Joseph John Gurney: Difference between revisions

Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney
Born	August 2, 1788; Earlham Hall, Norfolk, England
Died	4 January 1847 (aged 58)
Spouse	Eliza Paul Kirkbride Gurney (m. 1841)

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Joseph John Gurney (2 August 1788 – 4 January 1847) was a banker in Norwich, England and a member of the Gurney family of that city. He became an evangelical minister of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), whose views and actions led, ultimately, to a schism among American Quakers.

Biography[edit]

Gurney was born at Earlham Hall near Norwich (now part of the University of East Anglia), the tenth child of John Gurney (1749–1809) of Gurney's Bank. He was always called Joseph John. He was the brother of Samuel Gurney, Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney), a prison and social reformer, and Louisa Hoare (née Gurney), a writer on education, and also the brother-in-law – through his sister the campaigner Hannah Buxton – of Thomas Fowell Buxton, who was also an anti-slavery campaigner.^[1]

In September 1837 Gurney met Eliza Paul Kirkbride while returning from England.^[2]^[3] The two worked together during his trips to the United States, and Kirkbride joined Gurney in preaching in favor of prison reform, pacifism, and the abolition of slavery.^[2] Gurney married Kirkbride in October 1841.^[2]

Gurney also advocated total abstinence from alcohol. He wrote a tract on the subject called Water Is Best.^[4]

As a boy George Borrow used to fish the River Yare near Earlham Hall and on one occasion was caught by Joseph John Gurney. Gurney later invited the boy into the hall to see his books.^[5] In his semi-autobiographical novel Lavengro, Borrow recalls the hall with great precision: "On the right side is a green level, a smiling meadow, grass of the richest decks the side of the slope; mighty trees also adorn it, giant elms, the nearest of which, when the sun is nigh its meridian, fling a broad shadow upon the face of the ancient brick of an old English Hall. It has a stately look, that old building, indistinctly seen, as it is, among the umbrageous trees."^[5]

Works[edit]

Notes on a visit made to some of the prisons in Scotland and the North of England in company with Elizabeth Fry; with some general observations on the subject of prison discipline (1819)
Observations on the peculiarities of the Religious Society of Friends (1824)
Essays on the Evidences, Doctrines and Practical Operations of Christianity (1825)
History, Authority and Use of the Sabbath, (1831)
The Moral Character of Jesus Christ (1832)
A Winter in the West Indies (1840)
Religion and the New Testament (1843)
Gurney, Joseph John (1854). Braithwaite, Joseph Bevan (ed.). Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney. With Selections from his Journal and Correspondence. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. in 2 volumes: vol. 1, vol. 2^[6]

References[edit]

^ Clare Midgley, ‘Buxton , Priscilla (1808–1852)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2015 accessed 26 June 2017
^ ^a ^b ^c "About West Hill". www.westhillnj.org. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
^ "Gurney, Eliza Paul Kirkbride". House Divided. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
^ "Gurney, Joseph John".
^ ^a ^b Earlham Hall on www.literarynorfolk.co.uk, access date 13 Sept 2012.
^ Review of Gurney (1854): "Memoirs of J.J. Gurney". The Gentleman's Magazine. 42: 134–139. 1854.

External links[edit]

Claus Bernet (2008). "Joseph John Gurney". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 29. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 515–526. ISBN 978-3-88309-452-6.
Biography of Joseph John Gurney
Sermons by Gurney and his followers from the Quaker Homiletics Online Anthology
Verily Anderson, family biographer
Milligan, Edward H. "Gurney, Joseph John (1788–1847)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11771. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.). The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Gurney, Joseph John" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

[1] Clare Midgley, ‘Buxton , Priscilla (1808–1852)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2015 accessed 26 June 2017

[:1-2] "About West Hill". www.westhillnj.org. Retrieved 2 September 2023.

[:0-3] "Gurney, Eliza Paul Kirkbride". House Divided. Retrieved 2 September 2023.

[4] "Gurney, Joseph John".

[literarynorfolk-5] Earlham Hall on www.literarynorfolk.co.uk, access date 13 Sept 2012.

[rev1854-6] Review of Gurney (1854): "Memoirs of J.J. Gurney". The Gentleman's Magazine. 42: 134–139. 1854.

