Daisy Turner Time Period: 1900-Present - Modern Vermont Women Subject Category: Arts,Equal Rights,Everyday Life Notable Facts Daughter of former slaves who moved to Vermont after the Civil War. Gifted storyteller and rights activist. She lived for over a century and is the subject of several works by the Vermont Folklife Center.   Personal Information Date of Birth: 06/21/1883 Date of Death: 02/1988 Primary Residence: Grafton Religion: UNKNOWN Ethnicity: African American Daisy Turner Historical Significance: Daisy Turner was born in Grafton, Vermont, one of thirteen children born to parents who were former slaves. She was a famous for her oral recordings of her family's history, which can be traced back three generations to Africa. Turner's great-grandmother was shipwrecked while traveling from England to Africa on her honeymoon during the early 19th century. She was saved by an African chieftain's son, and had a child with him (Daisy's grandfather, Alexander). Alexander was captured by a slave trader and taken to New Orleans, where he was bought by John Gouldin and taken to Gouldin's plantation in Port Royal, Virginia. There, Daisy's father, Alec, was born a slave. Alec was taught to read by the master's granddaughter, and later escaped, joining the Union Army during the Civil War. After the Civil War, the Turner family moved north, where her father worked in a saw mill and raised enough money to purchase a 100 acres in Grafton, Vermont and build Journey's End Farm. Daisy Turner was proud of her family heritage, and was a strong, outspoken woman from childhood to her death at the age of 104. Daisy Turner is remembered as a gifted storyteller and family historian. She is the subject of the Vermont Folklife Center's Peabody Award-winning audio documentary, "Journey's End: The Memories and Traditions of Daisy Turner". Stories from her life have also been the subject of two Vermont Folklife Center books, "Alec's Primer" and "Daisy and the Doll". Daisy Turner maintained Journey's End after her parents' deaths. The Turner family homestead is located on the "Daisy Turner Loop", a biking trail near Grafton Pond. Organizations or Movements: Vermont Folklife Center Occupations: Storyteller Farmer Family historian Level of Education: Primary school Additional Information: Vermont Folklife Center http://vermontfolklifecenter.org/multimedia/womenspeak/womenspeak_turner/ Film by UVM and VT Folklife Center http://www.filmakers.com/indivs/OnMyOwn.htm Daisy Turner Loop, Grafton Pond http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=BGN080-009 "Those Indomitable Vermont Women", essay by Jane C. Beck www.aauw.org American Association of University Women Sweterlitsch, Richard. "Jessie 'Daisy' Turner." Edited by John Duffy. In The Vermont Encyclopedia, University of New England Press, 2003. Related Attractions: VERMONT FOLKLIFE CENTER Exhibits of contemporary and traditional folk arts, a heritage shop. HOURS: Mon.-Sat., 10-5 pm. Middlebury (802) 388-4964 Search for related events: Enter Keyword: