William Gurley

Early Life

William Gurley was born in the city of Troy on March 16th, 1821. His parents, Ephraim and Clarissa, were Connecticut natives that settled in West Troy in 1813. Ephraim and his partner, Alpheus Hanks, established the first iron foundry in Rensselaer County in 1816. This became an important industry for the region going forward. William’s father passed away in 1829, leaving Clarissa in the care of William, his sister Clara, and his brother Lewis. His mother instilled the value of education in all of her children and enrolled them in the area's top schools. William attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seeking a degree in civil engineering and which he completed in 1839.

William Gurley and his brother Lewis E. Gurley

Engineering Career

After working as a surveyor for several years, William went to work for Alpheus Hanks, his late father’s business partner, where he decided to manufacture the instruments he frequently worked with. Hanks was a well-known maker of these instruments, and William worked with him for five years to learn the trade. He then started his own firm in 1845 with Jonas H. Phelps, which manufactured surveying and engineering tools. After seven years, his brother, Lewis, replaced Phelps. The company was renamed W. & L. E. Gurley. They became the preeminent manufacturer of these instruments for decades. The Great Fire of 1862 completely destroyed their factory, but this did not deter either of them. They built an entirely new four story plant in less than a year. The firm originally took up only the second floor, as the other floors were rented out to other businesses, but the company soon expanded to use the entire building.

Philanthropy

Gurley felt it was his duty to elevate all the members in his community of which he was a prominent public figure. He became the president of the Young Men’s Association in 1851, and in 1867 he represented Troy in the New York State Legislature. In the following year he was appointed by the Secratary of Treasury to serve on a committee with other scientific experts to examine methods of determining distillation products. He is the oldest trustee of RPI, and was the vice-president of the institute from 1872 to 1887, even serving as acting president form 1886 to 1887. He died in January of 1887.

References

[1] Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett, History of Rensselaer Co., New York, 1880, pp 284-285

[2] Nelson, Gary and Suzanne Spellen, “The W. and L.E. Gurley Company”, Published in Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, https://hudsonmohawkgateway.org/the-gurley-company

[3] Nason, Henry B., ed. Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1824-1886. Troy, NY: William H. Young, 1887, pp. 48-49

[4] "Gurley Family Papers, 1862-1915 (finding aid)". New York State Library Website. New York State Library. Retrieved 22 Feb 2016.