For years, I've known about the grave of the Rev. Turner
Chambers. He is buried at the Peter Harding Cemetery in Avery County, not far
from the Tennessee state line. This past Sunday, I actually found the cemetery
and crawled through the woods, visiting the grave of Chambers.
We don't know much about Turner Chambers. Local history has
it he was born a slave, but to whom he belonged remains a mystery. According to
his tombstone, he was born March 29, 1848. Chambers, according to his compiled
service record from the National Archives, was just 18 years old when he
enlisted in Company I, 40th United States Colored Troops. He stated that he was
born in Iredell County, North Carolina. Chambers enlisted on April 26, 1865, in
Greeneville, Tennessee, and gave his occupation as that of a farmer. For most of
his enlistment, he was reported present for duty, although at times, he was
sick and in the hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. On April 26, 1866, Private
Chambers was honorably discharged from the Union army. The only other piece
that his records provides is that Chambers was illiterate when he enlisted.
I was able to follow Chambers on the census following the
war. He is listed as living in the Toe River Township in Mitchell County in
1860. He is living with the A. D. Childs families, and working as a farm
laborer. The next listing on the census is for Isaac Avery, also a member of
the United State Colored Troops.
Chambers seemingly does not appear on the 1880 census, nor the 1890
veterans census for Mitchell County. In 1900 and 1910, he is listed as living
in the Cranberry Township of Mitchell County. His occupation is that of a
preacher. Chambers died on May 24, 1913.
I took this photo in November 2012. The cemetery is badly
overgrown. His gravestone is the one on the left.
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