ALLEN TURNER, REBECCA J - Crawford County, Arkansas | REBECCA J ALLEN TURNER - Arkansas Gravestone Photos

Rebecca J ALLEN TURNER

Fairview Cemetery
Crawford County,
Arkansas

July 14, 1823 - December 6, 1917

Wife of Jesse Turner Sr
Rebecca J. Allen Turner a native of Warwickshire, England, was born July 14, 1823 but was reared at Pittsburgh, Penn.
She departed this life in 1917.

Rebecca emigrated from England in 1827 with her family, arriving in New York City in September on the ship "Anacreon" from Liverpool. She lived in New York City until 1830 when she and the family moved to Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Around 1834 she moved again, to Pittsburg. By 1840 the family had settled in Pittsburgh PA, where her father was a construction contractor. Rebecca attended the Steubenville Female Seminary in Steubenville, Ohio from 1838-1841. In 1847 she went to Little Rock, Arkansas with her family to attend the funeral of her brother George Allen who was killed in a steamboat explosion. While in Arkansas she met Ada Henry of Van Buren, Arkansas and the two women became friends, corresponding over the years. Rebecca taught in the Pittsburgh schools earning $250 a term. She attended the May 29, 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, which asked for voting rights and property rights for women. Sojourner truth gave her famous "Ain't I a woman" speech" at this convention. Rebecca was very interested in politics and was an ardent supporter of the Free Soil party. In 1852 Rebecca applied for a job at the Third Ward School in Pittsburgh and received a substantial raise in salary. She lived at her parent's home in Pittsburgh and assisted her mother in the raising of her older sister's children. (Elizabeth Allen Fundenberg was in poor health.) In 1853 her brother William invited Rebecca to go south with him on a steamboat trip. Rebecca accepted the offer and spent the summer in Little Rock and Van Buren, Arkansas with Ada Henry. It was on this visit that she met the widower, Judge Jesse Turner. The two corresponded after her return to Pittsburgh. In a January 31, 1854 letter to her brother William, Rebecca wrote, "I have had another letter from Mr. Turner, enclosing one to Father. I will enclose the one to me. The die is now cast Willie. I have promised to be his wife, and have full faith in taking this step. The more I know of him, the more I am convinced that of all men he is the one most essential to my happiness. I have I think, counted well the cost of separation from you all, and yet I am willing to go. There is no time specified, only when we are all home together. I will write to Eddie about it. No secrets from each other in this family. You need not thank me for my sisterly confidence, as you term it. It is instinctive with me to tell you everything. I hope it will not grieve Eddie." She waited until Eddie Allen returned from Washington Territory and in the summer of 1855 at age 33 married Judge Turner in Pittsburgh. She made Van Buren, her life-long home. Her marriage certificate and letters may be found in the Turner collection at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Other papers are at Duke University.
Daughter of Edward and Milicent Bindley Allen

Photo courtesy of Frances Allen Titsworth

Contributed on 6/14/22 by Billsully060
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Record #: 1436541

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Additional ALLEN TURNER Surnames in FAIRVIEW Cemetery

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Submitted: 6/14/22 • Approved: 6/28/22 • Last Updated: 7/1/22 • R1436541-G1436540-S3

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