<sod>She was born Emelia Batten, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Ellis Batten (1792–1830), master at [[Harrow School]], and Caroline Venn, daughter of [[John Venn (1759–1813)|John Venn]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=56343|first=Elizabeth|last=Morse|title=Gurney, Emelia Russell}}</ref> A friend of the children of [[John William Cunningham]], and close to [[James Fitzjames Stephen]], she was present in March 1851 when Stephen met Mary Richenda Cunningham, his future wife, for the second time, and fell in love.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifesirjamesfit00stepgoog#page/n151/mode/1up|title=The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, bart., K.C.S.I., a judge of the High court of justice|last=Stephen|first=Leslie|authorlink=Leslie Stephen|year=1895|publisher=Smith, Elder & Co|page=129|accessdate=14 February 2016|location=London}}</ref> She herself married [[Russell Gurney]] in 1852.<ref name="ODNB"/> Despite the similarity of interest in education and reform, it is not clear whether they share a connection with the famous [[Gurney family (Norwich)|Gurney family]] of [[Earlham Hall]].<eod>
<sod>She was born Emelia Batten, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Ellis Batten (1792–1830), master at [[Harrow School]], and Caroline Venn, daughter of [[John Venn (1759–1813)|John Venn]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=56343|first=Elizabeth|last=Morse|title=Gurney, Emelia Russell}}</ref> A friend of the children of [[John William Cunningham]], and close to [[James Fitzjames Stephen]], she was present in March 1851 when Stephen met Mary Richenda Cunningham, his future wife, for the second time, and fell in love.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifesirjamesfit00stepgoog#page/n151/mode/1up|title=The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, bart., K.C.S.I., a judge of the High court of justice|last=Stephen|first=Leslie|authorlink=Leslie Stephen|year=1895|publisher=Smith, Elder & Co|page=129|accessdate=14 February 2016|location=London}}</ref> She herself married [[Russell Gurney]] in 1852.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was from the London Baptist family of parliamentary shorthand writers, rather than the Norwich Quaker banking [[Gurney family (Norwich)|Gurney family]] of [[Earlham Hall]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Timothy D. Whelan|title=Baptist Autographs in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1741-1845|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=pwd5GuvnedgC&pg=PA394|year=2009|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=978-0-88146-144-2|page=394}}</ref><eod>