Josiah Turner family oil portraits c. 1817

Josiah Turner Sr., his wife, Eliza Estes Turner, and his wife's aunt, Eliza Estes Evans, sat for many hours at their Orange County home while an artist painted these portraits.

The Turners are captured at an exciting moment in American history when a wild political fervor swept over the country with the election of Andrew Jackson to the White House.

The newlyweds lived comfortably on their sizable farm bought from earnings Josiah amassed during the eight years he served as sheriff of Orange County beginning in 1810.

These three portraits of the Turner family all need immediate conservation.

Eliza Estes Evans was born in 1759 only six years after Orange County was established. She lived through America's war for independence and the drafting of the Constitution. She is the wife of Eliza Estes, who married Josiah Turner Sr.

In this close-up of Eliza's portrait you can begin to see some of the extensive damage. Years of soot and dirt cover the painting and the paint is cracking and flaking off. Orange patches on her face are signs of a additional painting from a later artist. Eliza's portrait is in the worst shape of the three family portraits and will be the first to be completely destroyed.