Grundy-Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Gurney, George F July 2, 1832 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com February 20, 2006, 3:34 am Author: WW Stevens, 1907; Gen/Bio Rec Will Co IL 1900 George F. Gurney. It is solely through his determination and perseverance of character that Mr. Gurney has become known as one of the wealthy land owners of this county. When he came here, in the spring of 1845, he was a boy of thirteen, the oldest of a family of three sons and three daughters, whose father had been defrauded of his money, and who were therefore early obliged to begin the battle of life for themselves. He found Joliet a small hamlet, whose few inhabitants eked out a precarious subsistence, but with the sturdy resolution characteristic of pioneers remained hopeful and with the far-seeing eye of faith worked for the benefit of future generations. Owing to his father’s ill fortune he was early obliged to become self-supporting and to contribute to the maintenance of the family. During 1847 and 1848 he worked at canal construction. When the canal was completed, on the 4th of July, 1848, he towed the first canal boat out of Joliet, going to Chicago for Henry Fish and returning with a load of lumber for Otis Hardy. During the summer of the same year he went to Grundy County and, with seven yoke of oxen, worked at breaking prairie soil, but in the fall returned to this county. Buying teams of his own, in the spring of the next year he began to break prairie and followed that occupation for a few years, after which he herded cattle for Smith, Hatton & Rogers. Turning his attention to agricultural pursuits, he became the owner of one of the finest farms in the county, the value of which was due entirely to his careful cultivation and judicious oversight. He is still the owner of large tracts of farm land, but since 1894 has been living retired in Joliet, where he built and occupies a residence at No. 505 Union street. Mr. Gurney was born in Gloucestershire, England, July 2, 1832, a son of William and Ruth (Hooper) Gurney. His father, who was the son of a ship chandler and vessel owner, brought his family to the United States in 1844, and after a short sojourn in Cook County, Ill., in the spring of 1845 came to Joliet. A few years later he died in Kankakeetown, this county. His wife died in Channahon. Of their children Edward E. and Henry H. died in Wilmington; Louise is married and lives in Kankakee County; Matilda, Mrs. Hyde, is in Canon City, Cob.; and Selina, Mrs. Buss, makes her home in Florence Township. The family crossed the ocean from Bristol to New York on a sailing vessel, spending seven weeks on the voyage, and from New York proceeded up the Hudson, thence via the Erie canal to Buffalo, and from that city by the lakes to Chicago. In 1859 the subject of this sketch bought two hundred acres in Wilton Township, thirteen miles southeast of Joliet, purchasing from the Illinois Central road. Two years later he settled on the land and began its improvement. He remained there until 1867, when he removed to a farm of four hundred and eighty-six acres, of which two hundred and twenty-six and two- thirds acres are in Manhattan Township and the remainder in Jackson Township. This continued to be his home until 1894. He gave his attention to its cultivation. Every improvement of a first-class farm was to be found on his place, and through his supervision and wise management the estate was made profitable. He is still the owner of nine hundred acres, the larger part of which is under cultivation. He recently sold one hundred and forty-six acres, prior to which he owned ten hundred and forty-six acres, including, besides his place before named, three hundred and twenty acres on sections 34 and 27, one hundred and sixty acres one-half mile west, and eighty acres adjoining the last-named place. Besides this he owns one-half section of land in Wright County, Iowa. During the years of his active farm life he made a specialty of the stock business, and bought and raised high-grade and full-blooded Durham cattle, imported Norman and also standard-bred horses, having as many as sixty head of horses on his place at one time. His son drives what is said to be the finest pair of English shire horses in Manhattan Township, and, these were raised by our subject. In Wilmington, this county, Mr. Gurney married Miss Eliza Brydon, who was born in Liverpool, England, a daughter of George and Eliza (Ballentine) Brydon, all natives of Scotland. Her paternal grandfather, James Brydon, was a farmer, as was also her maternal grandfather, George Ballentine, and both lived in Roxburyshire. Mrs. Gurney was one of two children, the other being James, who was a soldier in the forty-second Illinois Infantry and was wounded in battle; he is now living in Chatsworth, Ill. