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The best way to describe the family of George Turner is to tell what we know of his wife,
Margaret Walker. George was born about 1815, but it was only in recent years that we discovered his origins.
Click on either of the two links above for more about George.
Margaret Walker was born in Glasgow about 1818. Marion is assumed to have died before the family emigrated. John (25), Margaret (24), Christina (4) and David (2) embarked on the "Duchess of Argyle" at Greenock on 9 June 1842. David died on the voyage, but John, Margaret and Christina arrived at Auckland, New Zealand on 9 October 1842. We have no records of John Muirhead after the arrival of the family in Auckland. Until 2012 we did not know the name of the oldest living son recorded on Margaret's death certificate as aged 35 in 1884. There is evidence that his name was George Turner and he was born in New Zealand and lived in Auckland and Thames. A possibility is that he was the child baptised in Auckland is 1848 with the given names George Turner, father George Cunningham, mariner and mother Margaret. The marriage registration for William Turner in 1882 says that he was born in San Francisco, son of George Turner, master mariner and Margaret Walker. In March 1882, William was 32, making his birth about 1850, the time of the Californian gold rush. George Turner and Margaret Walker (she used her maiden name) married at the Congregational Church, High Street, Auckland on 24 November 1852. That was 16 days after George had arrived from Sydney. George and Margaret had a son, David Turner, born 15 Aug 1853 at Auckland. The son, David Turner, died on 11 July 1854 at the gold fields of Victoria, Australia. The registration of the death was signed by George Turner. We assume that Margaret, Christina, George junior and William were also in Victoria at that time. On 21 August 1854, Christina married Nicholas Gemming at the goldfield of Eagle Hawk, Bendigo, Victoria, She gave her parents' names as George Turner, mariner, and Margaret Walker (George was her step father). Christina and Nicholas had one son and moved to Thames, New Zealand. They kept in touch with the Turner family in early years. The youngest son of George and Margaret, John Turner, was born on 28 Aug 1855 at Auckland. George and Margaret Turner lived in the vicinity of Wellesley Street, Auckland. George was the master of various small ships trading in the Hauraki Gulf. Two ships were "Wairoa" and "William". He died at Hokitika on 25 March 1876. William Turner was a bush contractor of Whangaroa, Northland. His first three children were baptised at Kaeo. When he died at Ponsonby, Auckland in 1925 his occupation was given as "sailor". See his family tree. John Turner served an apprenticeship with the Auckland "Southern Cross" newspaper. He then held positions in Greymouth, Napier and Wellington before returning to Auckland to the position of foreman of the "Observer". He became editor of the Waihi Daily Telegraph in 1901, retired in 1922 and died in 1927. He married twice. See the family tree. |