PATRIOT Obediah Turpin^{[1, 2]}

Abt 1761 - 1844  (~ 83 years)

• Name	Obediah Turpin
  Title	PATRIOT
  Born	Abt 1761
  Gender	Male
  Died	1844
  Person ID	I547450444	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	27 Sep 2013

  
  

  Father	Michael Miles Turpin,   b. Est 1740, Henrico Co., Colonial Virginia ,   d. Jan 1794, Halifax Co., Virginia  (Age ~ 54 years)
  Mother	Edith Wadlow,   b. Est 1740, Henrico Co., Colonial Virginia ,   d. Aft 1794, Halifax Co., Virginia  (Age ~ 55 years)
  Family ID	F518495051	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Headstones

  Obediah Turpin hs

  
  

• Notes

  http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INOWEN/2000-07/0963923207 Revoluationary War soldiers from Owen County, Indiana Randi Richardson COUNTY'S REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS BRING REALITY TO THE FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION (Editor's note: This is the seventh installment in a series of articles initiated by the Evening World on Independence Day in 1994. The series features the military history of Revolutionary War veterans who were also pioneers in Owen County.) Independence Day is a time set aside to honor the brave men who fought for and won our country's freedom in the Revolutionary War more than a century ago. A number of those men eventually made their way to Owen County, Indiana, where some lived out their life, and others lingered only a while. Obediah Turpin fell into the latter group. Obediah was born in Virginia in 1761 to Henry and Ann (Williamson) Turpin in the midst of a lengthy war between the colonists and British against the French and Indians. By the time the war ended, the British were left with a staggering debt. To recoup their losses, the British began taxing the colonists on newspapers, pamphlets and almanacs. When the tax was repealed the following year, it was replaced with a new tax on glass, paint, paper and tea. With each effort the British made to control the colonists, the colonists moved in the opposite direction. Patrick Henry, a young Virginian lawyer and charismatic leader, became the voice of the people who wanted independence. He is well remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Henry met with other Virginians who reflected his views, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Great Britain turned a deaf ear to the colonists, leading Jefferson to write a Declaration of Independence in July 1776 at the direction of the Continental Congress. With the last stroke of his pen, the colonists were at war, none more enthusiastic than the Virginians. Obediah, only 15 that year, was too young to contribute to the war effort but not too young to absorb the attitudes of independence expressed by his fellow Virginians. In early 1779, when Obediah turned 18, he enlisted for 18 months in Captain Richard Worsham's company under Colonel Merreweathers. He was assigned to drive a forage and baggage wagon. His company was marched to Petersburg and remained there throughout the fall. Then on to Charleston, South Carolina, until shortly before the city surrendered, and finally to Guilford County, North Carolina. It was there that Obediah's term expired in the fall of 1780. The fight for independence was neither quick nor easy. It continued to rage in 1781, and Obediah re-enlisted for three months serving as a substitute for John Williamson who was, perhaps, a maternal uncle or cousin. During this engagement he was stationed at Portsmouth for two months and the remainder of his time at Petersburg. By early spring of that year, Virginia had become crucial to the military operations of the war. If it fell to the British, the North would be cut off from the South leaving the north vulnerable to British control. Consequently, General George Washington was given authority to use whatever force, at whatever cost, to make certain Virginia did not fall. Under these circumstances, Obediah, the young, battle-worn soldier, was called upon yet again to serve his country. In the early fall of 1781, he was drafted for three months and served as a servant to Jesse Walton in Yorktown. Walton supplied arms and ammunition to the army. By early October, the situation looked very bad for the British. And as it deteriorated, the decision was made to surrender the soldiers rather than suffer defeat. Terms were negotiated. On the seventeenth, the fighting was over. After the war ended, Obediah moved to Rutherford County, North Carolina, where he took a bride. But he wasn't there long. Sometime before 1810, he joined many others in the long trek to Kentucky and settled in Knox County. A few years later, he moved north again and settled with his family in the wilderness of Owen County, Indiana. He paid tax there in 1819. In 1820 both he and his son, Thomas, were taxed in Owen. Obediah was by then 59 years old; it is believed that Thomas had just turned 21. In 1829, Thomas began buying property in Owen County. He sold it all in 1832, the same year he began buying land in Hendricks County, Indiana. Obediah apparently cast his lot with Thomas as their lives followed similar paths. Obediah, at the age of 70, voted in Hendricks County in an election on April 4, 1831. Two years later, in 1833, both Obediah and Thomas were residing in Boone County. Thomas served on the Boone County jury that year, and Obediah gave Boone County as his address when he applied for his pension in Marion County. The trip to Marion County was made necessary because no one in Boone County knew how to fill out the needed paperwork. The application was approved the following year. Obediah was granted an annual pension of $20.00. Thomas disappeared from Indiana by 1840. Obediah, on the other hand, was back in Owen County living alone. The census taker noted his age as 81, just a few years older than his actual age of 79. Even at this advanced age, Obediah apparently moved one more time. When he died 1844, he was buried in the Danville East Cemetery, in Boone County, not Owen. Thus ended the life of a good soldier who had traveled much, and served his country well.

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Mary Frances Reynolds Eggleston, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17323505. Headstone Photo Obediah is also mentioned in his father's Will Halifax Co., VA, Will Bk 3, p. 96, Will of Michael Turpin of H, very sick and weak of body but of perfect mind, To my wife Edith--all my stock and my household furniture and the land which lies the other side of the creek, during her natural life, and then to descend to my sons John and James. I also give my wife the mill and half the profit (the other half to son Obediah Turpin). To my son Obediah Turpin--the remainder of the land. If the rent of the land does not pay for the land at the end of 4 years, then each of the boys before mentioned to pay equally what is due. Executors: sons Obediah, John and James. Signed--Michael (+his mark) Turpin. Wit--Allen Whitehead, Benjamin Clements, Josiah (+his mark) Shelton. The will of Michael Turpin dec'd was OR at H Court of Jan. 27, 1794. [S3] Mary Frances Reynolds Eggleston, https://www.google.com/search?q=Obediah+Turpin&client=firefox-a&hs=56N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=KBFGUuHnIfip4APJ54CIBg&ved=0CEIQsAQ&biw=1076&bih=996&dpr=1. Images for Obediah Turpin