These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.
Evidence
The Gornell/Gurnell record stream: "Goodman Gurney of Dorchester" across three sources
Dorchester's own town book renders one resident, John Gurnell, under a dozen colonial spellings — Gornell, Gornill, Gornehill, Gurnell, Gurnel, gornett, Gurnett, Gurnet, Gurnit — including "John Gurnet" in a 13 (12) 1653 fence-viewers list; the Suffolk County Court's 1676/7 Prise-case surety names "Goodman Gurney of Dorchester" for what is the same man; and First Church Dorchester's record of 11 May 1709 still calls his son's widow, Jane Gornell, "mrs. Burgesse alias Gurnet" when the church recovers a legacy she had left it.
Date: 1653-1709
Why this conclusion
- Supports Negative result Negative: no true Gurney household at colonial DorchesterThe three-source Gornell/Gurnell record stream is the primary basis for the negative result.
Sources
- A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Dorchester Town Records. Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, 1880. (Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston.), fence-viewers list 13 (12) 1653, "John Gurnet"; editorial footnote, Jane Gornell m. John Burge
- Records of the First Church at Dorchester in New England, 1636-1734. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1891., 11 May 1709 record, "mrs. Burgesse alias Gurnet"
- Records of the Suffolk County Court, 1671-1680. 2 vols. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vols. 29-30. Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1933., p. 481, Prise bastardy case, "Goodman Gurney of Dorchester"
Topic file location: Family — colonial collaterals
Technical details
- Research item:
G13-RI-000143 - Graph revision:
244 - Machine-readable JSON:
/assets/g13-graph/findings/G13-RI-000143.json
This is one research item from the John Gurney research graph; the fuller narrative treatment is in the linked topic above and the research library.