George Henry VonBerg Turnbull

Younger brother of our Great Great Great Grandfather

George Henry VonBerg Turnbull was born circa 1814 in Scotland. He married Mary Arnott Drummond on 1 December 1837. Mary was born c 1819, died c 1887.

He and Mary Arnott Drummond emigrated in 1838 from Glasgow, Scotland on the "Portland", arriving in Sydney on 18 December 1838, accompanied by his sisters Agnes and Helen. He was described as a shoe maker. This is the same ship that his older brother Samuel had come out on a year earlier. More information on that ship is on Samuel's page.

He worked as a shoe maker in Sydney then moved to Collingood Victoria where he continued to trade as a shoemaker. He was closely associatede with the church. In 1860 he was called as a witness before a select committee of the Victorian government, who were inquiring into the boot making trade to determine whether a protective tariff should be imposed on the importation of footwear from other countries.

In December 1853 and "East Collingwood local committee" was formed to seek road improvements and drainage in the area. Henry of course was one of the most prominent councillors on this committee. In 1861 he owned properties in the north east corner of Wellington and Elizabeth Streets - a shop on Wellington Street and a wooden cottage in Elizabeth Street. At this time Elizabeth Street was only a muddy alley but it was soon widened to become part of the main thoroughfare, making his property one of the most valuable in Collingwood. At this stage he was described as a Scottish born "experienced agitator. On arrival in Sydney in 1838 he became noted for his participation in anti-transportation agitation, both in Sydney and in Melbourne, where he arrived in 1849". He was active in the East Collingwood local committee in 1854-1855 and later in the protectionist movement.

He died in 1875 in Victoria, Australia.

Archibald Turnbull b. 10 Nov 1839, died as an infant
Henry Drummond Turnbull b. 30 Oct 1840. He worked with his father as a shoe maker and is believed to have moved to Tasmania with his new wife around 1860. He is known to have been living in Victoria again about 1878. No children recorded.
Rev. James Archibald Turnbull b. Sydney 16 Feb 1843, d. 10 Mar 1901. He worked with his father as a shoe maker. He married his cousin Harriet (daughter of James Alexander Turnbull and Sarah Richmond - nee Barron) in 1862 and his family moved back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, with him working as a shoe salesman, until they divorced in 1878. He remarried to Ada Louise Taylor in 1879 and by this time he had become a missionary and had a long and distinguished career.
John Morier Turnbull b. 31 Aug 1845. He was a bootmaker at Horsham Victoria around 1868. From 1870 to 1890 he was in the Collingwood / Fitzroy areas. He married Mary Jane Macey around 1868 and died about 1907 at Heidelberg Victoria. They had 11 children.
George Drummond Turnbull b. 1847, d. 1858 aged 10.
Mary Arnott Drummond Turnbull b. 1851, d. 1928. She married Andrew Bolwell at Collingwood in 1871 aged 19 years. Andrew arrived in Victoria on the Sea Park in 1858 with his parents and siblings. He was licencesee of the United States Hotel, Neil Street Carlton about 1871. He died from a sudden liver complaint in 1873. Mary did not remarry after his death, even though she was only about 22 when he died, and lived most of her life in Sandringham Victoria. They had 2 children.
Ann Perry Morier Turnbull b. 1853, d. 1854 aged 16 months.
Samuel Perry Morier Turnbull b. 1855 at Collingwood and is believed to have been involved in the Salvation Army in Adelaide in the early '80s with his elder brother Rev. James Archibald Turnbull. Married Margaret Campbell Tough abpout 1876 and they had 7 children. He died in 1907.
Elizabeth Biggs Turnbull b. 1859 and married Edward John Kelley about 1884. She died about 1919 and they had 7 children.
Helen Von Berg Turnbull b. 1861, d. 1862 aged 7 months.

Source: Turnbull Clan web site and "A Collateral of Blantyre - A History of the Turnbull Family" by Samuel J Turnbull 1989 (ISBN 0 7316 6513 9)

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