Contributed by Roy L. Austin ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ JONATHAN MILNER, PIONEER PREACHER 1834 - 1919 Compiled by Roy L. Austin Privately printed by Twigs & Branches, A Reunion of Family Roy L. Austin, Houston, Texas, 1999 Dedicated to Evan Threatt, III, My newly found cousin In honour of the celebration of the 150th Anniversary Shiloh Baptist Church, Bernice, Louisiana, 1849-1999 Contributors: Mrs. Robbielyn Pruitt, Vernon, Texas Evan Miles Threatt, III, Lubbock, Texas Mrs. Diana Brooks, Midland, Texas Rev. Jonathan Milner Though it is not known where Jonathan Milner received his religious training, if any, he was ordained in 1858 by the Shiloh Baptist Church near present day Bernice, Union Parish, Louisiana. Shiloh records show that after many days of fasting and prayer and laying of hands, Jonathan Milner was ordained into the service of the Lord. He was to later serve as Shiloh's pastor from 1867 to 1870. Rev. Milner's name appears on many marriage licenses in the 1860's and 1870's in Union Parish, Louisiana. The 1860 census records indicate that Jonathan Milner was born about 1830 in Alabama. His tombstone indicates that he was born in 1834. Later census records will indicate that he was born about 1832 in Georgia (1880 census) and in Mississippi (1910 census). Jonathan Milner married Susan Caroline Edmunds on September 20, 1855, in Union Parish, Louisiana. Susan Caroline Edmunds was born January 5, 1838, in Perry County, Georgia, the daughter of James Edmunds and Gressilla Ann Hay. In the 1860 census of Shiloh, Union Parish, Louisiana, Jonathan and Susan Milner are listed with the household of Elijah Tabor in the town of Shiloh, Louisiana. The Milners are shown as owning $250 worth of real estate and $250 of personal property. Civil War records show that Jonathan Milner did his duty for the cause of the Confederacy. He enlisted as a volunteer in February, 1862, in Company E, 12th Louisiana Infantry and served for the duration of the war. Many times during the War, Jonathan returned home to take care of business before returning to renewed fighting. Records show that Johnathan Milner was captured at the seige of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863. Following his capture and parole, he was later to be found in Charlotte, North Carolina. He states in his pension application that he was on guard duty at the time of Lee's surrender. After the long years of the Civil War, the Milner family moved to Texas around 1872. The Milner family lived in Rains County, Texas a year before moving to Comanche County, Texas, where they were living at the time of the 1880 census. There Jonathan Milner founded the First Baptist Church in Comanche, Texas. In the program booklet, 100th Anniversary, First Baptist Church, Comanche, Texas, 1874-1974, the historical sketch reads: On Sunday afternoon, February 21, 1874, in Comanche, Texas, an important event took place. A group of settlers met at the Methodist house of worship for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church. Minutes of first meeting of the Church Clerk: Comanche, Comanche County, Texas, Sabbath evening, 3 o'clock p.m., February 21, 1874. In pursuance of a previous appointment the following named persons met at the Methodist house of worship in the above named place for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church. After a short discourse by Rev. J. Milner from Shiloh Church, Union Parish, La., the meeting was called to order, Elder J. Milner, acting as Moderator, and Bro. A. L. Hamilton requested to act as clerk. Whereupon the following persons came forward and presented letters from their former churches, to-wit: Elder J. Milner, Shiloh Church, Union Parish, La., which also certified that Bro. Milner was a regularly ordained minister in good standing; A. L. Hamilton, First Baptist, Waco; N. Yarbrough, Bush Arbor, Floyd County, Ga.; J. L. Spicer, Margaret Spicer, Greenton, Mo.; Bros. R. R. Twitty, Letitia Twitty and Martha Dickerson, all from Fellowship Church, Sebastian, Ark.; Bro. Henry Paddleford and Sisters Adelia Paddleford and Emma Paddleford of Mount Olive Church, Henry County, Mo.; Sister Sarah Davenport, letter not mentioned, and Sister Jennie Johnson, of Healdsburg Church, Sonora, Calif. On March 1, the following came forward for membership, Bro. R. M. Garner, Liberty Church, Rutherford, Tenn., Sister M. R. Yarborough, Bush Arbor, Floyd County, Ga., and Sister S. C. Milner. Mr. L. B. Russell