Gurney Genealogy Library Updated 29 May 2026 by Allen Gurney

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

Amos Gurney (G08) Notes

Research notes for g08-amos-gurney-fact-sheet.md. See .claude/rules/research-files.md for the paired-file rule.

Working Notes

Birth in 1770 — at the moment of the Cummington move

Amos’s birth year of 1770 is essentially simultaneous with his father Benjamin G9’s June 1770 sale of the Abington land and 5 November 1770 Cummington purchase (Foster & Streeter, “Only One Cummington”, p. 390). This makes Amos’s birthplace genuinely uncertain: he could plausibly have been born in either Plymouth County (Bridgewater / Abington) or in the new Cummington homestead, depending on whether the household physically moved to Cummington in late 1770 or early 1771. The family-tradition placement of “Bridgewater” deserves checking against the Cummington and Plymouth Couny Vital Records.

The five further Cummington children

The fact sheet lists “five further children” beyond Willis as a single placeholder row. This is unsatisfying for any sustained research use. The Cummington Vital Records (Cummington VR) should preserve specific names and birth years; identifying these five would substantially strengthen the family-group sheet for G8.

“Left Cummington after 1802”

This is family-tradition language inherited from data/ancestors v26.json. The 1810 federal census is the next test — does Amos appear at Cummington in 1810? If he is gone, the move was 1802–1810. If he is still there, the family-tradition phrasing is wrong or refers to a temporary departure.

Ruth Gurney with Willis at Flushing, 1850

The 1850 federal census, Flushing, Queens County, New York, should be examined for the Willis Gurney household to confirm Ruth’s presence and her recorded age and birthplace. If her age in 1850 is consistent with a birth c. 1770, that anchors her marriage age (about 20 in 1790). Birthplace would clarify her own origins (Cummington? Plymouth County?).

Negative results

  • No will, probate, or burial record for Amos identified to date.
  • No Hampshire County deed in Amos’s name located in sources consulted.
  • Date and place of death of Amos: not established.
  • Specific names of five of his six children: not established.

Open Questions

  1. Where did Amos go after 1802? Possibilities: stayed in western Massachusetts (Worthington, Plainfield, Goshen — Cummington’s neighbors); moved to upstate or central New York (a common 1810s–1820s pattern from Hampshire County); accompanied Willis to Flushing (less likely given Willis was c. 1796–98 born and would not have led a household move in 1802).
  2. Where and when did Amos die? “Before 1850” is the firm bracket. A Hampshire County or Queens County death record in the 1820s–1840s window is the next target.
  3. Who was Ruth Gilbert? A Cummington Gilbert family is worth identifying. Cummington VR will record her parents at her birth or her marriage entry.
  4. Names of the five other children. Cummington VR.
  5. 1810, 1820, 1830 federal census — do they show Amos in Cummington? Elsewhere?

Sources Consulted

  • data/ancestors v26.json, G8 entry.
  • Foster & Streeter, “Only One Cummington” (1974), p. 390 — for Benjamin G9’s land transactions, which bracket Amos’s birth and family.
  • 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

  • Cummington Vital Records, Massachusetts (births, marriages, deaths) — primary need for this companion.
  • 1810, 1820, 1830 federal census, Cummington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
  • 1850 federal census, Flushing, Queens County, New York — Willis Gurney household, Ruth’s entry.
  • Hampshire County, Massachusetts, deed indices for “Gurney.”
  • Plymouth County, Massachusetts, deeds and probate for Benjamin G9 (already partly captured in G9 entry; relevant indirectly).

Notes for Future Drafting

  • The fact sheet narrative is currently three paragraphs and largely rests on Foster & Streeter and the JSON-derived family-tradition material. Cummington VR work should expand the children-table row substantially.
  • Amos is one of the least-documented direct-line ancestors in the project. Improvements here would close one of the larger gaps in the colonial-American chapter.