Erastus Johnson Turner
Politician. Republican. Born: December 26, 1846, Lockport, Pennsylvania. Died: February 10, 1933. Los Angeles, California. Served in U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District: March 4, 1887, to March 3, 1891.
Born December 26, 1846, in Lockport, Erie County, Pennsylvania, E. J. Turner attended college in Henry, Illinois, in 1859 and 1860 and removed to Bloomfield, Iowa, in 1860. He enlisted in Company E, 13th Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in 1864 and served until the end of the war. Turner attended Adrian (Michigan) College from 1866-1868, was admitted to the bar in 1871, and commenced practice at Bloomfield, Iowa. In 1879 he removed to Hoxie, Sheridan County, Kansas, where he practiced law, served two terms in the state legislature (representative, 1881-1885), and was secretary of the Kansas Board of Railroad Commissioners from April 1, 1883, to August 1, 1886. He was elected in 1886 to the 50th and reelected to the 51st Congresses (served, March 4, 1887-March 3, 1891) but chose not to be a candidate for renomination in 1890. The former congressman from western Kansas practiced law for several years in Washington, D.C., before moving to Seattle, Washington, in 1905. Turner retired in 1916 and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he died February 10, 1933.
Entry: Turner, Erastus Johnson
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2011
Date Modified: December 2013
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