provided in an annual for the First Baptist Church of Comanche in 1920 so insights into the person of Jonathan Milner: Jonathan Milner, the first pastor and organizer of the church at Comanche, came from Louisiana to this territory in the early 70's [1870's]. Finding no Baptist church here, he canvassed among the few scattering members he could find here. After organizing the church, he served as its pastor during the first year. He was rigidly orthodox and largely Separatist in his tendency, as were many Southern Baptists of that period, under the teachings of J. R. Graves. He was a sincere Christian. It is no disparage- ment to his religious spirit to say that his Separatist predilections, coupled with many grievous personal trials, made the pathway of his religious life rough and thorny. Whatever criticisms have been made, those who knew him best never doubted his earnestness and consecration. Like most of the pioneer preachers of his day, he had little education, but he was a lifelong student of the King James version of the Bible, and only four years ago he published a pamphlet called "A Review of the Revelation of Jesus Christ," which if not scholarly, was at least very thoughtful and contained much spiritual truth as well as some forecasts touching world spirituality which have even now been fully verified. He died in Hill County about two years ago, aged 86, loved and respected by all who knew him in earlier days. Again at a service on October 30, 1938, Mr. L. B. Russell provided a brief history of the First Baptist Church of Comanche. Of Jonathan Milner, Mr. Russell further provided: In the early seventies [1870's], there came from Louisiana, with his family, another pioneer Baptist minister, Jonathan Milner. He came probably about 1872-3. With the same missionary spirit which has characterized Baptists from Roger Williams and Dr. John Clarke, the founders of the first colony, down to this good day, Elder Milner had no sooner become acquainted with his neighbors than he began to campaign for a church in Comanche. It fell to my lot in later years to gain his confidence to an extent which probably was not accorded to other persons. Through this confidence I learned of his solid, unswerving Christian character. He never claimed to be anything buy only a sinner saved by grace. He had greater personal trials than usually falls to the lot of the average man. And it is to him that this church whatever progress it has made during the sixty-five years of its existence, owes its beginnings. In those days, Baptists generally were separatists. He was no exception. It was the continuous persecution that they suffered for centuries before that made separatists. The more you hammer gold, the more it welds together. And so, on Sunday, February 21, 1874, a little band of Baptists assembled in the meeting house of the Methodists... Descendants tell that Jonathan was a quiet, sober person in his later years. Of Susan, it is said that the youthful, funloving spirit that all of the Edmunds sisters were known to have stayed with her throughout her long years. The 1900 census for Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas shows that Susan C. Milner was living in the household of her daugher and son-in-law, Kittie and Asa Sneed. In 1910, census records for Hill County, Texas show that Jonathan Milner was living with his son-in-law, William Allen. After the death of his daughter Laura, Jonathan moved to Malone, Hill County, Texas to help in raising her three children. He continued to preach during this time.The census also shows that William was widowed with three children and his mother living with him as well. Jonathan Milner died on September 30, 1919 and is buried in Bell Spring Cemetery, near Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas. Also buried in the same cemetery are his daughter, Laura Jonathan Milner and her husband, William Henderson Allen. Susan C. Edmunds Milner died January 6, 1928, at the home of her son, Jonathan Pitt Milner. Her grandson, Pershing Milner, recalled that one of his earliest memories was of his grandmother's death, with her lying on the kitchen table and being dressed by his mother. Susan Milner was buried in the Eastview Memorial Cemetery, Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. She is buried in Grave 10, Lot 22, Block 10 of the cemetery. A marker was recently placed on her grave by her descendant, Evan Threatt, III. Buried in the same