JOHN LAMBERT TURNER,
general grocer, was born in Monmouthshire, England, April 22, 1838, and is
a son of William and Sarah (Lambert) Turner, the former a native of
Oxfordshire, and the latter of Monmouthshire, England. In the fall of 1841
the family immigrated to Youngstown, Ohio, where the parents spent the
balance of their lives. They reared a family of seven children, four of
whom are living: Mrs. Sarah A. Crowther, of Ashland, Ky.; William, of
Niles, Ohio; Mrs. Matilda Hull, of Youngstown, Ohio, and John L. Our
subject grew to manhood in Youngstown, Ohio, and worked in one of the iron
mills of that town as a roller. Mr. Turner was married May 6, 1858, to
Miss Sarah Jane, daughter of David and Hannah (Dumars) Gillespie, who was
born at Big Bend, Mercer Co., Penn. One son, John A., a partner with his
father in the grocery house, is the only fruit of this union. Mr. Turner
followed the iron business until removing to Greenville. In 1871 he
superintended the erection of a rolling mill in Massillon, Ohio, and then
went to Wyandotte, Mich., as superintendent of the Wyandotte Rolling
Mills, and was subsequently superintendent two years of the iron mills in
Hamilton, Ontario. In April, 1881, Mr. Turner came to Greenville, and
began operating coal mines in Butler County, which he sold out in
December, 1886. In the meantime he bought out the grocery store of Kamerer
& Leech, in February, 1884, and the firm of J. L. Turner & Son has since
conducted a general grocery business. The family are attendants of the
Presbyterian Church. Politically Mr. Turner is a Democrat, and a member of
the R. A. and the Masonic fraternity.
History of Mercer County, PA, 1888, page 832
