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Elizabeth Fry Courtesy of Department of Education Arts & Libraries London Borough of Barking & Dagenham |
You are born to be a light to the blind, speech to the dumb and feet to the lame.
-Prophesy about Elizabeth Gurney at age 18 given by Deborah Darby
Nothing short of the Holy Spirit can really help forward the cause of righteousness on earth.
-Elizabeth Gurney Fry
Few Quakers have inspired people in the larger society as much as Elizabeth Gurney Fry. Yet most know of only one aspect of ther life. Here I seek to provide a brief overview of the life of this woman who had such an impact on public life at a time when that was not well accepted.
Early Life
Elizabeth Gurney was the third of 12 children of John and Catherine Gurney of Norwich, England. John Gurney was a successful banker and businessman. Catherine was a member of the Barclay banking family. Both their families were active in the Society of Friends (Quakers).
Catherine believed that girls as well as boys should have a well rounded education, so Elizabeth got the basics of all the major academic subjects from her mother. Catherine also told the children Bible stories and read Psalms to them. She spent much time visiting and helping the sick and the poor, and the child Elizabeth loved to go on these visits with her mother. Elizabeth must have been deeply grieved at the age of 12 when her mother died shortly after giving birth to her twelfth child.
The Gurney family was not a typical Quaker family. They stood out when they went to meeting for worship with their bright, fahionable clothes among the plain Friends. Elizabeth was not a serious youth, and sometimes made excuses in order to avoid attending meeting for worship.
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