Charles A. Turner

Charles Augustus Turner
Born(1877-04-02)April 2, 1877
Lewisburg, West Virginia, US
DiedNovember 24, 1943(1943-11-24) (aged 66)
Tampa, Florida, US
OccupationInventor
Spouse(s)Katie B. Fletcher
Fannie L.
Eugenia C. Sauter
Children10
Signature

Charles Augustus Turner (April 2, 1877 – November 24, 1943) was an American inventor. Alongside his inventions, he was a movie theater owner.

Early years

Charles Augustus Turner was born on April 2, 1877, in Lewisburg, West Virginia, to music professor T. M. Turner and Kate Grimes, who was the daughter of physician Gassaway Sellman Grimes.[1][2]

His mother Kate died in Lewisburg on October 14, 1888,[3] and his brother Claude died in Lewisburg on September 5, 1889, at the age of 14, falling headforemost into a vat of boiling water at the Greenbrier Cannery.[4] Both are buried at the Old Stone Church.

Norfolk and Portsmouth

Turner lived in Norfolk, Virginia from 1895 to 1911. He lived in nearby Portsmouth from 1912 to 1915.

Marriages

Turner married Katie B. Fletcher from Staunton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 10, 1897.[5] She died on December 9.[6][a] He then married a woman named Fannie, who died on September 15, 1899.[8][9]

Turner married Eugenia C. Sauter, the daughter of machinist Antoine Sauter in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 27, 1902. The marriage was performed by St. Mary's pastor, Rev. John Doherty.[10]

Turner served as a police officer from 1899 to 1902.[11] He then got a job as a weigh master at Lambert's Point.[12]

Inventions

Turner invented a coal and grain trimming machine known as the Turner Cargo Trimming Machine.[13] In 1906, the Mechanical Loading & Trimming company was formed with $200,000 capital stock.[14] He received foreign and domestic patents.[15][16][17]

During the Jamestown Exposition of 1907, the ventilation system for the baby incubators proved unsatisfactory. Turner was consulted and authorized to invent and install an entirely new one.[18][19]

In 1909, Turner invented a fishing rod and a talcum powder box.[18][19][20] The talcum powder box could be used with only one hand.[21][22] In 1910, the Turner Product Company was started with a capital of $40,000, with Turner being the vice-president.[23] In 1914, the American Products Corporation was incorporated to manufacture and sell talcum powder with capital ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 as needed, with Turner being the secretary-treasurer.[24][25]

Movie theaters

Turner also managed movie theaters in Portsmouth, including the Palace from 1910 to 1914 and Columbia in 1915.[26][27] In 1912, the Palace caught fire, spreading to nearby buildings. Turner's house was lost in the flames as he had no insurance.[28] Despite this, the Palace recovered. Turner was elected vice president at the convention of May 23, 1913, held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.[29] He was an officer of the Virginia state branch of the Motion Picture Exhibitors League of America.[30]

Hopewell

Turner lived in Hopewell, Virginia from 1915 to 1925.[31] He was manager of the American Patents Company.[32] He worked with DuPont as a sheet metal foreman until they closed the ammunition plant after the First World War.[33][34]

Charity

Turner was chairman of the local Red Cross chapter,[35] at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Poythress Street, supervising all its work for eight years.[34][36][37] He was vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. He was president of the Day Nursery Association for six years. He organized the DuPont Volunteer Firemen's Association in 1917.[38][39] He operated a public park and playground for two years.[34][40] He was also a probation officer for six years, working without pay.[34][41]

In the aftermath of the First World War, Hopewell saw 1,015 women and children without a husband, who was forced to look for work elsewhere, that were taken care of by DuPont and the Red Cross. "Throughout it all, Turner was the outstanding figure."[37] It was remarked that in Hopewell, Turner was "greeted by practically every man, woman and child as "Charlie".'[37]

In 1923 Turner was director of the newly created Department of Public Welfare, which did the work previously done by the Red Cross.[42] He resigned as Red Cross chairman but was appointed executive secretary.[43]

Atlanta and Tampa

Turner lived in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1926 to 1929.[44] He was manager of Digestamint Laboratories, which produced a hiccup and indigestion remedy.[45][46][47]

Turner lived in Tampa, Florida, on Dekle Avenue from 1930 until his death in 1943.[48][49] His wife Eugenia died in 1940.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ Her father Richard Fletcher lost a leg at Gettysburg.[7]

