Turner Saunders
The Rev. Turner Saunders (January 3, 1782–March 9, 1854), a noted Methodist preacher, was born in Brunswick County, Virginia.[1]
In 1830 he was elected President of the Board of Trustees of an academy for young women. This was LaGrange College, near Leighton, Alabama, which was burned during the Civil War. He served in that position until moving to Aberdeen, Mississippi, in 1844. Saunders lived in the mansion currently known as the Goode-Hall House, also known as Saunders' Hall, in Lawrence County, Alabama. It is an example of the kind of vernacular classicism that a talented amateur with access to some architectural books could produce for a local builder to follow. The house was sold to Freeman Goode on Feb 12, 1844. There is a room with a dirt floor that is called 'the dungeon' by locals. It has bars on the windows and chains on the wall. There is also a brick-floored kitchen in the basement where the slaves are said to have cooked the meals.
Family
Turner Saunders was the son of Revolutionary War veteran Thomas Saunders. His mother was Ann Turner. Turner married Frances Dunn and moved to Franklin, Tennessee in 1808;[2] then in 1822 he and his wife moved to Courtland, Alabama.[2] His wife died in 1824 and he married Henrietta Millwater on July 1, 1826. Saunders and his wife moved to Aberdeen, Mississippi where he died on March 9, 1854. Ten children survived him.
One of Turner's sons, James E. Saunders, authored the first major history of Lawrence County, Alabama. James was aide and personal friend to Gen. Nathan Forrest. James built a plantation house about 1860 known as Rocky Hill Castle, some four miles south of his father's mansion between Town Creek and Courtland. Rocky Hill Castle was widely accepted as being haunted due to a disagreement between the architect and James Saunders.