273. Silas Claiborne TURNBO (James Coffee TURNBOW , James TURNBOW , John Andrew ) was born May 26 1844 in Taney County, Missouri. He died 1 Mar 27 1925 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
For over thirty years, hundreds, if not thousands, of genealogists have combed Turnbo’s pages for family history. Local historical societies have excerpted sections for deposit in municipal and county repositories. A host of newspapers and magazines have reprinted selected stories, but a clear history of the evolution of the collection itself is hazy.
Silas Turnbo (1844-1925) kept an unknown number of diaries during his career as a Confederate soldier, 1862-1865. In 1868 a fire consumed his parents’ house on White River in Marion County, Ark., including the diaries. Silas soon re-wrote much of his wartime experiences, but did not methodically return to them to author his regimental Civil War history until 1908. This manuscript was not published until Desmond Walls Allen privately printed it in 1988 and it is distinct from the larger collection of Turnbo’s Ozarks stories.
Silas Claiborne Turnbo (Great Uncle) was born May 26, 1844, Forsyth, Taney County, Missouri. S.C. Turnbo was a pioneer newspaper publisher and historian. He spent many years publishing small newspapers in Gainesville and several Arkansas communities including it is said Three Brothers. He traveled all over the Ozarks, talking to lots of people and writing books about his experiences. One of the books he wrote was "Fireside Tales of the Ozarks".
Silas was a rebel soldier in the 27th Arkansas Infantry. While serving in the infantry, Silas spent most of his meager funds buying books and was careful to keep a diary of his experiences. I happen to think of Silas as a real hero giving us something to look back on. With him having only a few months of schooling at subscription schools, that is, schools established by a group of neighbors, who pooled their scanty money to pay a teacher for a term of three to six months.
In 1902 Silas lost his 160 acre farm for foreclosure and was forced to move in with his son in law, Jess and Eliza Herd, in Pontiac, Missouri. In 1905 Silas published his first book of 173 pages under the title Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks, but sales were very sparse. He peddled them himself door to door. The cost of printing the book left him even more impoverished and he remained still dependent on his family for support. After 1913 Silas moved from one relative to another and stayed with them until they pretty well told him to move on, always working on his family's history. At times he would stay in the Confederate Home in Higginsville, Missouri. He also developed a reputation among his relatives for being somewhat eccentric. Many of them viewed him as someone who did not work and wasted his time talking about the old days before the Civil War. Some of his descendants later regarded him even more harshly and claimed that his writings were worthless. But Silas continued writing his books that are so valuable to us today. It wasn't until 50 years after his death that his dream finally became a reality. His writings after 1913 were probably thrown away by unappreciative family members after his death in 1925. Over the course of his lifetime, Silas, had composed over 823 stories. After being desperately in need of money, and in poor health, Silas wrote a publisher who agreed to buy his stories for a mere $27.50.
Silas married Mary Matilda Holt on January 28, 1869. Silas died 1925 in Oklahoma.
Silas and Mary are both buried in Oklahoma. Silas and Mary had 5 children.
Silas married Mary Matilda HOLT on Jan 28 1865. Mary was born 1 1848. She died Jun 27 1925 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. |
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