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Gurney we note the following: Frances Ruth, who was educated in Will County, married Franklin P. Losh, a native of Center County, Pa., and of German descent; they moved to Iowa in 1893 and settled in Wright County, where they and their children, Clarence A., Edgar J., Elsie E. and Harry G., now live. The second daughter of Mr. Gurney was Emma, now deceased. The third, Elsie Augusta, married Charles F. Pohlman, a native of Will County, Ill., and son of William and Amelia Pohlman, natives of Germany and old settlers of this county; they have had three children, Arno George (deceased), Alma Ray and Florence. The oldest son of Mr. Gurney is Elmer George, who married Mary F. Norton, daughter of William and Eliza (Goodenough) Norton, natives respectively of New York and Indiana, but for years residents of Will County, where their daughter was born. The second son, Arno James, married Alice Voorhees, daughter of Ralph and Adeline (Young) Voorhees, natives of Ohio; they have one daughter, Maude Esther. The sixth child of our subject is Eliza M., who married Albert Lichtenwalter, a native of Will County, and a son of Henry H. and Leah (Geiss) Lichtenwalter, natives respectively of Ohio and Pennsylvania; they have two children, Gladys Eva and Clayton Gurney Lichtenwalter. The youngest daughter of our subject, Nellie Josephine, married Oscar Rhodes Myers, a native of Wheatland, this county, and a son of Jacob and Elmira (Rhodes) Myers, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Ohio. Our subject’s youngest child, Otto Henry, married Clara E. Geiss, daughter of Hiram and Malinda (Whitson) Geiss, natives of Pennsylvania. The youngest son and his wife live on the Gurney homestead. The family are connected with the Presbyterian Church. During the early years of his residence in this county Mr. Gurney was quite active in educational and public affairs. Formerly a Democrat, at the time of Fremont’s campaign he transferred his allegiance to the Republican party, which he assisted in organizing in his county. Frequently he was elected to serve as delegate to conventions and as member of important political committees, and in other ways, his service to his party was helpful to its interests. For six years he was a school director in Jackson Township and his influence was apparent in the building up of the schools of his township. Source: "Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County, Illinois", 1900, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Pages 329-330 ----------------------------- George F. Gurney Too often we hear it said of those who have attained respect and honor by reason of a well spent and successful life that they were men who have risen to prominence through adventitious circumstances, and yet to such carping criticism and lack of appreciation there need be made but one statement, that fortunate environments encompass nearly every man at some stage in his career; but the strong man and the successful man is he who realizes that the proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him and reaches the goal of prosperity far in advance of them. It is this quality in Mr. Gurney that has made him a leader in the business world and won him a name in connection with the agricultural interests of Will county. Mr. Gurney is of English birth. His natal day was July 2, 1832, and the place of his nativity. Gloucestershire. His parents were William and Ruth (Hooper) Gurney. The father, who was a son of a ship chandler and vessel owner, brought his family to the United States in 1844, making his way westward to Cook county, Illinois, whence he removed to Joliet in the spring of 1845. His death occurred a few years later at Kankakeetown, this county, and his wife passed away in Channahon. Of their children Edward B. and Henry H. died in Wilmington; Louise is married and lives in Kankakee county; Mrs. Matilda Hyde died at Canon City, Colorado, some five years ago; and Mrs. Selina Buss makes her home in Florence township. George F. Gurney of this family was a youth of thirteen years when in the spring of 1845 he accompanied his parents and their family to Will county. His father had been defrauded of his money and they were forced to begin life anew in this district. Not only did George F. Gurney provide for his own support hut also assisted in providing for the family, embracing every opportunity for securing employment which would yield him an honorable living. During 1847-8 he worked at canal construction and when the canal was completed on the 4th of July of the latter year he towed the first canal boat out of Joliet, going to Chicago for Henry Fish and returning with a load of lumber for Otis Hardy. Other arduous labor also contributed to his maintenance. Through the summer of 1848 he engaged in breaking sod with seven yoke of oxen in Grundy county but in the fall of the same year returned to Will county. Buying teams of his own in the spring of the succeeding year, he began breaking prairie on his own account and was thus engaged for several years, after which he herded cattle for Smith, Hatton & Rogers. His ambition, however, was to become the owner of a good farm and - as the years passed he added to his landed possessions from time to titne until he owned more than a thousand acres in Will county. He has since sold five hundred acres but still has five hundred and sixty acres of valuable farming land in this county, which returns to him a very gratifying income. His first purchase was made in 1859, when he bought two hundred acres in Wilton township about thirteen miles southeast of Joliet. Two years later he took up his abode on this place and began its cultivation. Many rich crops were gathered from his fields ere he left that farm in 1867, at which time he settled on a