James Milnor (June 20, 1773

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– April 8, 1845

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) was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

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for two years (1811–1813), a lawyer for 16 years (1794 to 1810), and an Episcopal priest for years (from mid-1814 to 1845).

Education & career

Milnor attended public grammar school in

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

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

conferred on Milnor the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Milnor had begun studying divinity with Bishop William White while in

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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 Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and was ordained as a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In 1814 he was appointed assistant minister of St. Peter's Church in

and in 1816, he was elected rector of St. George's Chapel in

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, a capacity he served in until his death in

in 1845. Among his parishioners was Mary Simpson, an African-American grocer who lived on John Street. Milnor was

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in Greenwood Cemetery,

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Affiliations

In 1798, Milnor had been an officer of

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, which at the time, was waging a movement to abolish slavery.

Family

James Milnor was married, on 28 February 1799, to Eleanor Pawling, daughter of Henry Pawling and Rebecca Bull. James Milnor was the brother of

William Milnor William Milnor (June 26, 1769 – December 13, 1848) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and Mayor of Philadelphia. William Milnor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He engaged in mercantile pursuit ...

, also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

References

General references ---- Inline citations ---- 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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milnor, James University of Pennsylvania alumni Pennsylvania lawyers 1773 births 1845 deaths 19th-century American Episcopal priests Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American abolitionists Politicians from Philadelphia Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Christian abolitionists 19th-century American lawyers