URNER Family History (1893); Chester County, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by John Morris . *********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Printing this file within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** Source: "Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsyl- vania, comprising a historical sketch of the county," by Samuel T. Wiley and edited by Winfield Scott Garner, Gresham Publishing Company, Phila- delphia, PA, 1893, pp. 467-470. "THE URNER FAMILY came originally from the canton of Uri in Switzerland, as the name implies; the inhabitants of this canton being called Urners, as the inhabitants of the canton of Schwyz are called Switzers. The Greek form of the name was Ouroi, which was Latinized by the Romans into Uri. "Ulrich Urner, the lineal ancestor of all the Urners in America, with his three sons, Hans, Jacob and Martin, came to America about the year 1708. The Colonial Records show them to have been here in 1712. The Urners came from the province of Alsace, having been driven out of Switzerland by the persecutions of 1672. "Hans Urner died in 1743, unmarried. He was the first person buried in the Coventry Brethren graveyard, on the old Urner homestead, one mile south of Pottstown and half a mile south of Mount Zion cemetery. His name appears on one of the three Urner monuments in the graveyard. "Jacob Urner settled on a farm one and a half miles northeast of Pottstown. He died young, in 1744. His wife, Ann, survived him, dying in 1758. They had three children: Elizabeth, who married Jacob Frick, and died in 1757; Martin, b. 9, 4, 1725, d. 5, 18, 1799, m. Barbara Switzer; and Hester, b. 9, 20, 1740, d. 3, 24, 1813, m. Ulrich Switzer. See monuments in Coventry Brethren graveyard. "Martin Urner, the third son, was born in Alsace, a province of France, in 1695. He first settled at Roxborough, near Philadelphia, then at Ephrata, Lancaster county, and in 1718 bought a tract of four hundred and fifty acres of the Penns on the Schuylkill, in Chester county, Pa., immediately opposite the present town of Pottstown. This became his permanent home and the home of one line of the Urners for six generations. "In 1719 the Brethren, sometimes called Dunkers, came to America and settled principally at Germantown. In the fall of 1722 they had a revival along the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia. "On the 25th of December, 1723, Martin Urner and his wife, Barbara, and four others, were baptized in the Wissahickon, the first baptized by the Brethren in America. On November 7th, 1724, the Coventry Brethren church, the second oldest Brethren church, was organized, with this Martin Urner as preacher. This church, located on a part of his farm, under his min- istry became strong and vigorous, and has continued so down to the present time. Though the Germantown church was organized eleven months earlier, owing to its location in a town, it never had much influence, while the Coventry church, composed mainly of farmers, had great influence, as its members colonized extensively. So it became the real mother church to a denomination now numbering one hundred thousand adult members. A full account of this Martin Urner is given in the volume called 'Materials toward a History of the American Baptists,' published in 1770 by 'Morgan Edwards, then Fellow of Rhode Island College and overseer of the Baptist church in Philadelphia,' and also by Abraham H. Cassel of Harleysville, Pa., the Historian of the Brethren Church; see article in Brethren's Almanac of 1873, and his many other writings. This Martin Urner died March 28, 1755; see monument in Coventry Brethren graveyard. His wife, Catharine Reist, survived him, dying in 1758. Three children grew up, married, and left children; Martin, died in 1747, m. Elizabeth Edis; Jacob, died 2, 21, 1753, m. Barbara Light; and Maria, died 9, 27, 1747, m. Andrew Wolff. This Martin Urner, founder of the Coventry church, is known as the 'First Bishop of the church'. "Martin Urner, son of Jacob Urner, on the death of his uncle, the First Bishop Martin Urner, bought his farm and lived on it the balance of his life. He also became the successor of his uncle as preacher of the Cov- entry church, and was the 'Second Bishop' from 1755 to the time of his death, 1799. The church prospered greatly under his ministry and super- vision, and 'was often visited by able preachers of other localities and even of other denominations, such as Morgan Edwards, Elhanan Winchester, and George De Benneville.' He also prospered in his worldly affairs, being accounted rich in his day. He left four children: Mary, b. 5, 2, 1755, d. 5, 30, 1813, m. David Rinehart of Maryland; Martin, b. 7, 28, 1762, d. 2, 4, 1838, m. Barbara Baugh; Elizabeth, m. Abraham Titlow of Lancaster county; Rev. Jonas, b. 12, 25, 1772, d. 5, 13, 1813 m. Hannah Reinhart. "Biographies of this Martin Urner, the 'Second Bishop', are also given by Morgan Edwards and Abraham H. Cassel. "Fifth generation in part: Children of Martin Urner, son of Second Bishop Martin Urner: John, b. 9, 3, 1784, d. 4, 7, 1827, m. Susan Grubb, and secondly, Elizabeth Grubb; Daniel, b. 