Thomas Turner

Thomas Turner (9 June 1729 – 6 February 1793) was a shopkeeper in East Hoathly, Sussex, England. He is now most widely known for his diary.

Early life

Turner was born at Groombridge in the parish of Speldhurst, Kent. In 1735 Turner's father took a shop in Framfield, Sussex.

The Diary, 1754–1765

Turner kept a diary for eleven years of his life, the first surviving entry of which is 21 February 1754. The diary served a number of purposes, including as an accounting book, a record of legal and property dealings, a place for religious reflection and as a means of describing Turner's everyday life. The failure of his marriage to live up to Turner's expectations is a frequent cause of his low mood in the diary's entries.

Diary manuscript and publication history

The diary has never been published in full. David Vaisey's edition retains about one third of its content. The periodical Sussex Archaeological Collections printed some excerpts from the diary in 1859: the text is now in the public domain, and can be read online. The surviving 111-volume manuscript is held in the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University.

Vaisey's edition of the diary also cites several documents in the East Sussex Record Office, such as account books and bastardy bonds, which were entirely written by Turner.

Later life

Turner ended his diary a few weeks after his second marriage, to Mary Hicks (1735–1807), on 19 June 1765.

In the years after his second marriage, Turner was able to live comfortably. He bought his shop, and also purchased both land and East Hoathly's main public house. He fathered seven children - one girl and six boys. Only three of the children lived to be older than twenty.

Turner died on 6 February 1793 and was buried in East Hoathly churchyard on 11 February. His gravestone is on the right hand side of the church near the Clements Room, just in front of the table tomb of Philip Turner his son, and Philip's family. There is also a gravestone for Peter and Frederick, sons of Thomas and Mary Turner at the same place. A commemorative plaque marks his house.