William, the son of James and Martha (Staton) Turner, married Eliza Jane Trotter on 28 February 1862.

s/o James & Martha STATON Turner;

m.1 Eliza TROTTER Feb 28, 1862 Wayne County Illinois; m.2 Martha M. MERRITT Dec 27, 1896. OBIT: DOOMED TO DIE IN 1861, WM. TURNER LIVED TO AGE 96 MT. VERNON MAN, COUSIN OF BRYAN, VOWED HE WOULD LET BEARD GROW UNTIL BRYAN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT Funeral services were held here yesterday afternoon for William Turner who in 1861 was told by medical examiners that he had only a short time to live. They turned him down when he tried to join the U. S. Army. Turner died Tuesday at the age of 96 after an unusual and colorful life. During the Civil War he tried to fight on the side of the North and then changed his views and gave aid to the south. When the war broke out he was only 18 years old and he tried to enlist at once in the Northern Army. He was turned down and returned home in the southern part of Wayne County. When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation young Turner took up the cause of the South. With other southern sympathizers and with draft dodgers he joined in the construction of a big log fort on "Rebel Bend" of Skillet Fork Creek in the Southern part of Wayne County. There they made their headquarters and contrived in every way to embarrass the cause of the North. After the war he remained a "Rebel" in spirit. To build up his very frail physique he early embarked on an outdoor life. He worked in the woods and on farms and boasted that he never spent a day inside factory walls. He was a staunch Democrat and told his sons that he never voted any other ticket for any candidate. He never missed voting in an election until 1936. Even then he stayed away from the polls only after bargaining with his Republican wife and getting her to agree not to vote also. Mr. Turner was a second cousin of William Jennings Bryan. When the commoner ran for president the first time in 1896, against McKinley, Turner let his beard grow and vowed he would not shave it off until Cousin Billy was seated in the White House. Bryan was beaten that fall and the beard grew. Twice more Bryan tried to make the ride up Pennsylvania Avenue and each time inches were added to Turner's beard which was uncut when he died. Turner had a reputation for faith healing and had many visits from afflicted persons. His specialty was stopping hemorrhages. Some say he gave relief even by writing to the afflicted. He was twice married and his oldest son is 75 years of age. His youngest child is 34. He had been blind for the last 15 years but members of the family read the newspaper to him every day and he was interested keenly in political and sports news. He was a boxing enthusiast and followed the careers of all pugilists from John L. Sullivan to Joe Louis. Mr. Turner was born October 5, 1843 in Wayne County. He was buried in Garrison Cemetery there yesterday.