From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Turner, Roxy

(born: 1856 - died: 1901) Sister Roxy Turner, born in Madison County, KY, was the founder and head of the Power Church, also referred to as the Power Society. She founded the church around 1891 based on the belief that all faithful worshipers in the service of God would receive a mysterious power from heaven, and that there were seven steps toward acquiring the supreme power that would allow you to converse with the dead. There were congregations in Lexington, Cadentown, Warrentown, Brucetown, all in Fayette County, and in Nicholasville, Winchester, and Louisville. The churches were said to have a combined total of 1,000 or more members. The church sermons could last for days and they would sometimes get loud and the police were called. There was also a court case due to the dispute between the Powers and the Methodists concerning damages to the church in Cadentown during services held at the church by the Powers. The church in Lexington was located at the corner of Warnock and Constitution Streets, and there was a membership of 120 persons. Sister Roxy Turner was a large woman who stood about 6'2" tall. She claimed to have the power to heal the sick and to communicate with the dead. She was the wife of James Turner, they married in 1876, and she was the mother of Rolly Turner [source: 1900 U.S. Federal Census]. The family lived on Race Street and James Turner was a farm laborer. No occupation was listed in the census for Roxy Turner or her son who was also a preacher in the Power Church. Roxy Turner died February 24, 1901 from "La Grippe" (Spanish flu), her funeral arrangements were handled by Porter and Jackson, and she is buried in African Cemetery #2 [source: Kentucky Certificate of Death #5034]. For more see "Head of a church is dead," The Atlanta Constitution, 02/27/1901; "Queer believers," The Evening Herald [Syracuse, NY], 10/01/1898; and "The Seven Powers," The Hartford Herald, 10/18/1896, p.4.