cemetery is her son, Thomas Jesse Milner. Perhaps after Jonathan's death, Susan went to live with or near her son. Because Vernon, Texas and Hillsboro, Texas are many miles apart, it was probably not feasible to bury Susan Milner with her husband. Based on census records and on Jonathan Milner's tombstone inscriptions, the children of Susan Edmunds and Jonathan Milner were: 1. Martha Adah Milner was born August 15, 1854, near Shiloh, Union Parish, Louisiana. She married William Barnes. Adah Milner Barnes died May 26, 1931, in Comanche, Texas. a. Kate Barnes married _____ Spence. b. Jessie May Barnes c. Catherine Barnes _____ Overton. d. Palmer C. Barnes (1) Adele Barnes married _____ Cowan. 2. Simeon Milner 3. Nannie Milner 4. Metta Flora Milner 5. Fannie Milner 6. Laura Jonathan Milner was born February 14, 1864 according to her tombstone. She married William Henderson Allen on March 30, 1899, in Hill County, Texas. William Allen was born November 11, 1865. The 1910 census of Hill County, Texas indicates that he and his parents were born in Kentucky. Laura played the piano and was a music teacher. The 1910 census of Hill County, Texas shows that in addition to his three children William Allen had living with him his mother, Elizabeth, age 73 and his father-in-law, Jonathan Milner, age 78. Laura Milner Allen died on March 30, 1910. William Henderson Allen died on July 26, 1941. Both are buried in the Bell Spring Cemetery near Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas. Based on inscriptions of William Allen's tombstone, Laura Milner and William Allen had the following children: a. Sovern Wallace Allen who according to the 1910 census of Hill County, Texas was born about 1900 in Texas. He built the red brick Allen home near Malone in 1925 on the location of the older William Allen home. Sovern Allen was a medical doctor who practiced in San Antonio, Texas. Sovern Allen married Minnie _____. Their children are: (1) Marilyn Allen who married _____ Eldridge. (2) Laura Jane Allen who married _____ Hallmark. Their children are: (A) Todd Hallmark Laura Allen Hallmark married second _____ Klise. b. Isabell Opal Allen who according to the 1910 census of Hill County, Texas was born about 1902 in Texas. She married Willie A. Tate on January 1, 1925, in Hill County, Texas. c. William John "Billy" Allen who according to the 1910 census of Hill County, Texas was born about 1904 in Texas. He died in 1961. His children are: (1) Ema Mae Allen (2) Ray Allen (3) Gene Allen who married Dwight Farr. 7. Thomas Jesse Milner was born December 2, 1866, in Union Parish, Louisiana. He married Flora Scott on January 21, 1895, in Junction City, Texas. Flora Obrien Scott was born November 15, 1872, in Clarksburg, Missouri. Thomas Milner was educated in the public schools of Comanche County and Weatherford, Texas. He taught school for ten years, nine in Comanche County at the Rock Bluff school and one in Kimble County where he taught in the city school. Thomas and Flora Milner moved to Wilbarger County in August, 1895. According to the 1910 census, Thomas and Flora Milner can be found living in Wilbarger County, Texas. He worked on the stock farm of Robert Houssels for seven years before renting a farm of his own. Three years later, about 1905, Thomas Milner bought his own farm located eleven miles southwest of Vernon, Texas on the old Crowell Road and began its development. His farm was said to be on the best cultivated places in the locality. It is written that his principal crop was cotton, but that his farm was a well-balanced one, with considerable acreage devoted to feed stuffs and other crops adaptible to Wilbarger County. He dealt in cattle, buying, raising and selling livestock, in addition to his farming activities until 1924. Thomas Milner died July 8, 1944. Flora S. Milner died September 11, 1948. Both are buried in Graves 4 & 6, Lot 56, Block 16 of the Eastview Memorial Cemetery, Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. a. Flora Jesse Milner, a daughter, was born December 12, 1895, in Seymour, Baylor County, Texas. She married Ford Alexander Caperton on June 16, 1932, in Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas by Rev. W. M. Pierce, pastor of First Methodist Church. Ford Caperton, the son of Wallace Gary Caperton and Anna Ford, was born July 27, 1874, in Tyler, Smith County, Texas. Flora Jesse Milner died in 1971. b. Leta Milner was born September 21, 1897. She died August 29, 1949. She