James Milton Turner was born in 1839 or 1840, the son of Hannah, who had been enslaved to Reverend Aaron and Theodosia Young, and John Turner, a farrier. Hannah and James Turner were freed in 1843.

James Turner received the start of his education in the St. Louis, Missouri area. His parents sent him to Oberlin College in Ohio to complete his preparatory education.

Turner returned to St. Louis and worked as a porter in the late 1850s. He served in the Civil War as butler or personal servant to Madison Miller. He joined the Missouri Equal Rights League in 1865, an organization composed of African Americans and white supporters advocating for African American political and civil rights.

Later in the 1860s, Turner taught in schools around Missouri. He served as an agent to the Freedmen's Bureau and the Missouri Department of Education to investigate the condition of African American education in Missouri and establish more schools for African American children.

President Ulysses S. Grant named Turner U.S. minister and consul general to Liberia in 1871, a post Turner held until 1878. Turner was the first known African American to hold a post in the U.S. Diplomatic Corps. When he returned to the States, Turner continued being active in politics and in supporting formerly enslaved African Americans, particularly those in Indian Territory, though his influnence waned after the 1870 elections and he eventually became disillusioned with the Republican Party.

James Milton Turner died on November 1, 1915 in Ardmore, Oklahoma and was buried in Father Dickson Cemetery in Crestwood, Missouri.

[Information retrieved from Kremer, Gary R., "James Milton Turner (1839?-1915)," Missouri Encyclopedia, State Historical Society of Missouri, https://missouriencyclopedia.org/people/turner-james-milton and Engel, Elizabeth E., "James Milton Turner," Historic Missourians, State Historical Society of Missouri, https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/james-milton-turner.]