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[2]

[3]

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[6]

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+{{Short description|British banker, 1788–1847}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
 {{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
 {{infobox person
-|name=Joseph John Gurney
+| name               = Joseph John Gurney
+| image              = Print (BM 1924,0308.239) (cropped).jpg
-|image=Joseph John Gurney.jpg
-|birth_date=2 August 1788
+| birth_date         = {{birth date|1788|08|02}}
-|birth_place=[[Earlham Hall]], [[Norfolk, England]]
+| birth_place        = [[Earlham Hall]], [[Norfolk, England]]
-| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1847|01|04|1788|08|02}}
+| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1847|01|04|1788|08|02}}
+| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Eliza Paul Kirkbride Gurney]]|1841}}
-| death_place =
-| nationality =
-| other_names =
-| occupation =
-| known_for  =
 }}
-'''Joseph John Gurney''' (2 August 1788 – 4 January 1847) was a banker in [[Norwich]], [[England]] and a member of the [[Gurney family (Norwich)|Gurney family]] of that city. He became an evangelical minister of the [[Religious Society of Friends]] (Quakers), whose views and actions led, ultimately, to a schism among American Quakers.
+'''Joseph John Gurney''' (2 August 1788 – 4 January 1847) was a banker in [[Norwich]], [[England]] and a member of the [[Gurney family (Norwich)|Gurney family]] of that city. He became an evangelical minister of the [[Quakers|Religious Society of Friends]] (Quakers), whose views and actions led, ultimately, to a schism among American Quakers.
 ==Biography==
-Gurney was born at [[Earlham Hall]] near [[Norwich]] (now part of the [[University of East Anglia]]), the tenth child of [[John Gurney (1749–1809)]] of [[Gurney's Bank]]. He was always called Joseph John. He was the brother of [[Samuel Gurney (1786–1856)|Samuel Gurney]], [[Elizabeth Fry|Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney)]], a prison and social reformer, and [[Louisa Gurney Hoare|Louisa Hoare (née Gurney)]], a writer on education, and also the brother-in-law – through his sister the campaigner [[Hannah Buxton]] – of [[Thomas Fowell Buxton]], who was also an [[abolitionism in the United Kingdom|anti-slavery]] campaigner.<ref>Clare Midgley, ‘Buxton , Priscilla (1808–1852)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2015 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55183, accessed 26 June 2017]</ref> He was educated by a private tutor at Oxford, members of non-conformist religious groups being ineligible to matriculate in his day at the English universities.
+Gurney was born at [[Earlham Hall]] near [[Norwich]] (now part of the [[University of East Anglia]]), the tenth child of [[John Gurney (1749–1809)]] of [[Gurney's Bank]]. He was always called Joseph John. He was the brother of [[Samuel Gurney (1786–1856)|Samuel Gurney]], [[Elizabeth Fry|Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney)]], a prison and social reformer, and [[Louisa Gurney Hoare|Louisa Hoare (née Gurney)]], a writer on education, and also the brother-in-law – through his sister the campaigner [[Hannah Buxton]] – of [[Thomas Fowell Buxton]], who was also an [[abolitionism in the United Kingdom|anti-slavery]] campaigner.<ref>Clare Midgley, ‘Buxton , Priscilla (1808–1852)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2015 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55183, accessed 26 June 2017]</ref>
+In September 1837 Gurney met [[Eliza Paul Kirkbride Gurney|Eliza Paul Kirkbride]] while returning from England.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About West Hill |url=http://www.westhillnj.org/about2.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.westhillnj.org}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Gurney, Eliza Paul Kirkbride |url=https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/41715 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=House Divided}}</ref> The two worked together during his trips to the United States, and Kirkbride joined Gurney in preaching in favor of prison reform, pacifism, and the abolition of slavery.<ref name=":1" /> Gurney married Kirkbride in October 1841.<ref name=":1" />
-In 1817 Gurney joined his sister Elizabeth Fry in her attempt to end [[capital punishment]] and institute improvements in prisons. They talked with several Members of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] but had little success.
