Charles A. Turner Explained

Charles Augustus Turner
Birth Date:2 April 1877
Birth Place:Lewisburg, West Virginia, US
Death Place:Tampa, Florida, US
Occupation:Inventor
Spouse:Katie B. Fletcher
Fannie L.
Eugenia C. Sauter
Children:10
Signature:caturnermark.png
Signature Size:200px

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, 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.[3]

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.[4] She died on December 9.[5] He then married a woman named Fannie, who died on September 15, 1899.[6] [7]

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.[8]

Turner served as a police officer from 1899 to 1902.[9] He then got a job as a weigh master at Lambert's Point.[10]

Inventions

Turner invented a coal and grain trimming machine known as the Turner Cargo Trimming Machine.[11] In 1906, the Mechanical Loading & Trimming company was formed with $200,000 capital stock.[12] He received foreign and domestic patents.[13] [14] [15]

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.

In 1909, Turner invented a fishing rod and a talcum powder box.[16] [17] [18] The talcum powder box could be used with only one hand.[19] [20] In 1910, the Turner Product Company was started with a capital of $40,000, with Turner being the vice-president.[21] 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.[22] [23]

Movie theaters

Turner also managed movie theaters, including the Palace from 1910 to 1914 and Columbia in 1915.[24] [25] In 1912, the Palace caught fire, spreading to nearby buildings. Turner's house was lost in the flames as he had no insurance.[26] He was an officer of the Virginia state branch of the Motion Picture Exhibitors League of America.[27] He was elected vice president at the convention of May 23, 1913, held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.[28]

Hopewell

Turner lived in Hopewell, Virginia from 1915 to 1925.[29] He was manager of the American Patents Company.[30] He worked with DuPont as a sheet metal foreman until they closed the ammunition plant after the First World War.[31]

Charity

Turner was chairman of the local Red Cross chapter, at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Poythress Street.[32] [33] 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.[34] He was also a probation officer for six years, working without pay.[35]

In 1923 Turner was director of the newly created Department of Public Welfare, which did the work previously done by the Red Cross.[36] He resigned as Red Cross chairman but was appointed executive secretary.[37]

Atlanta and Tampa

Turner lived in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1926 to 1929.[38] He was manager of Digestamint Laboratories, which produced a hiccup and indigestion remedy.[39] [40] [41]

Turner lived in Tampa, Florida, on Dekle Avenue from 1930 until his death in 1943.[42] [43] His wife Eugenia died in 1940.

Notes and 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 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6Z4-XF3 : 24 December 2021), Charles Augustus Turner, 1917-1918.
  3. News: News of the Day. Alexandria Gazette. September 7, 1889.
  4. 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]
  5. News: December 16, 1897 . Death of Mrs. Turner . Staunton Spectator . 3.
  6. News: Record of the Courts. The Virginian-Pilot. December 15, 1899. 2.
  7. News: Funeral Service. September 17, 1899. Virginian-Pilot. 2. Newspapers.com.
  8. Norfolk 1902, Chas A. Turner, Virginia, U.S., Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
  9. News: Record of the Courts. The Virginian-Pilot. December 15, 1899. 2.
  10. News: March 18, 1903 . Lambert's Point . The Virginian-Pilot . Newspapers.com.
  11. News: Has Coal Trimmer to Supplant Hands. November 21, 1903. Virginian-Pilot. 3.
  12. Supply Trade . The Grain Dealers Journal . 1906 . 761.
  13. https://patents.google.com/patent/US792682A Coal or grain distributing apparatus
  14. Number 95,318 Coal or Grain Distributing Apparatus. The Canadian Patent Office Record. 2248. October 1905.
  15. 180549. 1906. 30. Patentblatt. 2027.
  16. News: Valuable Patents. Staunton Spectator and Vindicator. April 23, 1909.
  17. News: Norfolk Inventor Patents Unique Fish Rod and Talcum Powder Box. March 28, 1909. Virginian-Pilot. 11.
  18. News: April 2, 1909 . Personal Mention . Staunton Spectator and Vindicator.
  19. News: His Baby the Moving Cause. February 19, 1912. Newspapers.com. Ledger-Star.
  20. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/58/59/0c/e963839ea3bc5c/US961661.pdf Receptacle for Powder and the Like
  21. December 22, 1910 . Miscellaneous News . The Tradesman . 60.
  22. New Incorporations . The American Perfumer . 1914 . 184.
  23. News: Manufacturing Plant To Be In Operation Soon. August 26, 1913. Ledger-Star.
  24. News: Invites All Newsboys To See Buffalo Bill. Ledger-Star. December 26, 1910.
  25. News: Columbia Theatre to be Re-opened Tomorrow. April 18, 1915. The Virginian-Pilot. Newspapers.com.
  26. News: Easter Bonnet Brigade Gets Up in Early Morn. The Virginian-Pilot. April 9, 1912. 8. Newspapers.com.
  27. National and State Officers of the Motion Pictures Exhibitors' League of America. 63. Moving Picture World. January 3, 1914.
  28. Virginia Exhibitors Going Strong. The Moving Picture World. 167. July 12, 1913. 17. 2.
  29. News: Mrs. C. A. Turner Dies in Florida. Daily Press. January 8, 1940.
  30. 1920 . Machinery, Proposals, and Supplies Wanted . Industrial Development and Manufacturers Record . 77.
  31. News: Charles A. Turner Dies in Florida, Well Known Here. December 10, 1943. Hopewell News. Newspapers.com.
  32. News: October 4, 1928 . Red Cross Building . The Hopewell News . 2.
  33. News: T. Edward Murtaugh . November 3, 1920 . The City That Would Not Stay Dead . The Roanoke Times . 10.
  34. News: August 29, 1918 . Chief Filmore Tyson Heads State Firemen . Richmond Times-Dispatch . 1.
  35. 1925 . Virginia . Probation and Parole Directory.
  36. News: November 2, 1923 . Hopewell Opens Welfare Department . Richmond Times-Dispatch . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  37. News: August 1, 1923 . Turner Made Executive Secretary . Roanoke Times . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  38. News: Returns to Atlanta Home. The Hopewell News. September 9, 1927. 1.
  39. Atlanta, Georgia, City Directory, 1929, p. 1297
  40. News: February 3, 1927 . Hiccoughs Stopped by Digestamint . Atlanta Constitution . 10.
  41. News: Atlanta Man Spends Years Upon Formula. January 30, 1927. Atlanta Constitution.
  42. Tampa, Florida, City Directory, 1935 p. 628
  43. News: Charles Augustus Turner. The Tampa Tribune. November 25, 1943. Newspapers.com.

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