George Turner is Born

Today in Masonic History George Turner is born in 1850.

Turner was born in Edina, Missouri on February 25, 1850, where he attended the common schools.

During the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, he was a young telegraph operator with the Union forces. He was admitted to the bar in 1869 then set up practice in Mobile, Alabama. President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him to be the United States marshal for the southern and middle district of Alabama from 1876 to 1880. He served as the Alabama Republican Party chairman,1882-1884. Shortly after he relocated to Washington Territory.

In 1885 President Grover Cleveland appointed him an associate justice on the Washington Territory Supreme Court. He served until 1888 when he set up law practice in Spokane and became active in mining. He was a member of the Territorial Convention in 1889 convention where they framed the constitution of the State of Washington. He was unsuccessful as a Republican candidate for the Senate in 1889 and in 1893 but in 1896 did win election as part of what was called a fusionist ticket of Silver Republicans, Democrats and Populists. U.S. Senators at the time were elected by the State Legislature so it is not clear if he decided not to seek a second term he wasn't able to garner the necessary votes. He served only one term from March 4, 1897, until March 3, 1903, then resumed his law practice in Spokane.

He was a member of the Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903. He was a candidate for Governor in 1904 election but was defeated by Brother Albert Mead. In 1910, he was the United States counsel at The Hague Conference on northeastern fishing arbitration with Great Britain. President William Howard Taft appointed him a member of the International Joint Commission created to prevent boundary disputes between the United States and Canada. He served on the commission from 1911 through 1914 and as the United States counsel for the Commission from 1918 until 1924. At the 1916 Democratic convention, his name was placed in nomination for Vice President but being from far the farthest northwestern state with a small population he was little more than a token candidate. He continued to practice law in Spokane for many years and died there January 26, 1932, He is interred in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Mount Turner on the Alaska-British Columbia border was named for him.

He was Raised in Spokane #34 {Spokane} May 1886 but the exact date is missing in the Grand Lodge records. The Grand Lodge records do not show him as having been an elected officer in Spokane Lodge.

This article provided by Brother Coe Tug Morgan – Honorary Grand Secretary, Past Grand Historian Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Washington.