William B. Turner was born in New York in December 1834, the son of C. P. and Juliza Turner of Black Rock, New York. In 1857, he moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Northfield, Minnesota. Turner returned to New York around 1860, and worked as a printer in Buffalo until his death in 1917. He and his wife, Caroline Brainerd (1843-1914), had five children: George, William, Richard, Henry (or Harry), and Cornelia.
From the guide to the William B. Turner letters, Turner, William B. letters, 1857-1875, 1857-1859, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)