farm of four hundred eighty-six acres, of which two hundred and twenty-six and two-thirds acres are in Manhattan township and the remainder in Jackson township. This continued to be his home until 1894, when he retired from the active management of his property and took up his abode in Joliet. In the meantime he had developed his place into a valuable and modern farm property, equipped with every convenience and accessory known -to agricultural life at this period.. He stood for advancement and improvement and was most progressive in all that he did, winning a large measure of success not only through the cultivation of his fields but also as a stock-raiser. He bought and raised high-grade and full-blooded Durham cattle, imported Norman and also standard bred horses, having as many as sixty head of horses on his place at one time. His business interests have ever been carefully controlled and he has long been recognized as a most energetic man, for the habits of industry and perseverance which he formed in youth have been the motive power of his success in later years. In Wilmington, this county, Mr. Gurney was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Brydon, who was born in Liverpool, England, a daughter of George and Eliza (Ballentine) Brydon, all natives of Scotland. James Brydon, her paternal grandfather, and George Ballentine, her maternal grandfather, were both residents of Roxburyshire, where they followed agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Gurney was one of two children, her brother being James Brydon, who was a soldier of the Forty-second Illinois Infantry and was wounded in battle. He is now residing at Chatsworth, Illinois. Unto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gurney have been born the following named: Frances Ruth, who was educated in Will county, married Franklin P. Losh, a native of Center county, Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They removed to Iowa in 1893 and settled in Wright county, where they and their children, Clarence A., Edgar J., Elsie B., and Harry G., are now living. The second daughter of Mr. Gurney was Emma, now deceased. The third, Elsie Augusta, is the wife of Charles P. Pohlman, a native of Will county and a son of William and Amelia Pohlman, who were natives of Germany but became early residents of this part of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pohlman had three children: Arno George, now deceased; Alma Ray; and Florence. Elmer George Gurney, the eldest son of the family, married Mary F. Norton, a daughter of William and Eliza (Goodenough) Norton, the former a native of New York and the latter of Indiana, but for years residents of Will county, where their daughter was born. Arno James Gurney married Alice Voorhees, a daughter of Ralph and Adeline (Young) Voorhees, natives of Ohio. They have one daughter, Maude Esther. Eliza M. Gurney, the sixth member of the family, is the wife of Albert Lichtenwalter, a native of Will county and a son of Henry H. and Leah (Geiss) Lichtenwalter, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively. The two children of this marriage are Gladys Eva and Clayton Gurney Lichtenwalter. The youngest daughter of the Gurney family is Nellie Josephine, the wife of Oscar Rhodes Myers, a native of Wheatland, Illinois, and a son of Jacob and Elmira (Rhodes) Myers, the former born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Cleveland, Ohio. Otto Henry, the youngest son of the Gurney family, married Clara E. Geiss, a daughter of Hiram and Malinda (Whitson) Geiss, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Gurney in former years was quite active in educational and public affairs and has always stood for advancement, reform and improvement in all that pertains to the general welfare. His early political allegiance was given to the democracy but he became a republican upon the organization of the party and has since given to it stalwart support. He has frequently been a delegate to its conventions and has served on important political committees. For six years he was a school director in Jackson township and his labors there were effective in behalf of public instruction. In his character there is something he obtained in the primitive schools where he was educated and in his early farming experiences, something that might be termed solidity of purpose and which is a characteristic worthy of emulation. In the school of experience he has learned lessons that have made him a well informed man, broad-minded and liberal in his views. He has made good use of his opportunities, has prospered from year to year, has conducted all business matters carefully and successfully and in all his acts displayed an aptitude for successful management. He has not permitted the accumulation of wealth to affect in any way his actions toward those less successful than he and few men are more highly esteemed than Mr. Gurney, who through his own labors has advanced from the position of a humble worker on the canal to one the foremost landowners of the county. Source: "Past and Present of Will County, Illinois" by W.W. Stevens, 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Page 304-310 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/grundy/bios/gurney142nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 16.4 Kb