Gurney Genealogy Library Updated 29 May 2026 by Allen Gurney

These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.

Benjamin Gurney (G11) Notes

Research notes for g11-benjamin-gurney-fact-sheet.md. See .claude/rules/research-files.md for the paired-file rule.

Working Notes

Will of 1738/9 — the most actionable single source

Plymouth Probate 8:98 (will proved 1739) is the single most actionable document for G11 not yet directly captured in this project. It should preserve the names of all surviving children (the published genealogies generally only carry the eldest son), the wife’s named status, any specific named bequests of property, and a date (or year) of death sufficient to refine “1738/9.” Direct examination is the next-priority research task on this person.

The 1701 First Church Braintree marriage

First Church Braintree (later First Church of Quincy) is a well-documented Massachusetts Bay congregation with surviving registers. The 30 December 1701 entry should be locatable. Confirming the entry directly would also clarify Rebecca Staples’s parentage — likely a kinswoman of the Samuel Staples of Scituate from whom Benjamin later bought the Williams farm in 1726.

“Granny Gurney’s Swamp”

This is the most evocative single fact from G11’s life and the most likely to find an external corroboration. The reference in data/ancestors v26.json notes the story is “confirmed independently”; the actual sources need pinning down. Likely candidates:

  • Hobart, History of Abington (1866) — standard Abington town history.
  • Mitchell, History of Bridgewater (1840) and The Genealogy of the Bridgewater Settlement by Nahum Mitchell.
  • Local-place-name compendia for Plymouth County.

If the story is preserved in print, a direct citation of the page reference would substantially strengthen the entry.

Three documented land transactions

  1. Williams farm purchase, 8 September 1726, from Samuel Staples of Scituate — Plymouth Deeds 25:79. Land on the Abington–Bridgewater line.
  2. Williams farm sale, 20 October 1730, to Abraham Pierce — Plymouth Registry 31:69, 70. Coincides with the move to Middleboro.
  3. Tinkham land joint purchase, 28 October 1730, with son Benjamin (G10) — Plymouth Registry 39:79.

The 1726 purchase from a Staples and the 1701 marriage to a Staples almost certainly tie together genealogically: this is likely a kinship-network land transfer rather than an arms-length sale.

The Joseph Richards bequest

data/ancestors v26.json mentions “Land from Joseph Richards (bequeathed in his will to son Benjamin).” Whose son? Joseph Richards’s son? Or G11 himself referred to as “son Benjamin” in Joseph Richards’s will because Joseph Richards was kin? This needs clarification by direct examination of the Richards will.

Negative results

  • Specific death date within 1738/9 not yet captured (will proved 1739 is the firm bracket).
  • Children other than Benjamin (G10) not yet identified — though the will (Plymouth Probate 8:98) would be the source for any such names.
  • Rebecca Staples’s death date and burial location not yet captured.

Open Questions

  1. Direct examination of Plymouth Probate 8:98. Will of Benjamin Gurney (1738/9). Likely available via FamilySearch / NEHGS / Plymouth County probate microfilm.
  2. Other children. The will should reveal them.
  3. First Church Braintree register entry, 30 December 1701 — direct examination.
  4. “Granny Gurney’s Swamp” — exact published references. Hobart, Mitchell, or local place-name sources.
  5. The Joseph Richards bequest. Whose will, what relationship to G11?
  6. Rebecca Staples’s family. Likely kin of Samuel Staples of Scituate (1726 grantor of the Williams farm); a Staples genealogy would clarify.

Sources Consulted

  • data/ancestors v26.json, G11 entry.
  • Jean Gurney Rigler, The Gurney Family from Aaron to Zuinglius (rev. and expanded ed., 1994). Key compiled genealogy for the G4-G13 direct line; source ID rigler-gurney-family-aaron-zuinglius-1994. Full page-level audit still pending.

Sources to obtain

  • Plymouth County Probate 8:98 — will of Benjamin Gurney, proved 1739.
  • Plymouth County Deeds 25:79 (1726 Williams farm purchase) — direct examination.
  • Plymouth Registry 31:69, 70 (1730 sale to Pierce) — direct examination.
  • First Church of Braintree (now First Church of Quincy) — marriage register entry, 30 December 1701.
  • Hobart, History of Abington (1866).
  • Mitchell, History of Bridgewater (1840).

Notes for Future Drafting

  • The “Granny Gurney’s Swamp” story is the only piece of folk-history attached to any direct-line ancestor in the colonial Plymouth County generations and is genuinely worth preserving and expanding once a printed source is located.
  • The 1726 purchase and 1730 sale frame the Abington-line phase neatly; the 1730 Tinkham purchase with G10 is a small but real piece of evidence of household continuity into the next generation.