The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 585

ALBERT C. TURNER.

Albert C. Turner, whose agricultural interests include one hundred and sixty
acres of land near Outlook, is classed with the successful and representative
farmers of his district. What he undertakes he accomplishes. He is a man of
determination and energy and allows no obstacle or difficulty to bar his path
if it can be overcome by persistent and earnest effort. Mr. Turner comes to the
northwest from Minnesota, his birth having occurred in Goodhue county, that
state, October 1, 1863, his parents being Swan and Amelia Turner, natives of
Sweden. They came to the United States in 1854 and for a short time were
residents of Illinois but afterward cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers
of Minnesota, where the father became a successful farmer, and both he and his
wife spent their remaining days in that state.

Albert C. Turner acquired a public school education and at the age of seventeen
years came to the northwest, making his way to Idaho and then to Washington. He
worked for wages for a few years and in 1898 he became a resident of Williston,
North Dakota, where he embarked in general merchandising, continuing in the
business for a year. He then returned to Tacoma, Washington, where he was
engaged in the wall paper and painting business for a few years. In 1891 he
arrived in Yakima county- and purchased sixty acres of sagebrush land on the
present site of Outlook. "There he cleared the place and carried on farming for
ten years, selling the property, however, in the fall of 1901. For two years
thereafter he resided in Yakima and then purchased eighty acres of land two and
three-quarters of a mile northwest of Outlook. This was partly improved and he
has continued the further work of development until his place is a highly
cultivated property. He has erected a fine home upon it and has extended the
boundaries of his farm by the purchase of an additional eighty acres, so that he
now has one hundred and sixty acres in all. The sagebrush has been replaced by
productive fields, annually bringing forth large crops of hay, corn and
potatoes. He now rents the ranch to his sons, who thus in large measure relieve
him of active work.

One the 24th of June, 1890, Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Johnson, a native of Norway, where her mother still resides, but her father has
passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Turner have been born the following named. Chester,
their eldest son, is in the quartermaster's department with the rank of sergeant
major in France. He enlisted in November, 1917, and soon afterward went
overseas. He was married on July 23, 1917, to Ella Berg, of Yakima. Alfred, the
second son, enlisted in April, 1917, in the United States Marines and reached
France on the 15th of August of that year. He was on duty with the military
police in Paris for eleven months and after that was at the front. Robert is in
the photographic department of the aviation service. He enlisted in July, 1917,
and went to France in January, 1918. Paul enlisted in 1918 in the State
University Training School and was discharged after the armistice was signed.
The other sons of the family are Walter and John, at home. The record of their
sons is indeed one of which the parents have every reason to be proud.

Fraternally Mr. Turner is a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Granger, and he
also has membership in the Modern Woodmen camp at Sunnyside in which he has
filled all of the chairs. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. In
politics Mr. Turner may be said to be an independent republican, for while he
usually supports the men and measures of the party, he does not consider himself
bound by party ties. He has served for twelve years as a member of the school
board of his district and has always been interested in questions relating to
the welfare and progress of his community. He was a trustee of the first water
users' association of this part of the county and he built the first drainage
system in his section. He acted as supervisor of construction of drainage
district No. 2. In the fall of 1916 he was elected county commissioner and was
reelected in 1918 for a term of two years. He is a stalwart supporter of the
good roads movements, believing in paved roads, and in fact is a supporter of
all general improvement. He has likewise been most helpful in war activities and
his wife has been a most earnest worker in the Red Cross. Four of their sons
enlisted, not waiting for the draft, and the family indeed rendered valuable aid
to the country during the period of world strife. They are among the most highly
esteemed residents of the section in which they make their home, Mr. Turner
being recognized as a prominent and successful rancher who is known all over the
county, and he is moreover further deserving of mention in this volume as one of
the pioneers of his district, aiding in initiating the work of improvement and
development which has made the region one of the most attractive and productive
of the Yakima valley.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.