EA Turner, NOT EA Sports- Finding Lost Family History

As stated in the entry prior to this, I did some family researching this past week instead of my morning pages...oops.  I have to say though that it was time well spent and found a person that I have been looking for ever since my Grandma Booth first mentioned him- Ezekiel Ashley Turner(1954-1999), my Great Great Grand Uncle.


I grew up looking at the paintings created by my Great Grandmother, Louise (Turner) Smith, of landscapes filled with the ocean tide, or rolling hills of trees.  My father and grandmother have often told me how much I remind them of her, not only because of my passion for art, but also because of my curly hair and temperment.  Due to the stories about her, I have always felt that I shared a special connection with her, though I never had the pleasure of meeting her.


My Grandma Booth then told me of Louise's Uncle being an artist in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and told me that he actually had a painting at the Louvre.  I knew that his last name was Turner, but I wasn't sure about anything else.


The television show Who Do You Think You Are helped to respark my interest ( FASCINATING SHOW!) and the search began all over again.  I was excited to find his work online, but have only found a few pieces so far.  Three of them are at the Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, Michigan as they were commissioned by Charles H. Hackley.  I found that Mr. Hackley actually paid for Ezekiel to study art in Paris as well!  What an opportunity!


It was difficult to find images of his works, but here are the ones that I have found so far-

I found this one as being a part of an online art auction recently in Ohio titled Summer Landscape.  It was auctioned for $422 and I wish I would have known about it!!!  The following are details of this painting:

The following portrait is of Charles H. Hackley and was found in horrible condition (holes through the canvas!) in the boiler room of a nearby school.  Thankfully it was restored in 2008.

This last work was downloaded terribly from the Hackley Library flickr site- but I wanted an image so badly of it to share!  So many people in this work!  I believe that somehow I will acquire a better image of this in the future by contacting them, or ordering it.  It is still on display at the Hackley Public Library and is the Dedication of the Library.


Thank you for taking the time- I felt that I needed to share this, as I cringe at the idea Ezekiel or any of us being forgotten in the folds of history.  Ode to our ancestors for making our lives possible and inspiring us to overcome the challenges of our own lives by looking at their examples.