He was christened in 1743 at St John Horsleydown, Bermondsey, the son of blacksmith Thomas Turton and his wife Sarah. William Turton, goldsmith, married Elizabeth Trueblood Izzard at St John Horsleydown in 1764; they were both from that parish. Two of their children were christened at St Sepulchre, Holborn in 1765 and 1769, another at St John Horsleydown in 1775, the record showing William as a goldsmith. Two more of their children were christened at St Botolph, Aldersgate in 1780 and 1785 (Grimwade p. 686-7). The burial of a William Turner, registered in August 1798 at St Giles, Cripplegate is probably relevant. The mark MT, entered by Mehatabell Turton from Monkwell Street in October 1798, is suggested by Grimwade as possibly by William Turton’s widow. This now seems unlikely unless Elizabeth used such a name.