7, 7, 1791, d. 5, 16, 1842, m. Hannah Reinhart; Israel, b. 5, 8, 1793, d. 12, 31, 1860, m. Sarah Price; Jacob, b. 4, 19, 1799, d. 2, 11, 1869, m. Elizabeth Halderman. They were all farmers, in Coventry township, Chester county, Pa., and all left descen- dants. "Children of Rev. Jonas Urner of Frederick county, Md.: Benjamin, b. 7, 13, 1795, d. 7, 3, 1857, m. Elizabeth Keyser. He was a merchant in Cin- cinnati, O.; Samuel, b. 12, 25, 1786, d. 8, 4, 1872; m. Elizabeth Snader and Susan Norris; he was a farmer in Frederick county, Md.; David, b. 1, 22, 1801, d. 8, 6, 1874, m. Ann Jane McCracken; a merchant in Springfield, O.; Lydia, b. 5, 19, 1803, d. 7, 20, 1874, m. Hon. William Price of Ches- ter county, Pa.; Sarah, b. 11, 16, 1806, d. 5, 8, 1886, m. Rev. George Price, of Phoenixville, Pa.; Elizabeth, b. 4, 18, 1809, d. 12, 25, 1876, m. Jonathan P. Creager; Hannah, b. 5, 15, 1813, m. John Zimmerman and David Cunningham. "Sixth generation in part: Isaac Newton Urner, LL. D., son of John Urner, was born June 6th, 1821, on a part of the old Urner homestead. He gradu- ated at Dickinson college in the class of 1845, and in 1852 was married to Eliza Stover Grubb. He lived twenty-one years in the South, and was ad- mitted to the bar in Charleston, S. C., in 1851. He was President of Mississippi college, the Baptist college of that State, for sixteen years, from 1851 to 1867. After resigning his connection with that institution, the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him as a recognition of his ser- vices. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Urner: Louis Grubbs, b. Oct. 10, 1854, d. Nov. 9, 1887; Walter Hillman, b. Oct. 9, 1857, d. March 6, 1858; John Randolph, born Aug. 21, 1861, d. Oct. 30, 1890. After re- turning to Pennsylvania the family owned and lived upon the Urner home- stead farm for some years; the farm being known by the name of Belwood. "Lydia Urner, sister of Isaac Newton Urner, married Gilbert Brower. For an account of her and her family, see the articles under the name of Dr. William Brower and Rev. Isaac Urner Brower, her sons. Henry Clay Urner, a son of Benjamin Urner, of Cincinnati, O., has acquired prominence in his native city, Cincinnati, and is much respected. He has filled various places of trust; has been United States Marshal, and is now president of the Chamber of Commerce. Benjamin, a brother of Henry Clay Urner, is President of 'The Urner Publishing Company' of New York city. A third brother, Nathan Dane, is an 'Author, Journalist and Poet' in New York city. He is an able writer in both prose and verse. The Hon. Milton George Urner, son of Samuel Urner of Maryland, is a lawyer of Frederick city. He was a member of the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh congresses, and is now, 1892, the Surveyor of the port of Baltimore. "The descendants of the First Bishop, Martin Urner, moved at an early date to Maryland. The descendants of his daughter, Maria Urner Wolff, live in Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties, Maryland, and are very num- erous. His descendants, bearing the name Urner, moved from Maryland to Rockingham county, Virginia. "Rev. Martin Urner of the Sixth generation, a Baptist preacher, b. 1, 15, 1813, d. 3, 6, 1888, left four sons: John Osborn, b. Feb. 3, 1840, a mer- chant in St. Louis, Mo.; Louis Harvey, b. May 13, 1842, a merchant in Nevada, Mo.; Charles Keyser, b. Sept. 1, 1854, Principal and Proprietor of the Columbia College of Commerce, Washington D. C.; and Clarence Henry, b. April 13, 1856, now in the Treasurer's office of the State of Virginia. "Of the Seventh Generation - John Rodolph Urner, whose portrait accompanies this article, was born in Clinton, Mississippi, August 21, 1861, his father, Isaac Newton Urner, LL. D., being President of Mississippi College at that time. He prepared for college at Williston Seminary, Massachu- setts. His scholarship there was so good that Dr. Keep, Professor of Greek, reported him as 'facile princeps' in his class. He graduated at Princeton College in 1884. He then entered Columbia College Law School, where he graduated in 1886. After being connected with a law firm for a few years in New York city, in the Spring of 1890, he and another young lawyer took a trip out West with a view of possibly locating there. "They got as far as Spokane Falls, Washington, where they both found them- selves dangerously sick from accidental exposure on the journey. His friend's sickness developed into typhoid fever. Mr. Urner, badly broken down in health, was urged by the physicians to leave that sickly locality immediately and try to save himself, leaving to their care his sick and dying friend. But he thought that duty required him to stay and take the chances. After the death of his friend he took the remains back to rela- tives in New York and then went to his own home in Pennsylvania, where he lingered three months, and then died on October 30, 1890, aged 29 years, 2 months and 9 days, 'A Martyr to Duty'. "[The above sketch was carefully prepared and kindly furnished by one who is well acquainted with the Urner family, and by request is printed exactly as written. - ED.]"