Page 17 - Demo

Family tradition
Vice President General Frank Keech Turner, Jr.
“My involvement with the Cincinnati is a family affair,” explains Frank Turner, our new vice president general. His father, Frank Keech Turner, Sr., was a member of the Society, as was his cousin, Gilly Gillespie. Frank’s wife, Francis, is the daughter of William Barlow Sanders, Jr. (Virginia), the granddaughter of Edwin Bryan Connerat (Georgia), and the niece of Edwin Bryan Connerat, Jr. (Georgia). Frank and Francis’ wedding reception as you might have guessed, was at Anderson House. Since then nine members of their extended family have joined the Society, including their son, Frank Keech Turner III.
Frank’s propositus is Lt. Thomas Andrew Dyson (1754-1806), an original member of the Maryland Society of the Cincinnati who participated in its founding in Annapolis in 1783. Lieutenant Dyson was born in Charles County, Maryland, and spent most of his life there. He enlisted in the Maryland Line in 1776—his name is recorded beside the names of Poseys, Swanns, Ferrells, Mudds, Cookseys and other families still found in the county. He was promoted to the officer ranks late in the war and served until November 1783, when the Second Regiment of the Maryland Line was disbanded. Dyson was among the last officers in the Continental Army to retire from the service.
Frank rose through the ranks of Maryland Society officers to become president in 2004. He was elect- ed assistant treasurer general in 2010. “What I have enjoyed most about serving as an officer on the Maryland Society, and now of the General Society, is the friendships I have developed with extraordi- narily interesting people from all over the country as well as France. What all these gentlemen have in common is a high sense of character and a commit- ment to the goals and ideals of our ‘One Society of Friends’ . . . and most enjoy a good party.”
Frank lives in Baltimore, and when not occupied with the Society of the Cincinnati, he works as executive vice-president of Howard Bank, a
Baltimore-based commercial bank. He and Francis have three children—Keech, 28, Lili, 27, and Carlyle, 23. In the time left over, he enjoys golf, biking, and hunting.
A history major at Washington & Lee, Frank is inspired by the achievements of our ancestors.
“I think about the Revolutionary War and our brave ancestors who overcame such long odds to give us the liberties and freedoms we enjoy today
. . . it’s our job to promote and protect the memories of the heroes of the American Revolution and the principles for which they fought.” He says we should consider the Battle of Brooklyn: “we actually lost it, but as a result of the exceptional bravery of a group of young Maryland soldiers under the command of Maj. Mordecai Gist, the American army escaped and survived
to fight another day. Even though greatly outnumbered by the British, the ‘Maryland 400’ changed the course of the war.”
We have an obligation to do the same, he says:
“to shape the future of the country through advocacy and education. That’s why we created the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati. “As one of the general officers who has spent much time involved in our financial and development activities,” he explains, “I understand that for the Institute to truly be successful, we need to increase our funding sources to ensure that we have the means to carry out our work.”
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