the "Life of Jehudi Ashmun" (New York, 1839); " Mission to England for the American Coloniza- tion Society" (1841); and "Life and Eloquence of Rev. Sylvester Lamed " (New York, 1844).
GURNEY, Francis, soldier, b. in Bucks county,
Pa., in 1738 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 25 May, 1815.
He volunteered in the provincial army in 1756,
served under Gen. Israel Putnam, and came to be
regarded by that officer in the light of an adopted
son. Gurney was present at the capture of Louis-
bourg, Cape Breton, 25 July, 1758, and at the close
of the war joined the expedition against the French
West India islands, and assisted in the taking of
Guadeloupe, 27 April, 1759. On his return he en-
gaged in commerce in Philadelphia, and at the be-
ginning of the Revolutionary war assisted in the
organization and drilling of troops. Although at
first he refused to accept a commission, Mr. Gurney
was made captain in a regiment of infantry raised
by authority of the province. The following year
he entered the regular army, was appointed lieuten-
ant-colonel, and was present at the battles of Iron
Hill, Brandywine, and Germantown, in the first of
which he was wounded. After the war he returned
to mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia, where he
resided until his death. He was for several years
warden of the port, during which period he origi-
nated and carried out an important improvement
in the buoys and beacons in Delaware bay. He was
repeatedly elected to the lower branch of the legis-
lature, and subsequently sent to the senate. He
was also a trustee of Dickinson college, county
commissioner, and director of various institutions.
In the whiskey rebellion of 1794, Col. Gurney com-
manded the 1st regiment of the Philadelphia bri-
gade, which was composed of young men of good
family and education. At a critical period of the
Revolutionary war, when there was great difficulty
in procuring supplies for the American army, Mr.
Gurney was one of several residents of Philadel-
phia who gave their bonds to the amount of about
£260,000 for procuring them. The amount of his
personal subscription was £2,000.
GURNEY, William, soldier, b. in Flushing,
N. Y., 21 Aug., 1821 ; d. in New York city, 3 Feb.,
1879. At the beginning of the civil war he was
engaged in business in New York city. In April,
1861, he entered the National service with the 7th
regiment, of which he was a member, for the three
months' term. At its conclusion he accepted a
commission as captain in the 65th New York,
known as the " Fighting Chasseurs," and served in
that capacity through the early campaigns of the
war. In 1862 he was appointed assistant inspect-
or-general and examining officer on Gov. Morgan's
staff. In July of that year he received authority
to raise a regiment, and in thirty days he had re-
cruited the 127th New York, at the head of which
he returned to the field, joining the 23d army
corps. In the following October he was assigned
to the command of the 2d brigade of Gen. Aber-
crombie's division. In 1864 he was ordered with
his brigade to join Gen. Gilmore's command on
the South Carolina coast, and in December, having
been severely wounded in the arm in an engage-
ment at Devoe's Neck, was sent north for treat-
ment. Before he had been completely restored to
health he was assigned to the command of the
Charleston post, and while there was promoted brig-
adier-general of volunteers for gallantry in action.
After he was mustered out of the service in July,
1865, he returned to Charleston and established
himself in business. In October, 1870, he became
treasurer of Charleston county, and held the office
until 1876. He was a presidential elector in 1873,
and in 1874 was appointed a centennial commissioner by President Grant, and elected a vice-president of the commission.
GUROWSKI, Adam, Count, author, b. in the
palatinate of Kalisz, Poland, 10 Sept., 1805; d. in
Washington, D. C., 4 May, 1866. He was a son of
the Count Ladislas Gurowski, who was an ardent
admirer of Kosciusko, and who lost the greater
part of his estates through having participated in
the insurrection of 1794. Having been expelled in
1818, and again in 1819, from the gymnasia of Warsaw
and Kalisz for revolutionary demonstrations,
young Gurowski continued his studies at various
German universities. Returning to Warsaw in
1825, he became identified with those opposed to
Russian influence, and was in consequence several
times imprisoned. He was active in organizing the
revolution of 1830, in which he afterward took part.
On its suppression he escaped to France, where he
lived for several years and adopted many of the
views of Fourier. He was also a member of the
national Polish committee in Paris, and became
conspicuous in political and literary circles. His estates
had meantime been confiscated and he himself
condemned to death; but in 1835 he published a work
entitled “La vérité sur la Russie,” in which he
advocated a union of the different branches of the
Slavic race. The book being favorably regarded
by the Russian government, Gurowski was recalled,
and, although his estates were not restored, he was
employed in the civil service. In 1844, finding
that he had many powerful enemies at court, he
left secretly for Berlin and went thence to Heidelberg.
Here he gave himself to study, and for two
years lectured on political economy in the
University of Berne, Switzerland. He then went to
Italy, and in 1849 came to the United States, where
he engaged in literary pursuits and became deeply
interested in American politics. From 1861 till
1863 he was translator in the state department at
Washington, being acquainted with eight languages.
Before coming to this country he had published
“La civilisation et la Russie” (St. Petersburg,
1840); “Pensées sur l'avenir des Polonais”
(Berlin, 1841); “Aus meinem Gedankenbuche” (Breslau,
1843); “Eine Tour durch Belgien” (Heidelberg,
1845); “Impressions et souvenirs” (Lausanne,
1846); “Die letzten Ereignisse in den drei Theilen
des alten Polen” (Munich, 1846); and “Le Panslavisme”
(Florence, 1848). During his residence in
the United States he published “Russia as it Is”
(New York, 1854); “The Turkish Question” (1854);
“A Year of the War” (1855); “America and
Europe” (1857); “Slavery in History” (1860); and “My
Diary,” notes on the civil war (3 vols., 1862-'6).
GUSTAFSON, Axel Carl Johan, author, b. in Lund, Sweden, about 1847. His father is a clergyman, and Axel was educated in his native town. At the age of twenty-one he came to the United States, was naturalized, and began to write for the press. Becoming interested in the temperance movement, he contributed to a Boston journal an article on the Gottenburg system of granting licenses, which led to an investigation of the different licensing systems of the world. He also became a contributor to several of the leading
periodicals. Soon after coming to this country he married Mrs. Zadel Barnes Buddington, who has since greatly assisted him in his literary work. Going to England, Mr. and Mrs. Gustafson met Samuel Morley, the philanthropist, who induced the former to change his intention of writing a work on the abuse of tobacco, and discuss the liquor question instead. “The Foundation of Death” (London, 1884) was the outcome of this
