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m. Bef 1712
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m. Bef 1745
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m. 1 Apr 1766
Facts and Events
Thomas Turk was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia __________________________ [edit] Sources[edit] LandAcquisition of Land from Chalkley's:
[edit] Will
[edit] Records
[edit] Notes 2Subj:Kerr Genealogy Date:1/18/99 6:05:24 PM Pacific Standard Time From:BobBecAlln To:Delijim Hi Jim, I found you e-mail address at the Family Tree Maker Gen Forum site. I am searching the ancestry of Thomas Turk (1718-1809), my ancestor, whose first wife was Margaret __?__. I have just come across some information which states that Margaret's last name was KERR. Thomas Turk was a Scotch Irish Presbyterian who lived in Augusta Co., VA from 1739 until his death. He probably married in Augusta Co., VA about 1745. His first known child was baptized in 1749 in Augusta Co., VA. It is believed that Thomas Turk was born between 1710-1718. I believe his father, Robert Turk, immigrated from Ulster Province in 1718 with a group of Scotch Irish Presbyterians who came to Boston. Robert Turk spent a good part of the first year in Maine or New Hampshire, then he was back in Boston in 1719. I witnessed a deed in Delaware in 1733. He ended up in Augusta Co., VA by 1739. I suspect that he lived among the Scotch Irish in Lancaster and Cheshire Co., PA in the 1730s before coming to Augusta Co., VA. Thomas Turk, and probably his father, were agents for the Scotch Irish in VA and PA to locate land for them to move to. In 1745, Thomas Turk was down in Berkeley Co., SC as an agent for these people trying to get the governor to give them some land. Anyway, it would not surprise me that Thomas Turk also traveled to PA during this period of time and he may have married in PA. I find that a John Carr (probably Kerr) who was the head of a family in Augusta Co., VA and that he proved his importation from Great Britain in Court on 2 March 1740. This record mentions his wife, Lucy (who was previously married to a Mr. Gilaspy) and their children William, Barbara, Lucy and Martha. The record also mention Margaret Gilaspy and Mathew Gilaspy to be children of Lucy by her former husband. I suspect that this is the Lucy Pickens which you mention. I did not know her maiden name before. The baptism records of the Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Augusta Co., VA between 1740-1750 mention a lot of Kerrs (spelled Ker). If my Thomas Turk did marry a Kerr, she might very well be a sister to the Kerr parents listed in these baptism records. I find a McClure reference to a John Kerr who lived in Augusta Co., VA who had the following children: 1. William who married Martha __?__ 2. James 3. Elizabeth who married __?__ McClure 4. Jane who married John Hind. This reference says that this John Kerr moved from Augusta Co., VA to Carlisle, Cumberland Co., PA. The 3 volume set on Augusta Co., VA records by Chalkley, volume 1, shows that there was also a James Kerr who was one of the first Justices appointed for the Augusta Co., VA Circuit Court when the Court was form in 1745. There is also a reference to a James Kerr in 1747 who was indicted for "carrying lies and a common liar" and for breaching the Sabbath. I wonder if this is the same person as the Justice? Anyway, there is a James Kerr who died in 1770 in Augusta Co., VA. Apparently, there was no will as his eldest son, John Kerr was appointed administrator. Is this the same James Kerr who was the Justice in 1745? The liar in 1747? There is an Augusta County, VA lawsuit of Samuel Bell v. James Kerr, John Hind and Edward Ruthledge which resulted in a Judgment in February 1762. This lawsuit indicates that James Kerr was living in Cumberland Co., PA in 1760. Is this the same James Kerr who died in Augusta Co., VA in 1770? The Justice in 1745? The liar in 1747? If my Thomas Turk did marry a Kerr, I am thinking that she would have either been the daughter of James Kerr, the Justice in 1745, or John Kerr (Carr?) who proved his importation in 1740. Do you have any information to suggest a marriage between Thomas Turk and a Kerr woman in the 1740s? Thank you for any help which you can provide. Bob Allen Subj:Re: Kerr Genealogy Date:1/18/99 11:48:20 PM Pacific Standard Time From:BobBecAlln To:Delijim Hi Jim, Thanks for your prompt reply to my e-mail. I have been researching the Turks for 22 years (I am age 50 now). I descend from Thomas Turk's daughter, Jane, who married Robert Allen, Jr., (1741-1788). You have Thomas Turk line a little confused. His FIRST wife was Margaret __?