Lot of 3 logs documenting activities of the
USS Nonsuch Aug. 8, 1821 to May 14, 1823 and Sept. 9 to Dec. 14, 1824. First with stylized ink script on first page,
Journal of U.S. Sch'r Nonsuch / Daniel Turner, Esquire, Commander / 1821. Pages 2 and 3 are elevation drawings of Corsica, Cape St. Vincent, and the Island of Milo (Milos). Next page is headed
Remarks & Occurrences on board the United States Sch'r Nonsuch, of 12 Guns, at New York, Daniel Turner Esq., Commander, with the first entry dated August 8, 1821. The earliest entries detail the acquisition of supplies and crew and interactions with the schooner
Dolphin and steamship
Robert Fulton before leaving port "On a Cruise" Sept. 15, 1821, arriving in Newport, Rhode Island, Sept. 29. The
Nonsuch left Newport Oct. 15 for a voyage across the Atlantic, arriving in Gibraltar November 11. A full page elevation drawing of Corvo Island in the Azores is included October 27. The next stop was Port Mahon, Menorca, Nov. 27, then a cruise toward the North African coast before returning to Mahon Dec. 12, where
Nonsuch stayed until March 12, 1822. She spent the next 14 months cruising the Mediterranean, with stops in Livorno, Naples, Messina, Smyrna, Malta, Tunis, Marseilles, and Malaga, several trips to Gibraltar, and extended stays in Mahon, including a four-and-a-half month stay Nov. 20 to April 9, 1823. The log ends at Malaga on May 14, 1823 and the next begins Sept. 9, 1824 at Palermo with a final entry dated Dec. 14, 1824 at New York.
Nonsuch spent most of the autumn of 1824 cruising the Mediterranean before making the voyage back to the United States, with only a few short stops in port. The third book is mostly odd notes and calculations, but also includes another accounts of the transatlantic voyage of Nov. 1824, as well as a few random dates in 1825 and 1826. First log is 8.75 x 11 in. with leather-covered boards, other two 8 x 13 in. with skin boards.
The William Turner Family
Lots 1-29 Cowan’s is pleased to offer selection of items from the William Turner family of Newport, Rhode Island, some of which have been passed down several generations. Items offered in this sale include photographs, manuscripts, signed documents, relics, and uniform accoutrements, most related to the naval careers of prominent members of the family. Photographs and other items related to less noteworthy members of the family will be offered in our July 2 to July 13 American History Timed Online Only auction, and many more items from the family, including furniture, silver, scrimshaw, painted portraits, and other fine art and decorative items will be offered in Cowan’s June 20 Americana sale. Below are brief biographies of members of the Turner family relevant to this sale.
1st Generation: Dr. William Turner (1712-1754) grew up in Newport, Rhode Island where, according to family history, he studied medicine under Dr. Norbent Vigneron (French, 1669-1764). After completing his apprenticeship, Dr. Turner relocated to Newark, New Jersey, where he opened a successful professional practice. William married Mehitable Foster (b. 1715) with whom he had four children, including Daniel (1750-1837), and Peter (1751-1822).
2nd Generation: Daniel Turner (1750-1837), known as Captain Daniel, married his first cousin Sarah Foster (1754-1809) before serving in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Together, they had ten children, including William (1775-1837), Peter (1781-1812), and Daniel (1794-1850).
2nd Generation: Dr. Peter Turner (1751-1822), Captain Daniel's younger brother, served as a surgeon in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army under General James Varnum (American, 1748-1789) and Colonel Christopher Greene (American, 1737-1781). Family tradition tells us that he served on General George Washington's staff at Valley Forge where he established a friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette (French, 1757-1834), who also stayed at Washington's encampment. Following the war, Dr. Turner and his wife Eliza Child settled in East Greenwich, Rhode Island at 21 Courthouse Lane, across the street from their brother-in-law General Varnum, whose wife Martha Child was Eliza's sister. Peter and Eliza had nine children, including Mehitable Foster (1780-1853).
3rd Generation: Commodore Daniel Turner (1794-1850), the son of Captain Daniel, began his career in the U.S. Navy as a midshipman at the age of fourteen, subsequently earning the rank of lieutenant on March 12, 1813. Two days later, he joined Oliver Hazard Perry's (American, 1785-1819) squadron at Sackett's Harbor, New York where he took command of the brig
Caledonia in the Battle of Lake Erie. On September 10, 1813, Turner distinguished himself by providing suppressive fire for Perry's flagship
Lawrence, thereby earning a Congressional medal and a sword from the State of New York. After serving under Perry's command on the frigate
Java and the schooner
Nonsuch, Turner commanded the
USS Erie and the
USS Constitution.
3rd Generation: Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), the son of Captain Daniel and the older brother of Commodore Daniel, served as a surgeon in the United States Navy. William married his first cousin Mehitable Foster (1780-1853), the daughter of Dr. Peter (1751-1822), and they had nine children, including Peter (1803-1871).
3rd Generation: Benjamin Bourne Turner (1780-1807), the son of Captain Daniel and brother of Commodore Daniel and Dr. William, appointed midshipman in the United States Navy Sept. 27, 1800, and lieutenant March 9, 1807. Unmarried, he was killed in a duel with Master John Rush, US Navy, Oct. 31, 1807, in New Orleans, over an argument about William Shakespeare.
4th Generation: Commodore Peter Turner (1803-1871) began his career in the U.S. Navy as a midshipman at the age of twenty, subsequently earning the rank of lieutenant on December 20, 1832. From 1834 to 1835, he served on the
USS Columbus within his uncle Commodore Daniel Turner's (1794-1850) Brazil Squadron. He also served aboard the
USS Constitution in the Pacific and afterward on special duty at Portsmouth Navy Yard. His final cruise was on the
USS Southampton before serving as commander of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as a commodore in 1867. He married Sarah Stafford Jones (1826-1875) and had five children, including Hettie Foster (1850-1937).
5th Generation: Hettie Foster Turner (1850-1937) married Henry Harlan (1848-1898) and they had three children, including James Turner (1881-1931), through whose descendants the Turner family collection is being offered for sale.
Provenance:Descended in the Turner Family of Newport, RI
Condition
Binding tight. Pages with light foxing but all text is clearly legible.