The most exciting find in this packet of documents she sent to me is that Captain Simeon Turner, my 5th great grandfather, owned the property and farmhouse that Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane rented in 1843 for their Utopian experiment and named "Fruitlands." Simeon Turner purchased the property in 1773, moving north and west from Marshfield, Massachusetts. His first wife died within their first year here. Fruitlands has been restored and is now a museum with artists in residence, a beautiful spot for weddings and events. I need to visit to see how much if any of my ancestors' original home is still there.
In the pages detailing the settling of his estate, there is a listing of his heirs. This provides me with several more avenues to explore if I'd like to. It also confirmed my line, indicating that his daughter Bethiah is the Bethiah Turner who married Warren Kent from Marshfield, Massachusetts and moved to Readfield, Maine and Kent's Hill. (I had been attempting to trace my line through women, which can be rather tricky as they are just tick marks and not named in early Census records) Through these documents, I also discovered the real name of one of Warren and Bethiah's sons. According to Census transcriptions, their son's name was "Duvelle," which really puzzled me. Reading these documents, I discovered that Simeon Turner's mother's maiden name was Dwelly. He had named two sons Dwelly, one dying very young and the second being one of his two sons by his second wife. That makes so much more sense for their son's first name than "Duvelle."
"In the fourth year of American Independence," Simeon Turner gives "one half the Real Estate Farm Land premises in said Harvard on which farm I now dwell" "in consideration of the love and good will which I have and do bear towards my son Consider Turner of said Harvard.......and also in consideration of $6000.00." This document was written in November 1779 and recorded in December 1781. As he nears the end of his life, the other half of his farm and buildings is divided into thirds between his second wife and the heirs of some of his sons.
On May 17, 1802, Simeon Turner, 84 years old, writes his last will and testament. By this time, . three of his sons are deceased leaving four sons and two daughters. He leaves his second wife as much of his estate as is necessary for her support and also his great bible while she remains his widow. He also leaves her all the household furniture she brought with her at the time of their marriage. He bequeaths $20 to the heirs of his son Prince Turner. He bequeaths $1 to his son Elisha Turner. To his daughter Bethiah, wife of Warren Kent, he bequeaths $20. To his daughter Rachel, $125 as well as his side saddle, six silver tea spoons and his three green dining chairs. Rachel is unmarried at this time. He bequeaths $16 to his granddaughter Nancy Newman, daughter of his deceased son Luther. To his sons Dwelly and Caleb and the heirs of his deceased son Simeon, he bequeaths all the rest and residue of his estate to be equally divided. His son Consider is not mentioned, but he had purchased one half of the farm twenty years earlier.
There are pages detailing the selling of his property and the settlement given to all his heirs, including the heirs of his son Elisha who is also deceased by this time. The selling of the divided parts of the property to Samuel Sprague took place from 1806 through 1818! It appears that Simeon's widow remarried and had purchased a portion of the house and property from Dwelly and Caleb (Simeon's sons born to her). I cannot tell definitively from these pages, but it appears that Sprague still owned the property when it was rented to Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane.
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