__. Thomas and Margaret had at least the following children: (1) Jane, baptized in 1749, married Robert Allen, Jr., (2) Elizabeth, born 2/1753, married William Gleaves, and (3) Thomas, Jr., born circa 1755, who married Anne Rhea. His SECOND wife was Mary Gleaves, married 4/1/1766 (bible record). Mary was a sister to William Gleaves who married Elizabeth Turk, daughter of Thomas Turk and his first wife, Margaret. I am intentionally omitted the name and birth dates of the children of his second marriage. None of the spouses match the names which you mentioned in your e-mail. Let me know if you need this information and I can sent it to you. Thomas was either born in 1710 ("age 88" according to his Deposition taken 12 Oct. 1798) or 3/1718 (bible record of his youngest son, James Turk). Thomas Turk's father was Robert Turk. I have a record which seems to establish that he emigrated to Boston in 1718 with a group of Scotch Irish Presbyterians from Ulster Province, Ireland. Spent the winter of 1718/1719 in Maine and/or New Hampshire, was back in Boston with his buddy, John Gray (who he emigrated with), in 1719. Then he disappeared until he was a witness to a will in Delaware in 1733. He could have returned to Ireland in the meantime. I think that he found his way into the Scotch Irish in Lancaster Co. or Chester Co., PA in the 1730s (but I have no documentation proving this point) and eventually came to Augusta Co., VA in 1739 (actually Orange Co., VA at that time as you pointed out). Regarding Thomas Turk's first wife, Margaret __?__, I have no primary documentation which suggest her maiden name. I recently received a Turk Generation Report on the descendants of Robert Turk from Carrol Turk (Mrs. Charles Turk) of Portland, Oregon. She mentions Margaret "(Kerr?)" as the first wife of Thomas Turk. This is the first time that the Kerr name has come up. I think I asked Carrol Turk about the Kerr name and she did not know where the suggestion came from. I am just checking out the possibility. Nothing I have come up with so far proves a link between the Kerrs and the Turks other than they were both in Augusta Co., VA in the 1740s and they were both Scotch Irish Presbyterians. Your e-mail actually provides some interesting new clues. You say that you have information that the Kerrs migrated with several other families "(Edmondsons, Turks, Campbells, Houstons, Allisons, Pickens, Robinson, Lowrys, McClures, Buchanans, Hays, Steele, etc.)" You also say that your ancestor was David "Turk" Edmondson, born circa 1719. Where did you get these names as being associated with each other? What I am really asking is how did the Turk name come to be associated with the other names mentioned? Is there some account with links these names together? Or is this a surmise on your part? I am very interested in following up with the David "Turk" Edmondson possible connection to the Turk family. If his middle name "Turk" was after his mother's maiden name, his mother would have been of the same generation as my Robert Turk (b. circa 1690), perhaps his sister. Do you know where your Edmondsons lived in Ulster Province, Ireland, or in Scotland? If this location can be located, I would like to follow up my research to see if there could be Turk relatives in the same location. I have documentation in Augusta Co., VA which shows a close association between the Buchanans and the Turks. The McClures and Campbells seems to be associated as well. The other names are not proved to be closely associated. Robert Turk was married to a Margaret __?__ and they had the following children: Jane, John (married Agnes __?__ and moved to SC in 1740s), Ann, Thomas, James (married Mary __?__ and lived in Albemarle Co., VA), and William. I know nothing more about children of Robert Turk except for Thomas Turk. Enough for now. Bob Allen References
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