Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 23.djvu/371

  ‘The Pastor's Last Words, being the four last sermons preached by J. H. Gurney,’ 1862.  ‘Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, edited by Henry Alford,’ 1862.  ‘Four Ecclesiastical Biographies, Hildebrand, Bernard, Innocent III, Wiclif,’ 1864.  ‘Four Letters to the Bishop of Exeter on Scripture Readers.’ Besides many single sermons and lectures.



GURNEY, JOSEPH (1744–1815), short-hand writer. [See under .]

GURNEY, JOSEPH (1804–1879), shorthand writer and biblical scholar, eldest son of [q. v.], was born in London on 15 Oct. 1804. He first attended an important committee of the House of Commons in 1822, and continued to take notes till 1872. On his father's resignation in 1849, he was appointed shorthand writer to the houses of parliament. Like his father, he manifested a great interest in religious and philanthropic movements. He was for more than fifty years a member of the committee of the Religious Tract Society, and latterly its treasurer. He was also treasurer of the baptist college in Regent's Park. He was well versed in biblical criticism and devoted much time to bringing out popular commentaries on the Bible. The best known of these was ‘The Annotated Paragraph Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments according to the authorised version, with explanatory Notes, Prefaces to the several Books, and an entirely new selection of references to parallel and illustrative Passages,’ two vols., London, 1850–60, 8vo, published by the Religious Tract Society. It was very successful, and received high praise from scholars of repute. The notes were prepared by competent men under Gurney's supervision. Besides two or three other bibles, he brought out ‘The Revised English Bible,’ London, 1877, 4to, on the same lines as, and closely resembling, the later official revised version. The profits of his literary works he gave to the Religious Tract Society. On his retirement from the office of shorthand writer to the houses of parliament in 1872, the office was conferred on his nephew, Mr. William Henry Gurney Salter. Gurney died at Tyndale Lodge, Wimbledon Common, on 12 Aug. 1879, and was interred at the Norwood cemetery. He married first Emma, daughter of E. Rawlings, esq., and secondly, Harriet, daughter of J. Tritton, esq., of Lombard Street.



GURNEY, JOSEPH JOHN (1788–1847), philanthropist and religious writer, born at Earlham Hall, near Norwich, on 2 Aug. 1788, was the tenth child and third son of John Gurney, a member of a well-known quaker family, and a successful banker in Norwich, who was descended from Joseph, younger brother of (1689–1741) [q. v.] Joseph John was therefore a brother of [q. v.] and [q. v.] Of his sisters, Elizabeth, the third, became [q. v.], and Hannah became the wife of [q. v.] The mother of Gurney died while he was an infant, so that his domestic training fell to a large extent to his elder sisters, and especially to Mrs. Fry. Of a tall and manly figure, a handsome face, and a very affectionate disposition, Gurney was a favourite both with young and old. In his boyhood he was sent to study at Oxford under a tutor, though being a quaker he never became a member of the university. He was greatly and permanently attracted by classical study, and found that its discipline harmonised well with the discipline of self-control so characteristic of the Friends. His first literary effort was a contribution to the ‘Classical Journal,’ in the form of a review of Sir William Drummond's ‘Dissertations on Herculaneum.’ The learning shown in the paper was remarkable, and he was able to correct many of the author's statements. Gurney also studied Hebrew. From an early period he had many serious thoughts. His quaker views, at first rather lax, came to be held with great strength of conviction. Self-inspection became a ruling habit of his life; once a quarter, in what he called his ‘quarterly reviews,’ and every night, in ‘quæstiones nocturnæ,’ he examined the actions and spirit of each day.

In 1818 he felt himself called to be a minister of the Society of Friends, and from that time he was much engaged in work appropriate to his calling. In addition to such work, he was attracted strongly by philanthropic enterprises, and other, especially educational, movements for the benefit of the community. In conjunction with Mrs. Fry, he took a great interest in prison reform, thoroughly sharing her views on that subject. He was intimately associated with Clarkson, Wilberforce, Buxton, and others in the cause of slave emancipation. In politics he was a liberal, and an energetic and hearty supporter of free trade. In the Bible Society he took a very special interest, the day of the celebration of the society at Norwich being always a