Have you considered Sampson Sellers as the father of the Gurley brothers? He had 3 sons in 1790 under 16 in Johnston County who did not go to Richmond County.  He had 2 sons in 1800 in Richmond Co. under 10. He is over 45 in 1800  He disappears from Richmond County after that and never appears anywhere else in U.S.  Where did those two boys go?  There are NO Sellers in Richmond County that I could find through ancestry census records in 1820 or 1830.  This Sampson had more than 600 acres in the Johnston County area (according to 1784 tax roll) in Capt. John Bryan's Company District.  There is no record of a deed from him to anyone in Abstracts of Deeds 1759-1825, Kinfolks of Johnston County by Ross and Wood. There is another Sampson Sellers with 3 M under 16 in 1790 already in Richmond County ( and 2 girls in addition to wife); in 1800 he has 1 M under 10, 2 10-15, 2 F 16-25, 1 F 26-44. He also disappears after that. It is difficult to tell if this is a father and son or cousins...not likely that brothers would have the same name.  The Sampson and Benjamin who first appear in North Carolina may be father and son (which one genealogist from N.C. believes), and the Sampson in Richmond County could be son of Sampson in Johnston Co and brother to Benjamin who went further along the Green Path when the group came to North Carolina from ???. Does anyone know of any Sellers in Richmond County from 1810 to 1840?  Or groups of young boys who appear in neighboring Counties during those years?? In all events, both these Sampsons (whichever is the older) have a bunch of boys in the range of births in the 1780-1800's.  There could be boys after that, but nobody appears in a Census record.