James Milnor

James Milnor (20 June 1773 Philadelphia – 8 April 1845 Manhattan, New York) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania for two years (1811–1813), a lawyer for 16 years (1794 to 1810), and an Episcopal priest for 29-1/2 years (from mid-1814 to 1845).

Education & career

Milnor attended public grammar school in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, but initially did not graduate. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1794 and commenced practice in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He moved to Philadelphia in 1797 and continued the practice of his profession. He was a member of the Philadelphia Common Council in 1800, a member of the Select Council from 1805 to 1810 and served as president in 1808 and 1809. On July 29, 1819, the University of Pennsylvania conferred on Milnor the degree of Doctor of Divinity.^[1] Milnor had begun studying divinity with Bishop William White while in Washington, D.C.^[2]

In October 1810, Milnor, a Federalist, was elected to represent the First Congressional District of Pennsylvania, in the Twelfth Congress. After his time in Congress, he studied theology and was ordained as a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In 1814 he was appointed assistant minister of St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia and in 1816, he was elected rector of St. George’s Chapel in New York City, a capacity he served in until his death in New York City in 1845.^[3][4] Milnor was interred in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Affiliations

In 1798, Milnor had been an officer of Pennsylvania Society, which at the time, was waging a movement to abolish slavery.^[5]

Family

James Milnor was the brother of William Milnor, also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

References

General references

1. Biography at www.freemason.com
2. The Political Graveyard
3. Documents by and about James Milnor from Project Canterbury
4. Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, six volumes (Milnor is in vol. 4), edited by James Grant Wilson & John Fiske, New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1888–1889 OCLC 420563
5. Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1971, The Continental Congress (September 5, 1774 to October 21, 1788), and the Congress of the United States (from the first through the ninety- first Congress March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1971, inclusive), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (1971) OCLC 2779857
6. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989. The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774 to October 21, 1788 and the Congress of the United States from the first through the one hundredth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 1989, inclusive. Bicentennial Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (1989) OCLC 18497652
7. James Milnor at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
8. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. 8, New York: James T. White & Co. (1898)
9. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 10 volumes, edited by Rossiter Johnson, Boston: The Biographical Society (1904) OCLC 441092
10. Who Was Who in America, A Component Volume of Who's Who in American History, Historical Volume, 1607–1896, revised edition, Chicago: Marquis Who's Who (1967) OCLC 22665911
11. A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, three volumes, by Samuel Austin Allibone, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. (1858–1871) OCLC 325569806
12. Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States, During its First Century; From Original and Official Sources, by Charles Lanman (1819–1895), Washington, D.C.: James Anglim (1876) OCLC 437825019
13. Dictionary of American Biography, by Francis S. Drake. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co. (1872) OCLC 891866

---

Inline citations

1. University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Gazette (historic Philadelphia newspaper), Vol III, Issue 452, pg. 2, August 9, 1989
2. A memoir of the life of James Milnor, D.D. : late Rector of St. George's Church, New York, by John Seely Stone, American Tract Society (1848) OCLC 3859645
3. Obituary: Died (Rev. James Milnor, D.D.), New-York Spectator (historical newspaper, not connected with Columbia University's paper by the same name), Vol. XLVIII (48), April 12, 1845, pg. 4 OCLC 192107445
4. Obituary: Rev. James Milnor, Schenectady NY Cabinet (historic newspaper), April 14, 1845, col. 4 OCLC 9954193
5. Slavery: Society of Friends, Meeting House, Universal Gazette (historical Philadelphia newspaper), Vol. I, Issue IX, pg 3, January 11, 1798

---

Biographical note

• Many biographical sources wrongly state that Milnor died in 1844, an error that has been widely replicated. With the advent of digitization of historical newspapers, we now know that he died on the same date, but in 1845.