John Gurney (1749–1809)

John Gurney (10 November 1749 – 28 October 1809) was an English banker and member of the Gurney family of Norwich. Besides his role as a partner in Gurney's bank he is notable as the father of the social reformers Elizabeth Fry and Joseph John Gurney, the writer Louisa Hoare and the banker Samuel Gurney.

John Gurney was born in 1749 into an influential Quaker family that had established Gurney's bank in 1770. At the turn of the 19th century, the family business was led by Bartlett Gurney (1756–1802). When he died childless in 1802, members from another branch of the family succeeded him and John and his brother Richard (1742–1811) became partners in the bank in 1803.

John Gurney lived at Earlham Hall in Norwich. On 26 May 1775 at Tottenham, London, he married Catherine Bell (1755–1794), daughter of Daniel Bell and Catherine Barclay, a member of the Barclay family, who were among the founders of Barclays Bank. Catherine's sister was Priscilla Wakefield, a writer on feminist economics and children's literature. John Gurney and his wife had 13 children, including the bankers Samuel Gurney and Daniel Gurney, the social reformers Elizabeth Fry and Joseph John Gurney, while Hannah married Sir Thomas Buxton. Another daughter was Louisa Hoare, the writer on education. When John Gurney's wife died in 1794, Elizabeth as became partly responsible for the care and training of her younger siblings.

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