Turley, George W.

Born: 1798-03-05 Montgomery County, Kentucky

Died: 1865-02-28 Mount Pulaski, Illinois

George W. Turley was one of the earliest and most prominent settlers in the early years of Logan County. Turley moved from Kentucky to the area that would become Mount Pulaski in the early 1820s. He became justice of the peace, holding that position while the area was still part of Sangamon County until his death. He also served as a teacher and unofficial authority on legal matters for settlers in the area. He was one of three promoters of Mount Pulaski, the first to enter land in Mount Pulaski Township in 1828 and one of the first to build a house in the town. In 1836, Turley joined the company that laid out the town. In 1841, one of the town's first schools was established on Turley's land. Turley married Margaret Scott, and the couple had four children. Turley was involved in several lawsuits in which Abraham Lincoln was the opposing attorney, most notably when Turley sued Logan County for an injunction to stop the relocation of the county seat from Mount Pulaski to Lincoln.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Logan County, 59:15, 68:55, 72, 200, 258, 69:9, 170, 70:101, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Lawrence B. Stringer, History of Logan County Illinois (Chicago: Pioneer, 1911), 1:61, 436, 589, 591; Turley et al. v. Logan County, Illinois, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=136053; Gravestone, Mount Pulaski Cemetery, Mount Pulaski, IL.