, William Richard (12 October 2018). "New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation". Lewis historical publishing Company. p. 1109 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "Family and School Magazine: 1. The monthly class book. 2. The monthly Lyceum". J. W. Seymour. 12 October 2018. p. 299 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ "Death of an Estimable Lady". Staunton Spectator. June 10, 1879.
  11. ↑ see Charles Hulett, Continental Army Drummer: A Revolutionary Life Reexamined by Anne Midgley
  12. ↑ "Stonewall Band Honor First Directors Memory". Staunton Daily Leader. May 17, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved February 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Fire Near Winchester". Richmond Whig. December 2, 1856.
  14. ↑ "Deaths During the Week". Staunton Spectator and vindicator. October 29, 1909.
  15. ↑ Brice 1967, p. 9
  16. ↑ Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 3. p. 2583.
  17. ↑ J. A. Hiner. "The Stonewall Brigade Band". Confederate Veteran: Published Monthly in the Interest of Confederate Veterans and Kindred Topics. 8: 304.
  18. ↑ "The Concert". Staunton Vindicator. July 22, 1857. p. 2.
  19. ↑ "[No Title]". Staunton Vindicator. June 4, 1859. p. 2.
  20. ↑ "The Concert". Staunton Vindicator. June 1, 1860. p. 2.
  21. ↑ Casler 1906, p. 48
  22. 1 2 Robertson 1977, p. 47
  23. ↑ Künstler 2006, p. 142
  24. ↑ Couper 2005, p. 209
  25. 1 2 3 "Soldiers Records". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  26. 1 2 3 Brice 1967, p. 178
  27. ↑ Brice 1967, p. 32
  28. ↑ U.S., American Civil War Regiments, 1861-1866 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
  29. ↑ "Reorganized". Republican Vindicator. November 19, 1869.
  30. ↑ "NOTED BANDMASTER DEAD". Harrisonburg Daily News. May 18, 1905. p. 5.
  31. ↑ "A. J. Turner Prof. Music, Wesleyan Female Institute". Staunton Spectator. January 10, 1860.
  32. ↑ "Music". Staunton Spectator. September 9, 1896.
  33. ↑ "Pianos, Pianos, Pianos!". Staunton Spectator. December 26, 1865.
  34. ↑ "Pianos, Pianos". Staunton Spectator. April 17, 1866.
  35. ↑ "Wesleyan Female Institute". Staunton Spectator. July 5, 1870.
  36. ↑ Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Staunton (1876). Report.
  37. ↑ Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Staunton (1886). Report.
  38. ↑ "Local News". Staunton Spectator. November 13, 1866. p. 3.
  39. ↑ "Concert By The Blind Pupils". Staunton Spectator. June 30, 1868.
  40. ↑ "Prominent Virginia Musician Dead". Evening Star. May 21, 1905. p. 16. Retrieved January 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ "[No Title]". Staunton Spectator. June 28, 1870.
  42. ↑ "D. D. & B. Institution". Staunton Spectator. August 8, 1871.
  43. ↑ "Briefs". Staunton Spectator. May 21, 1878.
  44. ↑ "Personal". Staunton Spectator.
  45. ↑ "Virginia News". Alexandria Gazette. May 17, 1905.
  46. ↑ "Death of Prof. A. J. Turner". Shenandoah Herald. May 26, 1905.
  47. ↑ "Local Briefs". Staunton spectator and vindicator. August 25, 1905.
  48. ↑ "New Music-Good Music". Staunton Spectator. March 1, 1859. p. 2.
  49. ↑ "Bessie Bell Waltz". June 15, 1858. p. 3.
  50. ↑ "Pray Maiden Pray". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  51. ↑ "To the ladies of the Confederate States : Palmetto schottisch". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  52. ↑ "Spring time polka". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  53. ↑ "La Perle". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  54. ↑ "Memorial Day at Staunton". Staunton Spectator. June 10, 1879.

Bibliography

  • Brice, Marshall Moore (1967). The Stonewall Brigade Band.
  • Couper, William (2005). The Corps Forward.
  • Casler, John Overton (1906). Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade.
  • Künstler, Mort (2006). The Civil War Paintings of Mort Künstler.
  • Landrum, J. B. O. (1900). History of Spartanburg County.
  • Moss, Bobby (1991). The Patriots at the Cowpens.
  • Robertson, James I. (1977). The Stonewall Brigade.
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