Joseph John Gurney (2 August 1788 - 4 January 1847) was a banker in Norwich, England and a prominent member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the English city. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ...

Gurney was born at Earlham Hall near Norwich, the tenth son of John Gurney, who was a banker and a Friend himself. He was always called Joseph John. He was the brother of Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry, a reformer, and also the brother-in-law-- through his sister Hannah--of Thomas Fowell Buxton, an anti-slavery crusader. Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (May 21, 1780 — October 12, 1845) was an English prison reformer, social reformer and philanthropist. ... Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786 – 1845) was a British Member of Parliament and social reformer. ...

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 but had little success. The debating chamber or hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels. ...

In 1818 Gurney was recognized as a Quaker minister. He was not a paid clergyman, as the Quakers did not have such people, but was noted as a person gifted by God for preaching and teaching.

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. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Home Secretary (official full title Secretary of State for the Home Department) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... The Gaols Act of 1823 was an Act of Parliament that provided for improvements in the treatment of prisoners in the United Kingdom. ...

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. Death Penalty World Map Color Key: Blue: Abolished for all crimes Green: Abolished, except for crimes committed under certain circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Orange: Abolished in practice Red: Legal form of punishment Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered...

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

While he was preaching in the United States he caused some controversy that resulted in a split among Quakers. Gurney 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 actual historical 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, his opponent, were called Wilburites. (See Quaker history.) John Wilbur July 17, 1774 – May 1, 1856 was a prominent American Quaker preacher who was at the forefront of a controversy that led to a split in the Religious Society of Friends in the United States. ... Early Days The Quaker movement began in England in the early 1650s. ...

Gurney family history and genealogy

Verily Anderson has written two books about the Gurney, Barclay and Buxton families:

• Northrepps Grandchildren (ISBN 1898030677)
  • Northrepps is a large manor house near Cromer, Norfolk, England that has been occupied by the same family for more than eight generations. This family now has thousands of members; many of whom have made their mark on British society. Notable are Thomas Fowell Buxton, of slave emancipation fame, and Elizabeth Fry, the social reformer. For the Buxton, Barclay and Gurney families Northrepps has been a central focus for many years and Verily Anderson recalls life at the house, providing a close-up account of family life through the eyes of the many children that used the house over generations.

• Friends and Relations (ISBN 1898030847)
  • This book is a detailed family history of the Gurney family, using information from family records.

Works of Joseph John Gurney

• 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)
• Religion and the New Testament (1843)

External Links

• Biography of Joseph John Gurney
• Sermons by Gurney and his followers from the Quaker Homiletics Online Anthology
• Verily Anderson, family biographer