Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Gurney, George F ************************************************ 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 October 4, 2007, 10:49 pm Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County 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, Colo.; 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 (Good enough) 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. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/gurney990gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 7.9 Kb