Thomas Goodwin Turner (October 24, 1810 – January 3, 1875) was an American politician and businessman who was the 26th Governor of Rhode Island from 1859 to 1860.

Early life

Turner was born in

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

in Bristol County, Rhode Island. He started work as a clerk in a dry goods store at the age of 14, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was self-educated, and returned to Warren to co-found a dry goods and tailoring business there. He was married to Mary Pierce Luther. They had seven children, four of whom died in very early life. During the years 1857-58, Turner became an active member of the Baptist Church in Warren. He was a trustee of

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and a member of the Rhode Island Historical Society. RI Governor Thomas Turner engraving

Career

Turner served in the state militia during the Dorr Rebellion, and commanded the pro- Governor King forces at Acote's Hill. After the rebellion, Turner was elected to the State Assembly from Warren. He served as

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from 1857 to 1859. Turner succeeded his fellow Republican Elisha Dyer as Governor of Rhode Island, serving from May 31, 1859 to May 29, 1860.The Political Graveyard
as above. He was a supporter of Abraham Lincoln, and failed to win renomination by the Republican Party in 1860. After leaving office, he was appointed by President Lincoln to the position of First Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Rhode Island.

Later years

Turner was President of the Equitable Insurance Company, of Providence, Rhode Island, in his later years. He died in his home in

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

.Obituary.; Anthony Hoguet. Hon. Thomas G. Turner. Mrs. Vining.
'' New York Times'' January 4, 1875. He was buried at South Burial Ground, Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Thomas G. 1810 births 1875 deaths Republican Party governors of Rhode Island Burials in Rhode Island People from Warren, Rhode Island American business executives Lieutenant governors of Rhode Island Trustees of educational establishments 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople