Became postmaster of Walkerton VA in 1849, suceeding his brother Benjamin Turner. He was postmaster during the Civil War because the Post-master General at the start of the war, John H. Reagan received authorization from Congress to continue all postmasters then in service if they were willling until new appointments could be made. He was dismissed after the war by the Yankee authorities. He lived in the house formerly occupied by Wade Sale, which stood where the Dillard Hotel stood.22