Turner Anderson Gill (December 8, 1841 – July 18, 1919) was a Democratic

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

from 1875 to 1876.

Biography

Gill was born in

Bath County, Kentucky Bath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,750. The county seat is Owingsville. The county was formed in 1811. Bath County is included in the Mount Sterling, KY Micropolitan ...

on a farm. He received a law degree from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he fought on the Confederate side and was wounded at the Battle of Corinth and

Battle of Champion's Hill The Battle of Champion Hill (aka Champion's Hill) of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Major General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. He was captured at

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

. After being exchanged he joined General Shelby's regiment, was promoted to captain, and participated in the

Battle of Westport The Battle of Westport, was fought on October 23, 1864, in modern Kansas City, Missouri, during the American Civil War. Union Army, Union forces under Major General (United States), Major General Samuel R. Curtis decisively defeated an outnumber ...

. During his term as mayor he inherited a city that was deeply in debt and having to pay its bills with

scrip A scrip (or ''wikt:chit#Etymology 3, chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit (finance), credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitative payment of employees un ...

t. He successfully reestablished Kansas City's credit, earning him the nickname "Little Giant of the Third Ward." After serving as mayor he was a city counselor and became a circuit court judge. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Turner A. 1841 births 1919 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Missouri Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri People from Bath County, Kentucky University of Missouri alumni