+Gurney also advocated [[Teetotalism|total abstinence]] from alcohol. He wrote a tract on the subject called ''Water Is Best''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc05/htm/ii.iii.htm | title=Gurney, Joseph John }}</ref>
-In 1818 Gurney was a recorded [[Quaker]] [[Recorded Minister|minister]]. (This meant he was noted as a person gifted by God for preaching and teaching, but Quakers then neither explicitly designated individuals to take substantial roles in their worship, nor financially supported its ministers unless their travels in that role would otherwise have been impractical.)
-Eventually [[Robert Peel]], the [[Home Secretary]], took an interest in [[prison reform]] and introduced the [[Gaols Act 1823]], which called for paying salaries to wardens (rather than their being supported by the prisoners themselves) and putting female warders in charge of female prisoners. It also prohibited the use of irons or manacles.
-Gurney and Fry visited prisons all over [[Great Britain]] to gather evidence of the horrible conditions in them to present to Parliament. They published their findings in a book entitled ''Prisons in Scotland and the North of England''.
-Gurney campaigned against slavery during trips to North America and the West Indies from 1837-1840. He promoted the Friends' belief in world peace in [[Ireland]], Scotland, the [[Netherlands]], Belgium, Germany, and Denmark. He also continued to promote the abolition of [[capital punishment]].
-Gurney also advocated [[Teetotalism|total abstinence]] from alcohol. He wrote a tract on the subject called ''Water Is Best''.<ref>http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc05/htm/ii.iii.htm</ref>
-While Gurney was preaching in the United States he caused some controversy that resulted in a split among Quakers. He was concerned that Friends had so thoroughly accepted the ideas of [[the inner light]] and of Christ as the Word of God that they no longer considered the actual text of the Bible and the New Testament Christ important enough. He also stressed the traditional Protestant belief that salvation is through faith in Christ. Those who sided with him were called Gurneyite Quakers. Those who sided with [[John Wilbur (Quaker minister)|John Wilbur]], his opponent, were called Wilburites. (See [[Quaker history]].)
-Gurney was an early supporter of [[Earlham College]] in [[Richmond, Indiana]] and the college was named after his family home, [[Earlham Hall]], in honour of his support and encouragement.
 [[File:The Gurney Family Burial Plot.JPG|thumb|right|Joseph John Gurney's grave (right) in the Gurney family burial plot at [[Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery, Norwich]].]]
-As a boy [[George Borrow]] used to fish the [[River Yare]] near Earlham Hall and on one occasion was caught by Joseph John Gurney. Gurney later invited the boy into the hall to see his books.<ref name=literarynorfolk>[http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/earlham.htm Earlham Hall on www.literarynorfolk.co.uk, access date 13 Sept 2012]</ref> In his semi-autobiographical novel ''Lavengro'', Borrow recalls the hall with great precision: "On the right side is a green level, a smiling meadow, grass of the richest decks the side of the slope; mighty trees also adorn it, giant elms, the nearest of which, when the sun is nigh its meridian, fling a broad shadow upon the face of the ancient brick of an old English Hall. It has a stately look, that old building, indistinctly seen, as it is, among the umbrageous trees."<ref name="literarynorfolk"/>
+As a boy [[George Borrow]] used to fish the [[River Yare]] near Earlham Hall and on one occasion was caught by Joseph John Gurney. Gurney later invited the boy into the hall to see his books.<ref name=literarynorfolk>[http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/earlham.htm Earlham Hall on www.literarynorfolk.co.uk, access date 13 Sept 2012.]</ref> In his semi-autobiographical novel ''Lavengro'', Borrow recalls the hall with great precision: "On the right side is a green level, a smiling meadow, grass of the richest decks the side of the slope; mighty trees also adorn it, giant elms, the nearest of which, when the sun is nigh its meridian, fling a broad shadow upon the face of the ancient brick of an old English Hall. It has a stately look, that old building, indistinctly seen, as it is, among the umbrageous trees."<ref name="literarynorfolk"/>
