Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Earlham Hall, near Norwich, England |
| Died | January 4, 1847 (aged 58) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, evangelical minister |
| Known for | Member of the Gurney family; Quaker minister; Gurneyites |
Joseph John Gurney (2 August 1788 – 4 January 1847) was an English banker based in Norwich and a distinguished member of the influential Gurney family. He later became an evangelical minister within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and played a significant role in causing a division among American Quakers. Those who followed his teachings came to be identified as Gurneyites.
Biography
Joseph John was born at Earlham Hall, near Norwich, as the tenth offspring of John Gurney of Gurney's Bank. His siblings included prominent individuals such as Samuel Gurney, prison reform advocate Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney), and education author Louisa Hoare (née Gurney). Through his sister Hannah Buxton, he was connected by marriage to the abolitionist Thomas Fowell Buxton.
In September 1837, during a voyage from England, Gurney encountered Eliza Paul Kirkbride. Together, they undertook journeys across the United States promoting causes like prison reform, pacifism, and the abolition of slavery. Their partnership culminated in marriage in October 1841.
Gurney was an advocate for complete sobriety and wrote the pamphlet Water Is Best addressing this topic.
During his youth, writer George Borrow met Gurney near Earlham Hall; Borrow later described the grandeur of the hall in his novel Lavengro.
Works
Joseph John Gurney produced more than eighty publications, notable among them:
- 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 religious peculiarities of the Religious Society of Friends (1824)
- Essays on the Evidences, Doctrines and Practical Operations of Christianity (1825)
- Brief remarks on the History, Authority and Use of the Sabbath (1831)
- A Winter in the West Indies (1840)
- Religion and the New Testament (1843)
- Memoirs of Joseph John Gurney. With Selections from his Journal and Correspondence (1854), edited by Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, published in two volumes.
See also
References
- Milligan, Edward H. The Biographical Dictionary of British Quakers in Commerce and Industry 1775-1920. William Sessions Limited, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85072-367-7.