Erastus J. Turner

Who was Erastus J. Turner?

Erastus Johnson Turner was a U.S. Representative from Kansas.

Born in Lockport, Pennsylvania, Turner attended college in Henry, Illinois, in 1859 and 1860. He moved to Bloomfield, Iowa, in 1860. Enlisted in Company E, Thirteenth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in 1864 and served until the close of the Civil War. He attended Adrian College 1866-1868. He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and commenced practice at Bloomfield, Iowa. He moved to Hoxie, Kansas, in 1879 and resumed the practice of law. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1881-1885. Secretary of the Kansas Board of Railroad Commissioners from April 1, 1883, to August 1, 1886.

Turner was elected as a Republican to the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890. Practiced law several years in Washington, D.C.. He moved to Seattle, Washington, in 1905 and continued the practice of law. He retired from active pursuits in 1916 and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he died February 10, 1933. He was interred in Forest Lawn Mausoleum, Glendale, California.