Elizabeth was born on May 21st, 1780, at Norwich; but when she was a child of six years old, the Gurneys removed to Earlham Hall, a pleasant ancestral home, about two miles from the city.  The family was an old one, descended from the Norman lords of Gourney-en-brai, in Normandy.  These Norman lords held lands in Norfolk, in the time of William Rufus, and have had, in one line or another, representatives down to the present day.  Some of them, it is recorded, resided in Somersetshire; others, the ancestors of Mrs. Fry, dwelt in Norfolk, generation after generation, perpetuating the family name and renown.  One of these ancestors, John Gurney, embraced the principles of George Fox, and became one of the first members of the Society of Friends.  Thus it came to pass that Quakerism became familiar to her from early childhood—­indeed, was hereditary in the family.

Elizabeth tells us that her mother was most dear to her; that she seldom left her mother’s side if she could help it, while she would watch her slumbers with breathless anxiety, fearing she would never awaken.  She also speaks of suffering much from fear, so that she could not bear to be left alone in the dark.  This nervous susceptibility followed her for years, although, with a shyness of disposition and reserve which was but little understood she refrained from telling her fears.  She was considered rather stupid and dull, and, from being continually described as such, grew neglectful of her studies; while, at the same time, delicacy of health combined with this natural stupidity to prevent anything like precocious intelligence.  Still, Elizabeth was by no means deficient in penetration, tact, or common-sense; she possessed remarkable insight into character, and exercised her privilege of thinking for herself on most questions.  She is described as being a shy, fair child, possessing a poor opinion of herself, and somewhat given to contradiction.  She says in her early recollections:  “I believe I had not a name only for being obstinate, for my nature had a strong tendency that way, and I was disposed to a spirit of contradiction, always ready to see things a little differently from others, and not willing to yield my sentiments to them.”

These traits developed, in all probability, into those which made her so famous in after years.  Her faculty for independent investigation, her unswerving loyalty to duty, and her fearless perseverance in works of benevolence, were all foreshadowed in these early days.  Add to these characteristics, the religious training which Mrs. Gurney gave her children, the daily reading of the Scriptures, and the quiet ponderings upon the passages read, and we cannot be surprised that such a character was built up in that Quaker home.