James H. Turner was born on October 23, 1841, in Franklin County, Virginia, to John and Jane Turner. He grew up and attended school in Franklin County before enrolling at Roanoke College. By 1860, he was working as a teacher in Franklin County, and he owned $6,200 of personal property.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on June 1, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company K of the 10^th Virginia Cavalry. He was promoted to 3^rd lieutenant in June 1862. The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign.

 

He married Josephine Glossbenner on October 23, 1867, and they had at least three children: Lenore, born around 1870; Frank, born around 1872; and Grace, born around 1876. By 1880, he was working as a minister in Petersville, Maryland. According to an early biographer, he was “active in educational work in Maryland and Virginia.” He became president of the Maryland College for Women in 1880, and he served until his retirement in 1908.

 

He traveled abroad in 1903, and his passport described him as 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with gray hair and blue eyes. His wife died in 1917. By 1920, he was living in his daughter Lenore’s household in Baltimore. He died there on June 25, 1930.

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