Milner, Isaac (2)

a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was born in Yorkshire, England, April 2, 1818. His parents were of the old English Wesleyan stock, and young Milner was educated with great piety and care. In his seventeenth year he was converted, and, believing: himself called of God to preach the Gospel, he hesitatingly prepared to enter the ministry. While human reasoning held him back, divine love impelled him forward. He began his elementary studies alone and after the midnight hour, and in this way gained his education. Being of a studious habit, he soon acquired a storehouse of knowledge, and was numbered among the promising youths of the ministry. Seized with a desire to visit America, he came to New Orleans in 1848. Many and severe trials awaited him in his new home. He was taken sick of typhoid fever, and for three months he lay hovering between life and death. After his recovery he was for a time a member of the Memphis Conference. He afterwards joined the Tennessee Conference, and remained a member of it till his death, which occurred near Columbia, Tennessee, June 16, 1872. Isaac Milner was one of the most popular Methodist preachers. He knew no failure; if he ever did, his audience knew nothing about it. In every department he proved himself to be a man of great ability and usefulness. His mind was naturally vigorous and receptive; his memory tenacious; his well-balanced mind, like a rich, productive field, yielded a wealth of thought, independent of the production of other men. His fancy was vigorous, his figures original and bold always pleasing often overwhelming. Milner served his Church in various ways, but in every department he proved himself not only a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, but a workman of great ability, usefulness, and popularity. See Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the M.E. Church, South, 1872, page 715 sq.