author
Eliza Paul Gurney
1801–1881
A Quaker minister, poet, and reformer, she used her writing and public ministry to speak for peace, abolition, and prison reform. Born in Philadelphia and later connected with both American and British Quaker circles, she left behind a life shaped by faith and service.
1 Audiobook
Heart Utterances at Various Periods of a Chequered Life
by Eliza Paul Gurney
About the author
Born in Philadelphia on April 6, 1801, Eliza Paul Kirkbride Gurney was raised in a Quaker family and became known as a minister, poet, and social reformer. She traveled in ministry in the United States and Britain, and in 1841 she was recognized as a minister by the Quaker Monthly Meeting in England.
That same year she married the prominent Quaker minister Joseph John Gurney. After his death, she continued her own religious and charitable work, and she was associated with causes including pacifism and abolition. Her writings and correspondence helped preserve the voice of a thoughtful 19th-century Friend whose work reached beyond her own community.
She died on November 8, 1881. A memoir of her life and letters was published a few years later, showing how strongly she was remembered for both spiritual seriousness and practical kindness.