References

  1. ^ "West Virginia Births, 1853-1930," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F1P2-X4L : 9 March 2018), Charles Turner, 02 Apr 1877; citing Lewisburg, Greenbrier, West Virginia, United States, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 595,033.
  2. ^ ""United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch". familysearch.org. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Obituary". Staunton Vindicator. October 19, 1888. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "News of the Day". Alexandria Gazette. September 7, 1889.
  5. ^ Charles A Turner 1 Oct 1897 Historical Society of Pennsylvania Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, U.S., Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 [database on-line]
  6. ^ "Death of Mrs. Turner". Staunton Spectator. December 16, 1897. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Major R. J. Fletcher". Richmond Times-Dispatch. July 8, 1906.
  8. ^ "Record of the Courts". The Virginian-Pilot. December 15, 1899. p. 2.
  9. ^ "Funeral Service". Virginian-Pilot. September 17, 1899. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Norfolk 1902, Chas A. Turner, Virginia, U.S., Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
  11. ^ "Record of the Courts". The Virginian-Pilot. December 15, 1899. p. 2.
  12. ^ "Lambert's Point". The Virginian-Pilot. March 18, 1903 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Has Coal Trimmer to Supplant Hands". Virginian-Pilot. November 21, 1903. p. 3.
  14. ^ "Supply Trade". The Grain Dealers Journal: 761. 1906.
  15. ^ US792682A, Turner, Charles Augustus, "Coal or grain distributing apparatus", issued 1905-06-20 
  16. ^ "Number 95,318 Coal or Grain Distributing Apparatus". The Canadian Patent Office Record: 2248. October 1905.
  17. ^ "180549". Patentblatt. 30: 2027. 1906.
  18. ^ a b "Valuable Patents". Staunton Spectator and Vindicator. April 23, 1909.
  19. ^ a b "Norfolk Inventor Patents Unique Fish Rod and Talcum Powder Box". Virginian-Pilot. March 28, 1909. p. 11.
  20. ^ "Personal Mention". Staunton Spectator and Vindicator. April 2, 1909.
  21. ^ "His Baby the Moving Cause". Ledger-Star. February 19, 1912 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Receptacle for Powder and the Like" (PDF). patentimages.storage.googleapis.com.
  23. ^ "Miscellaneous News". The Tradesman: 60. December 22, 1910.
  24. ^ "New Incorporations". The American Perfumer: 184. 1914.
  25. ^ "Manufacturing Plant To Be In Operation Soon". Ledger-Star. August 26, 1913.
  26. ^ "Invites All Newsboys To See Buffalo Bill". Ledger-Star. December 26, 1910.
  27. ^ "Columbia Theatre to be Re-opened Tomorrow". The Virginian-Pilot. April 18, 1915 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Easter Bonnet Brigade Gets Up in Early Morn". The Virginian-Pilot. April 9, 1912. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Virginia Exhibitors Going Strong". The Moving Picture World. 17 (2): 167. July 12, 1913.
  30. ^ "National and State Officers of the Motion Pictures Exhibitors' League of America". Moving Picture World: 63. January 3, 1914.
  31. ^ a b "Mrs. C. A. Turner Dies in Florida". Daily Press. January 8, 1940.
  32. ^ "Machinery, Proposals, and Supplies Wanted". Industrial Development and Manufacturers Record. 77. 1920.
  33. ^ "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6Z4-XF3 : 24 December 2021), Charles Augustus Turner, 1917-1918.
  34. ^ a b c d "Charles A. Turner Dies in Florida, Well Known Here". Hopewell News. December 10, 1943 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Annual Reports of Officers, Boards, and Institutions of the Commonwealth of Virginia, for the Year Ending September 30, 1920 (1921). United States: Superintendent of Public Printing. p. 45
  36. ^ "Red Cross Building". The Hopewell News. October 4, 1928. p. 2.
  37. ^ a b c T. Edward Murtaugh (November 3, 1920). "The City That Would Not Stay Dead". The Roanoke Times. p. 10.
  38. ^ "Chief Filmore Tyson Heads State Firemen". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 29, 1918. p. 1.
  39. ^ "Virginia Firemen Elect Officers". Fire and Water Engineering. 64: 185. 1919.
  40. ^ "Plan Improvement of Park Playground". Richmond Times-Dispatch. May 28, 1923 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "Virginia". Probation and Parole Directory. 1925.
  42. ^ "Hopewell Opens Welfare Department". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 2, 1923. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ "Turner Made Executive Secretary". Roanoke Times. August 1, 1923. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ "Returns to Atlanta Home". The Hopewell News. September 9, 1927. p. 1.
  45. ^ Atlanta, Georgia, City Directory, 1929, p. 1297
  46. ^ "Hiccoughs Stopped by Digestamint". Atlanta Constitution. February 3, 1927. p. 10.
  47. ^ "Atlanta Man Spends Years Upon Formula". Atlanta Constitution. January 30, 1927.
  48. ^ Tampa, Florida, City Directory, 1935 p. 628
  49. ^ "Charles Augustus Turner". The Tampa Tribune. November 25, 1943 – via Newspapers.com.
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