Benjamin Gurney (c. 1676 – 1738/9)
Married Rebecca Staples at the First Church of Braintree in 1701; landholder at the Abington–Bridgewater line; will proved 1739.
Highlights
- "Granny Gurney's Swamp." A small piece of low ground near the Abington–Bridgewater line was named for the family after a fire incident involving Rebecca Staples (Granny Gurney). The story is independently confirmed in two local-history sources. The site is not a property the family owned, but the local-place-name memorial of an early-eighteenth-century moment in Rebecca's life. 5
- Three documented Plymouth County land transactions. Bought the Richard Williams farm on the Abington–Bridgewater line on 8 September 1726 from Samuel Staples of Scituate (Plymouth Deeds 25:79). Sold the same to Abraham Pierce on 20 October 1730 upon moving to Middleboro (Plymouth Registry 31:69, 70). Earlier, received land from Joseph Richards bequeathed in his will to son Benjamin. 3
- Will proved 1739 — the firm closing record of his life. Plymouth Probate 8:98 preserves his will, proved in 1739. The will is the immediate documentary anchor for his death year and for his recognition of his children. 2
- Married at the First Church of Braintree. The 30 December 1701 marriage at First Church Braintree places him within the Massachusetts Bay Puritan congregational record system at exactly the kind of well-documented parish that survives today. 4
Children
| Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Gurney | c. 1704 – before 1772 | G10 in direct line. 6 |
Narrative
Benjamin Gurney G11 lived his life within the working farms of the Abington–Bridgewater corridor of Plymouth County. He was born around 1676 at Weymouth, the son of Richard Gurney (G12) and Rebecca Taylor, and on 30 December 1701 he married Rebecca Staples at the First Church of Braintree — a marriage record that places him squarely in the Massachusetts Bay congregational record system.
His traceable property dealings are concrete and small in scale. On 8 September 1726 he bought the Richard Williams farm on the Abington–Bridgewater line from Samuel Staples of Scituate (Plymouth Deeds 25:79). When he moved to Middleboro in 1730, he sold that farm to Abraham Pierce on 20 October (Plymouth Registry 31:69, 70). His father-in-law (or kinsman) Joseph Richards had earlier bequeathed land to him by name. With his son Benjamin (G10) he jointly bought Samuel Tinkham's Middleboro land on 28 October 1730 — an indirect record of the household's continued working partnership into the next generation.
The most distinctive single trace of the household is "Granny Gurney's Swamp," a low ground near the Abington–Bridgewater line named for the family after a fire incident involving Rebecca Staples. The naming is preserved in two independent local-history accounts. It is the kind of small, unverifiable, but persistent name that ties a family memorably to a stretch of land — a kind of memorial that survives even when the actual deeds and probates have eroded away. Benjamin's will, proved at Plymouth in 1739 (Plymouth Probate 8:98), is the formal close of the record.
Citations
- Born c. 1676, Weymouth, Massachusetts. Parentage from
data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry. ↩ - Will proved 1739, Plymouth Probate 8:98.
data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry. ↩ - Plymouth Deeds 25:79 (Richard Williams farm purchase from Samuel Staples, 8 September 1726); Plymouth Registry 31:69, 70 (sale to Abraham Pierce, 20 October 1730); Joseph Richards's bequest to Benjamin (cited in
data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry). ↩ - Marriage 30 December 1701, First Church Braintree, Massachusetts.
data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry. ↩ - "Granny Gurney's Swamp" — story confirmed independently per
data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry. ↩ - See Benjamin Gurney (G10) fact sheet. ↩