newspaperman, politician, businessman, b. Schuyler Falls, N.Y. In 1855 he moved to Wisconsin, settling in Portage, where he soon became active in local politics and newspaper ventures. He was co-editor of the Portage City Record (1857-1861), and when that paper merged with the Portage Wisconsin State Register, served as co-editor of the newly established paper until 1878. A Republican, Turner held local offices in Portage, was state assemblyman (1863-1864, 1866, 1869), and was several times mayor of Portage. From 1872 to 1874 he was in charge of compiling the Wisconsin Legislative Manual (now known as the Wis. Blue Book), was chief clerk of the state senate (1876-1878), and from Feb., 1878, to Feb., 1882, served by appointment as state railroad commissioner. Turner was several times a delegate to his party's national conventions, and in 1890 and 1900 supervised the U.S. census in Wisconsin. In 1891 he was one of the leaders in the Republican anti-gerrymander campaign directed against state Democratic attempts at reapportionment. Turner resided in Portage until his death, was for many years a leading figure in various railroad promotions designed to utilize Portage as a railroad hub, and was an ardent student of local history. He was the author of several pamphlets and articles that dealt primarily with the Republican party and the history of Portage and Columbia County; his interest in frontier communities found fuller expression in the writings of his son, Frederick Jackson Turner (q.v.). J. E. Jones, Hist. of Columbia Co. (2 vols., Chicago, 1914); A. M. Thomson, Political Hist. of Wis. (Milwaukee, 1900); Wis. Mag. Hist., 1, 11; Portage Daily Register, June 12, 1905; WPA MS; A. J. Turner Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Andrew J. Turner Genealogical Papers for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

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[Source: Blue book]