Sergeant, Company K, 14th Kentucky Cavalry
As researched by Stephen D. Bowling
Son of Roger, Jr. and Ellen (Sebastian) Turner
Born about 1835 on the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River in Perry County, Kentucky
1850 Breathitt County, Kentucky Census
District 1, House #293-294
Edward Turner 69
Sally Turner 63
Betsy Turner 19
Boyd Turner 15 Farm Laborer
1860 Breathitt County, Kentucky Census
District 1, House #151-151
Sally Turner 64
Nancy Turner 35
Betsy Turner 26
Rachel Turner 8
Boyd Turner 23 Farm Hand
Detily Turner 38
Military Service
Company K, 14th Kentucky Cavalry, United States Army
Enrolled- 1862, December 12 in Breathitt County for one year
Mustered in- 1863, June 15 at Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky
Promoted- 1863, February 12 to Sergeant from Private
Last Paid- 1863, August 31
Amount for clothing in kind or money advanced- $86.38
Due to the United States for arms, equipments, & c.- $7.28
Bounty paid- $25.00
Stop of pay for:
1 curb bridle
1 halter
1 watering bridle
Mustered Out- posthumously on 1864, March 24 at Camp Nelson, Jessamine County, Kentucky
Highest Rank- Sergeant
Died on November 28, 1863, at the regimental hospital in Jackson, Breathitt County, Kentucky, of jaundice (an alternative date of 1863, December 9, is also contained in the records).1
Buried on November 29, 1863, in Jackson, Breathitt County, Kentucky (Tombstone Order indicated he was buried in the Village (Old City) Cemetery on Lower Marcum Heights near the present location of the Van Meter Gym at Lees College).
The following pension was falsified and created by Alfred Little as part of his massive pension scheme in 1884-1885 to defraud the United States Government. Boyd Turner was never married. The Pension Board did not issue a Widow’s Pension for an Elizabeth Turner. Alfred Little was subsequently convicted in Federal Court of fraud and imprisoned in Atlanta.
Union Widow’s Pension
1881, November 21
Application #287807
Pension Denied
There is no doubt where Boyd Turner died and where he was buried. The tombstone (as with several of the cases falsified by Alfred Little) was produced and shipped. Apparently, the stone was never placed on Boyd Turner’s grave. The cemetery was dismantled and moved about 1913. The exact location of his grave is not known today. He could be one of the graves that remain on Lower Marcum Heights, unmarked and forgotten.
© 2024 Stephen D. Bowling
- He may have actually died at Irvine in Estill County, Kentucky because there was no regimental hospital at Jackson. His official military service records list both Jackson and Irvine as his place of death. There is so much misinformation in his case due to the fraud perpetrated by Alfred Little. ↩︎
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