These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.
Evidence
Candidate C: the eight-child Berkhamsted Gurney family, 1610-1636, and the absent Berkhamsted burial
The Hertfordshire baptism index records eight children baptised at Berkhamsted to a father John Gurney between 1610 and 1636: Henry (1610), Sara (1615), Jhon (1624), Richard (1626), Elizabeth (1629), Michael (1631), Sarah (1634), and Francis (1636); the mother is not indexed. The Hertfordshire burial index records no John Gurney burial at Berkhamsted between 1640 and 1700, the only seventeenth-century Berkhamsted burials under the name being two entries for a Jhon Gourney, in 1612 and 1620, both too early to be this householder.
Date: eight Berkhamsted baptisms, 1610-1636
Why this conclusion
- Supports Finding Candidate C (Berkhamsted) eliminated on age, child set, and child chronologyThe indexed Berkhamsted baptisms and the absent Berkhamsted burial are the whole record basis for the Candidate C elimination.
Sources
- Hertfordshire Baptisms, parish-register baptism records, Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies; served via Findmypast., Hertfordshire Baptisms index, Berkhamsted: eight baptisms to father John Gurney (indexed Gourney/Gurney), 1610-1636 - Henry 1610, Sara 1615, Jhon 1624, Richard 1626, Elizabeth 1629, Michael 1631, Sarah 1634, Francis 1636. Search executed 9 May 2026.
- Hertfordshire Burials, parish-register burial records, Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies; served via Findmypast., Hertfordshire Burials index, John Gurney walk across the full 1538-onward span: forty-eight results; the only seventeenth-century Berkhamsted entries are Jhon Gourney 1612 and Jhon Gourney 1620; no John Gurney burial at Berkhamsted 1640-1700. Search executed 9 May 2026.
- England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. FamilySearch indexed records., England Births and Christenings index, consulted 9 May 2026 in the same same-name sweep that assembled the Berkhamsted group.
Topic file location: Identity — assessment
Technical details
- Research item:
G13-RI-000171 - Graph revision:
244 - Machine-readable JSON:
/assets/g13-graph/findings/G13-RI-000171.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.