Francese Hubbard Litchfield Turnbull, poet and author, was born in Utica, New York in 1845(?). She was the daughter of Edwin C. Litchfield and Grace Hill (Hubbard) Litchfield. She was educated at home and in Europe. In 1871, she married Baltimore attorney, Lawrence Turnbull. The Turnbulls resided in Baltimore, Md. and were the parents of five children: Edwin Litchfield, Eleanor Laurelle, Percy Graeme, Bayard, and Grace Hill. Percy Graeme died in 1887, and his parents established the Percy Turnbull Lectureship on Poetry at The Johns Hopkins University in his memory.

Mrs. Turnbull's interest in literature inspired her to become one of the founders of the Woman's Literary Club of Baltimore, Md. She served as the first president and was re-elected to that position seven times. She herself wrote several papers on literary topics which she read before the club members. Two of her papers were later published: "Sidney Lanier, A Study" published in Donald Sladen's series, Younger American Poets (1891) and "A Study of William Watson, published in Poet Lore (1897).

Mrs. Turnbull and her husband, Lawrence, were devoted to the interests of the poet, Sidney Lanier. The Turnbull and Lanier families became acquainted in 1870, and their friendship continued after the poet's death in 1881. Lawrence Turnbull, who shared his wife's enthusiasm for Lanier's work, had solicited contributions from other admirers in 1880 when Lanier was seriously ill. Letters of the poet's wife, Mary Day Lanier, indicate the deep feeling shared between the families. In 1890, Mrs. Turnbull published The Catholic Man, a novel in which the chief character, Paul, is a study of Sidney Lanier. Mrs. Turnbull assisted with arrangements for two tributes to Sidney Lanier held at The Johns Hopkins University, 1888 and 1895.

Mrs. Turnbull was the author of Val Maria (1893) and The Golden Book of Venice (1900). Francese Hubbard Litchfield Turnbull died in 1927.