These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.
Lester Sawyer Gurney Jr. (G04) Notes
Research notes for g04-lester-sawyer-gurney-jr-fact-sheet.md. See .claude/rules/research-files.md for the paired-file rule.
Working Notes
Family handwritten notes - name, date variants, Ethel June Hayes, and engineering leads
Dana Gurney’s notes write G4 as “Lester S. Gurney” and add the phrase “dropped the S,” a useful name-variant clue for later record searches. The same note gives his birth as 13 February 1890 and death as 5 August 1958. Existing project data gives his birth as 13 May 1888, so the Dana birth date should be preserved as a family-note variant pending review of the original birth source and later self-reported documents.[1]
The same Dana note gives his marriage to Ethel June Hayes as 23 April 1921 at Springfield, Massachusetts, with “see marriage certif.” The current project date is 26 April 1921. The difference may be a license date, certificate date, ceremony date, transcription error, or family-note error; resolve from the original marriage certificate/register before changing the fact sheet.[1:1]
Earlier loose notes add that the relevant Gurney man was a civil engineer for “N.E. Elect. Syst[em]” and a construction manager. Given the existing G4 civil-engineering profile, this is best treated as a G4 lead rather than a settled employment claim. Search New England Electric System, Cape Cod / Massachusetts engineering directories, and Long Island Rail Road electrification context before promoting it.[1:2]
The Page 4 note that the family moved to Wellesley when “Dad Gurney” was about six, maybe 1929, aligns well with G3’s 1923 birth and the existing Wellesley / Wellesley Hills trail for G4’s household.[1:3]
Research Appendix
- Included details specifically restored from the thread: father-son May Blossom performance; step-parents Branch and Helen O’Brien; Patchogue explanation and setting; Cape Cod Canal link; Cape Cod Construction Company; Buzzards Bay office in the Linnell Building opposite the railroad station; Patchogue High School / village-social prominence; back-gate wedding escape; Atlantic City honeymoon; and the later Massachusetts addresses including 133 Abbott Road.
- I did not state Long Island Rail Road or power-engineer employment as settled fact because I still do not have a direct source tying Lester Jr. specifically to those roles.
- Jean Gurney Rigler, The Gurney Family from Aaron to Zuinglius (rev. and expanded ed., 1994), is now logged as a key compiled genealogy for the G4-G13 direct line under source ID
rigler-gurney-family-aaron-zuinglius-1994. Full page-level audit still pending.