-George Borrow describes Joseph John Gurney thus: '" Canst thou answer to thy conscience for pulling all those fish out of the river, and leaving them to gasp in the sun?" said a voice, clear and sonorous as a bell. I started and looked round. Close behind me stood the tall figure of a man, dressed in raiment of quaint and singular fashion, but of goodly materials. He was in the prime of vigour and manhood; his features handsome and noble, but full of calmness and benevolence; at least i thought so, though they were shaded by a hat of finest beaver, with broad drooping eaves. "Surely that is a very cruel diversion in which thou indulgest my young friend?" he continued. "I am sorry for it... but I don not think it cruel to fish... Simon Peter [in scripture] was a fisherman"   "True,.. but they did not follow fishing as a diversion.."
-Whether from the effect of his words, or from want of inclination for the sport, I know not, but from that day I became less and less a practitioner of that "cruel fishing"'.
 ==Works==
+{{more citations needed section|date=December 2023}}
+*''Notes on a visit made to some of the prisons in Scotland and the North of England in company with Elizabeth Fry; with some general observations on the subject of prison discipline'' (1819)
+*''Observations on the peculiarities of the Religious Society of Friends'' (1824)
 *''Essays on the Evidences, Doctrines and Practical Operations of Christianity'' (1825)
 *''History, Authority and Use of the Sabbath'', (1831)
@@ Line 46: / Line 32: @@
 *''A Winter in the West Indies'' (1840)
 *''Religion and the New Testament'' (1843)
+* {{cite book
+| last = Gurney | first = Joseph John | author-link = Joseph John Gurney
+| date = 1854
+| title = Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney. With Selections from his Journal and Correspondence
+| editor-last = Braithwaite | editor-first = Joseph Bevan | editor-link = Joseph Bevan Braithwaite
+| location = Philadelphia
+| publisher = Lippincott, Grambo & Co.
+}} in 2 volumes: [https://archive.org/details/memoirsofjosephj01gurn_0/ vol. 1], [https://archive.org/details/memoirsofjosephj02gurn_0 vol. 2]<ref name=rev1854>Review of {{harvp|Gurney|1854}}: {{cite journal
+| date = 1854
+| title = Memoirs of J.J. Gurney
+| journal = The Gentleman's Magazine
+| volume = 42
+| pages = 134–139
+| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MFZIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA134
+}}</ref>
 ==See also==
-*[[Gurney family (Norwich)]]
+* {{annotated link|Gurney family (Norwich)}}
-*[[Gurney's bank]]
+* {{annotated link|Gurney's bank}}
 ==References==
-{{Reflist|30em}}
+{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
-*{{BBKL|g/gurney_j_j|band=29|autor=Claus Bernet|spalten=515-526}}
+* {{BBKL|g/gurney_j_j|band=29|autor=Claus Bernet|spalten=515-526}}
-*[http://www.spartacus-educational.com/RAgurney.htm Biography of Joseph John Gurney]
+* [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/RAgurney.htm Biography of Joseph John Gurney]
-*[http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpages/qhoa/19thgurney.htm Sermons by Gurney and his followers from the Quaker Homiletics Online Anthology]
+* [http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpages/qhoa/19thgurney.htm Sermons by Gurney and his followers from the Quaker Homiletics Online Anthology]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050630074457/http://www.author.co.uk/anderson/ Verily Anderson, family biographer]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050630074457/http://www.author.co.uk/anderson/ Verily Anderson, family biographer]
-*{{ODNBweb|first=Edward H.|last=Milligan|title=Gurney, Joseph John (1788–1847)|id=11771}}. {{DNBfirst|wstitle=Gurney, Joseph John}}
+* {{ODNBweb|first=Edward H.|last=Milligan|title=Gurney, Joseph John (1788–1847)|id=11771}}. {{DNBfirst|wstitle=Gurney, Joseph John}}
-*''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rT52nszBm_cC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney]''
-{{Authority control}}
+{{authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Joseph John}}
+[[Category:1788 births]]
+[[Category:1847 deaths]]
+[[Category:19th-century British businesspeople]]
+[[Category:burials in Norfolk]]
 [[Category:English bankers]]
 [[Category:English Quakers]]
-[[Category:People from Norwich (district)]]
+[[Category:Gurney family|Joseph John]]
+[[Category:people from Norwich (district)]]
 [[Category:Quaker evangelicals]]
 [[Category:Quaker theologians]]
 [[Category:Quaker writers]]
-[[Category:1788 births]]
-[[Category:1847 deaths]]
-[[Category:Gurney family]]

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Latest revision as of 15:24, 17 December 2023

Biography[edit]

Works[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]