BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D. D., LL. D.

Bishop H. M. Turner, D. D., LL. D., D. C. L., was born near
Newbury Court House, South Carolina, February 1, 1833 or
1834. His mother's maiden name was Sarah Greer, the youngest
daughter of David Greer, who was brought to this country
when a boy and sold in Charleston, S. C. Greer was the son
of an African king. His father, the African king, sent seven
African slaves for the return of his son, but the captain of
the slave ship dying before he returned, the son received
his freedom when South Carolina was still under British
rule, upon the ground that Royal blood could not be
enslaved. Henry McNeal Turner was the oldest son of Hardy
Turner and Sarah Greer Turner. Henry grew up on the cotton
fields of South Carolina, and when eight or nine years old
he dreamed he was on a high mountain and millions of people
were looking up at him for instruction, white and colored.
He then procured a spelling book and commenced to learn to
read and write, to prepare to give that vast multitude
instruction. He got a white boy to teach him his alphabet
and how to spell to three syllables. By this time he was
large enough to wait in a law office at Abbeville Court
House, S. C. The young lawyers took great pleasure in giving
him instruction in their leisure moments for pastime. He
gained a respectable knowledge of history, arithmetic,
geography, astronomy and some other branches, but would not
study grammar, as he thought he could talk well enough
without a knowledge of grammar.