Thurman, John P.

John Thurman, Jr. (1737-1809) was the son of John and Elizabeth (Wessels) Thurman, Sr. of New York City. Thurman was a merchant and land agent removing to Warren County after the Revolution, residing on Elm Hill. Thurman was instrumental to the development of the Johnsburgh and Thurman, New York region erecting the first saw and grist mills, store, distillery, cotton factory and calico printing factory. His land dealings included Dartmouth Patent, the Gore, Hyde Township and Totten and Crossfield's Purchase, Warren County, the Road Patent, Essex County and lands in Montgomery County, Clinton County, the Catskills, and along the Susquehanna River. John Thurman may not have married and had children as his nephews, Ralph Thurman Jr., Richardson Thurman, and Nicholas Roosevelt Jr. played an active role in his businesses. John Thurman Jr. died in 1809 after being gored by a bull and was buried in Johnsburgh Corners, Warren County, New York.

From the description of Papers, 1741-1835. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86164613

The Thurman and Ecklin families resided in western Tennessee near Memphis in Shelby and Fayette counties during the Civil War era. The Ecklins were from Morning Sun and their daughters, including Sallie Ecklin, were educated at a residential school called the Macon Female Institute, Macon County, Tenn. In the autumn of 1856, Sallie Ecklin and John P. Thurman were married. They lived on a farm in Hickory Withe and raised three children, two of whom were Royster and Berta.

John P. Thurman enlisted in the Confederate Army no later than March 1862. The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 lists him as having served as a sergeant in Company B of the Tennessee 3rd (Forrest's) Cavalry Regiment until at least April 1865. He seems to have served also with McDonald's Battalion. He fought in many battles and raids along the Mississippi River and its environs, including the Battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. He survived the war.

Beverly S. Thurman, John P. Thurman's brother, served in Company A of the Tennessee 4th (Neely's) Infantry rising to the rank of 2nd lieutenant. He was killed in Georgia in 1864.

From the guide to the John P. and Sallie Ecklin Thurman Papers, 1844-1896, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)