Matthew Turner was born in Geneva, Ohio on June 17, 1825, the fourth child of George Turner and Emily Atkins. George Turner owned a sawmill on the shores of Lake Erie and later launched his first ship, the sloop "Geneva", in 1839, to ship lumber and building stone. Matthew, after watching the construction of the "Geneva" and a later vessel the "Philena Mills", designed his first ship, the schooner "G.R. Roberts". His father was sufficiently impressed with the design to build the boat, which was launched in 1848. Matthew took on the command of the boat and later that year married Amanda Jackson. Amanda died in childbirth with their first child. On a trip down the Mississippi river in late 1849 he heard about gold mining in California and set off for the West Coast in 1850. He spent 3½ years mining gold in Calaveras County and was quite successful.