is buried in Grave 12, Lot 24, Block 17 of the Eastview Memorial Cemetery, Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. c. Lucille Milner was born August 22, 1900. She married Harry Wallace who was born on August 3, 1906. Lucille Milner Wallace died on September 27, 1969. Harry Wallace died on June 8, 1980. d. Agnes Bessie Milner was born in June, 1905. She married Bruce D. Barker. Bruce Barker was the son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Barker, pioneer residents of Lockett Community near Vernon, Texas. She died in 1982. (1) Robbielyn Barker was born in 1930. She married Warren Pruitt in 1952. She graduated from Baylor University in 1950. Warren Pruitt died in 1996. (a) Eddie Clay Pruitt was born in 1954. (b) Russell Cody Pruitt was born in 1957. (c) Susan Elaine Pruitt was born in 1961. She married Johnnie R. Rader in 1982. She married second Thomas A. Rutledge in 1995. (i) Christopher Travis Rader was born in 1984 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. (ii) David Michael Rader was born in 1987 in Austin, Travis County, Texas. (2) Bobbie Carroll Barker was born in 1934. He died of meningitis in 1942 at the age of eight. e. Norman Milner was born June 20, 1903. He died July 15, 1905, and is buried in Grave 1, Lot 67, Block 9 of the Eastview Memorial Cemetery, Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. f. Josie Bailey Milner, a daughter, was born April 14, 1907. She married William Paul Adams on March 1, 1944. William Adams was born May 30, 1886. Josie Milner Adams died on March 30, 1911. William Paul Adams died on January 15, 1972. (1) Diana Adams was born January 1, 1946. She married Joe Brooks on June 21, 1985. Joe Brooks was born on May 10, 1932. g. Minnie Mae Milner was born August 10, 1901. She married Eugene Dee Rogers in 1927. Eugene Rogers was born May 29, 1904. Minnie Milner Rogers died in September, 1970. Eugene Rogers died March 28, 1963. (1) Flora Eugenia Rogers was born March 23, 1930. She married Evan Miles Threatt, Jr. on August 24, 1951. Evan Threatt, Jr. was born November 8, 1922, the son of Evan Miles Threatt, Sr. and Sarah Myrtle Gillean. (a) Evan Miles Threatt, III was born June 27, 1952. (b) Floretta Mae Threatt was born September 13, 1957. She married George Edward Izzard on October 28, 1982. George Izzard was born March 24, 1950. (i) Daniel Edward Izzard was born April 10, 1984. (ii) Whitney Eugenia Izzard was born December 30, 1990. (c) Eugene Dee Threatt was born July 9, 1962. He married Diana Kay Bullock on August 6, 1988. Diana Bullock was born on November 12, 1968. (i) Tabitha Kay Threatt was born May 21, 1993. (ii) Timothy John Threatt was born November 3, 1994. (iii) Talitha DeeAnn Threatt was born September 28, 1997 (d) Patrick Neff Threatt was born October 6, 1964. He married Paula Sue Cass on May 21, 1988. Paula Cass was born June 27, 1967. (i) Tavner Don Threatt was born May 1, 1990. (ii) Kayla Ranae Threatt was born March 10, 1993. (iii)Matthew Patrick Threatt was born August 2, 1997. (e) Sarah Wren Threatt was born December 5, 1967. (2) Marvin Alder Rogers was born March 13, 1933. He married Jeanne Marie Robertson in 1959. Jeanne Robertson was born November 7, 1941. (a) Jon Damon Rogers was born August 17, 1960. He married Evaline Louise Davis on December 27, 1984. (i) Michelle Marie Rogers was born on February 6, 1987. (ii) Jennifer Sariah Rogers was born on December 10, 1988. (iii)Jerha Elizabeth Rogers was born on May 20, 1990. (b) Robert Carroll Rogers was born August 17, 1962. (3) Helen Corine Rogers was born December 19, 1936. She married Loyd Kent Morrison on October 15, 1956. Loyd Morrison was born September 25, 1931. (a) Charissa Kay Morrison was born September 2, 1958. (b) Kent Morrison was born September 24, 1959. He married Judy Ann Phipps on December 27, 1980. Judy Phipps was born on March 3, 1959. (i) Juliana Morrison was born March 16, 1982. (ii) Genna Morrison was born August 18, 1985. (iii)Elanena Morrison was born May 18, 1990. (c) Lynn Morrison was born September 18, 1961. He married Angela Smith. (d) Phillip Morrison was born October 8, 1968. 