James Milnor (June 20, 1773

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

– April 8, 1845

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) was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 and career

Milnor attended public grammar school in

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

at Philadelphia, but initially did not graduate. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1794 and commenced practice in

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. 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 A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

. Milnor had begun studying divinity with Bishop William White while in

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In October 1810, Milnor, a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

, 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 study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 object ...

in Greenwood Cemetery,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Affiliations

In 1798, Milnor had been an officer of Pennsylvania Society, which at the time, was waging a movement to abolish slavery. In 1829 he began his tenure as President of the New York Institution for the Deaf.

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 pursui ...

, 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 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives