Thomas Gurney and Family (Shorthand Part 11)

Thomas Gurney (1705—1770) was born into a large family on March 7, 1705, in Woburn, Bedfordshire. He was a descendant of Hugh de Gourney, a Norman baron who fought under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

His initial contact with shorthand was accidental. Gurney desired a book on astrology and to acquire one bought a group of books. One of the books was William Mason’s La Plume Volante. He studied and applied himself to it, and at the age of sixteen began recording sermons.

Gurney moved to London in 1737 working as a clockmaker and watchmaker.  He also continued his shorthand by recording trails at the Old Bailey. According to his own statement (Brachygraphy, fourth edition, 1760), he was appointed shorthand writer to the Old Bailey Court in 1748 making Thomas Gurney the first official shorthand writer for the English government. Afterwards Gurney practiced in other courts and in the House of Commons as the first official Parliamentary recorder.

Thomas Gurney founded a reporting firm, Gurney & Sons, which would be the official shorthand reporters to the courts and Houses of Parliament for about 150 years. Thomas Gurney held his appointment at the Old Bailey until his death on June 22, 1770.

The firm Gurney & Sons would be family-run for five generations, 166 years. Leadership of the firm passed from Thomas Gurney to his son Joseph in 1770, to his son William Brodie in 1813, to his son Joseph in 1855, to his nephew William Henry Gurney-Salter in 1879, to his cousin William Gurney-Angus 1912. Leadership of the firm passed out of family hands in 1914 to Walter Hodgson.

1778 Brachygraphy:
Thomas Gurney's system, Brachygraphy, made Mason's La Plume Volante practical by removing most of the arbitrary characters and shortening rules. The system is relatively easy to learn, but for verbatim work it means a person needs to be rather dexterous because words must be spelled out.


Initial vowels were expressed by alphabet sign. Medial vowels were generally not expressed, but when expressed it was by “Vowel Mode” using Mason’s three positions based on spelling or best represented sound. Therefore, the three positions expressed short and long vowels and diphthongs. Final vowels were expressed by a dot in the Vowel Mode position. By omitting medial vowels, Gurney was able to join many words into a single, continuous outline. The advantage is speed, which he needed for verbatim reporting.  The disadvantage is ambiguity in reading.


References:

1. Dictionary of National Biography. 2nd Edition. (1908-1909). Vol 8, page 568.
2. The History of Short-hand Writing by Matthias Levy. 1862.
3. The Story of British Shorthand by Edward H. Butler. 1951. Pages 56-62, 198, and 199.
4. 1778 Brachygraphy