8. Jonathan Pitt Milner according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, Texas was born about 1869 in Louisiana. Based on an Application for Mortuary Warrant, Susan Milner died at the home of Jonathan Pitt Milner. His home in January 1928 was located approximately five miles southwest of Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. Jonathan Pitt Milner married first Mary L. _____. She was born on September 22, 1875. She died November 11, 1901, and is buried in Taylor's Chapel Cemetery in Comanche County, Texas. a. Infant Daughter who was born and died June 21, 1895. She is buried in Taylor's Chapel Cemetery, Comanche County, Texas. b. Ivy Milner, a daughter, was born about 1897, in Comanche County, Texas. Jonathan Pitt Milner married second Elizabeth Ellen (Nelle) _____. Their children are: c. John Allen Milner was born May 13, 1904, in Comanche County, Texas. In July 1922 at the age of 18, John moved to Wilbarger County, Texas where he worked with his uncle, Thomas Jesse Milner. It is said he arrived in Wilbarger County with 33 cents in his pocket. After working for four months, he returned to his home in Bibb, Comanche County, Texas. Around 1926, John Milner brought his father, mother and younger brother back to Wilbarger County where they settled in the Lockett Community. There he farmed with his father until 1930. At that time, John Milner moved to the White City Community located in the northern part of Wilbarger County. On January 22, 1931, John Milner married Mildred Ruth Dunn in Lockett, Wilbarger County, Texas. Ruth Dunn was born April 21, 1914, in Wichita County, Texas. In 1938, John and Ruth Milner, with their young son, John, Jr., moved to Hinds, located in the east part of Wilbarger County. There they farmed until they moved to Vernon, Texas in August 1977. (1) John Allen Milner, Jr. was born on December 3, 1934, in Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. He graduated from Vernon high School in 1953. John married Carol Ann Ditmore on May 14, 1960, in Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. Carol Ditmore was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma and moved at the age of 3 with her parents to Vernon, Texas. In 1983, John Milner, Jr. was named Outstanding Rural Citizen by the local chamber of commerce. (a) Terrie Lynn Milner was born January 29, 1962. (b) Tammie Lee Milner was born June 5, 1964. (c) Trisha Carol Milner was born February 11, 1969. (d) Thomas Allen Milner was born October 24, 1970. d. Pershing Milner was born in Bibb, Comanche County, Texas. (1) Barbara Milner married W. Randal "Randy" Jackson, the son of Billy B. Jackson and Frances Ramsey. (a) Brandy G. Jackson (b) Tera L. Jackson 9. James R. Graves Milner according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, was born about 1873 in Louisiana. He was known by his nickname as "Bud". He married Rosa _____, who was born about 1876 in Texas. According to the 1900 census, J. R. Milner was living in Wilbarger County, Texas. His children include: a. Carl W. Milner was born September 3, 1895, in Texas. He died on March 28, 1954, at Sidney, Texas and is buried in Stag Creek Cemetery, Comanche County, Texas. His tombstone bears the inscription "Texas Pfc MG Co 43 Inf." b. Claude Milner according to the 1900 census was born about 1897 in Texas. Claude Milner died in World War I. c. Cleve Milner was born May 29, 1898. He married Alage _____. Cleve Milner died June 11, 1989, in Wilbarger County, Texas. Alage Milner died March 31, 1965, in Wilbarger County, Texas. Both are buried in the Eastview Memorial Cemetery in Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas. d. Aaron Milner according to the 1900 census was born about 1899 in Oklahoma. e. George Milner f. Paul Milner g. Bill Milner h. Willie Pearl Milner i. Jud Milner who married Kate _____. 10. Susan Pinina Milner according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, Texas was born about 1871 in Louisiana. 11. Sallie Rochester Milner according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, Texas was born about 1875 in Texas. 12. Katherine "Kittie" Milner according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, Texas was born about 1878 in Texas. She married Asa L. Sneed. According to the 1900 census of Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas, Asa Sneed was born about 1856 in Mississippi. 13. John Calloway Milner, Jr. according to the 1880 census of Comanche County, Texas was born in late 1879 in Texas. He lived near Shiloh, an old church at Minden, Louisiana. a. Curtis Milner b. Gwendaline Milner Marriage Book, Volume 8, page 330, Hill County, Texas Marriage Book, Volume 19, page 20, Hill County, Texas The Historical Encyclopedia of Texas, Ellis Arthur Davis, editor, The Texas Historical Society, Vol. 2, page 823. # # #