Charles Turner Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's7th district | |
| In office June 28, 1809 – March 3, 1813 | |
| Preceded by | William Baylies |
| Succeeded by | William Baylies |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1760-06-20)June 20, 1760 |
| Died | May 16, 1839(1839-05-16) (aged 78) |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Charles Turner Jr. (June 20, 1760 – May 16, 1839) was aU.S. Representative fromMassachusetts.
Born inDuxbury in theProvince of Massachusetts Bay, Turner received a common-school education at Duxbury and Scituate. He was commissioned an adjutant in the Massachusetts State Militia in 1787. He was promoted to major in 1790, and held the rank of lieutenant colonel commandant 1798–1812.
He was appointed first postmaster ofScituate, Massachusetts, in 1800. He was in theJustice of the Peace. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1803 and 1805–1808.
He successfully contested as aDemocratic-Republican the election of William Baylies to theEleventh Congress. He was reelected to theTwelfth Congress and served from June 28, 1809, to March 3, 1813. He served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Twelfth Congress). "...Charles Turner, member for thePlymouth district, and Chief-Justice of the Court of Sessions for that county, was seized by a crowd on the evening of August 3, [1812] and kicked through the town."[1]
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to theThirteenth Congress. He served in the State senate in 1816.He was again a member of the State house of representatives in 1817, 1819, and 1823. He was appointed steward of the Marine Hospital atChelsea, Massachusetts. He served as delegate to theMassachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820–1821.
He also engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Possibly the first non-Native American to climbMount Katahdin in Maine, Turner was the first to record his climb. About the ascent he wrote: On Monday, August 13, 1804, at 8 o’clock A.M. we left our canoes at the head of boat waters, in a small clear stream of spring water, which came in different rivulets from the mountain, the principal of which (as we afterwards found) issued from a large gully near the top of the mountain. At 5 o'clock, P.M. we reached the summit of the mountain. Katahdin is the southernmost and highest of a collection of eight or ten mountains, extending from it north east and north west.
He died inScituate, Massachusetts, May 16, 1839. He was interred in the burial ground of the First Parish of Norwell (formerly Scituate).
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 7th congressional district June 28, 1809 – March 3, 1813 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
