GEORGE C. URWILER (b. 1827 - d. 1895-1900 )

George C. Urwiler was an elder of the church, served as a superintendent of the Sabbath School, and was a one-time member of the board of trustees. It would appear that this George C. Urwiler, was the son of one George Urwiler, Jr. and the grandson of one George Urwiler, Sr. Both, the junior and senior George Urwilers joined the church in 1847. These two elder George Urwilers joined the church on the same day as an Ann Urwiler. Ann was probably the wife of the senior George Urwiler and the grandmother of the subject of our study. On the date when the Urwilers were registered into the roll of members of First Presbyterian Church of Kensington, September 23rd, 1847, neither of the George Urwilers, neither senior nor junior, used the middle initial of "C." This point is important in helping to establish the identities of the several George Urwilers that appear in the record books. At this early date, George Urwiler, Jr, did not use the word "Jr." after his name. It would not be until later, about the year 1840, that he took on this identity, perhaps to avoid confusion not only between him and his father who seems to have always used "senior", but also to avoid confusion about his own son, who was coming up and also named George Urwiler.

Some of the confusion over these Urwilers is caused by the way Ann Urwiler is listed in the roll of members book. Often in the record books of the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington, when a woman's name is put on the roll of members, her maiden name is listed, but this rule is not consistent. Since this Ann Urwiler does not have a maiden name listed, it creates confusion because Urwiler may or may not be her maiden name, and she therefore could be the mother, wife, or sister of the George Urwilers listed as joining with her. What George Urwiler is honored with this stainglass window is unclear, but it would appear to be the grandson of the senior George Urwiler, since neither the senior, nor the junior, ever used the middle initial of "C," not when they joined the church in 1847, nor in any of the city directories from 1825 through the 1860's. There was only one George Urwiler who used the middle initial of "C" and therefore we can only assume that it is this George Urwiler that is honored by the window. This George Urwiler appears in church history records with the middle initial of "C."

There were other Urwilers listed in the church records, but only one of them dates before the 1847 date of George and Ann Urwiler's family (that is, before the time when their names were entered on the "roll of members"). In 1835 there was a Judah Collom who married a Susan Urwiler on June 4th, of that year. This shows that there were other Urwilers in the area and that they were all probably from the same family, perhaps this Susan Urwiler being a daughter, or sister, to one of the George Urwilers. All of the Urwilers that were listed in the City Directories at this time all lived in the West Kensington section, just above Girard Avenue, on 3rd or 4th Streets.

In any event, the city directories do not help much to clear the fog from the confusion of figuring out the Urwiler families. The earliest directory listing in 1825 shows that a George Urwiler was working as a silver refiner and lived at Germantown Road and 3rd Street. This would appear to be the senior George Urwiller that joined the church in 1847. By the early 1830's (1830-1833) there are now several Urwilers listed in the directories. George is listed still as a "refiner," but now living at 4th & Master Streets, and there is a second George Urwiler listed working at a tin shop at 93 High Street, which was probably downtown, on Market Street. This George at the tin shop, is probably the father of the George C. Urwiler and the son of the "refiner". Also listed in the early 1830's were a Benjamin Urwiler, at 2nd & Master, and a Jones Urwiler, at 4th & Master, who was also a "refiner of mettle," and probably a brother or son of George the refiner.

In 1835-36, George of the tin shop on High Street disappears, but George Urwiler, "refiner of mettle" is still at 4th & Master with Jones Urwiler too! By 1840, both George Urwilers are now living in Kensington. The "refiner of mettle" is listed as "senior," and there is a "junior" listed as a tinsmith and living at Charlottle above Thompson. Charlotte is present day Orkney Street, and would be in the general vicinity of where George Urwiler the refiner was living. Jones Urwiler is now practicing as a grocer and is located at 4th and Thompson. Again, all three of these address' are within a block or so of each other in the emerging mill district that was then called West Kensington.

Between 1845 and 1847, only George, Sr. is listed. He is still working as a refiner at Germantown & Thompson, but by the following year, there is a George W. Urwiler, working as a cooper, on 3rd above Franklin, or present day Girard Avenue. It would appear since this is the only time that a George W. Urwiler is listed, that it might be a mistake, and this may very well be the "jr" who is a tinsmith, because by the 1850 city directory all the Urwilers are listed, George, Sr, refiner at Germantown road above Thompson, George, Jr., a metallicroofer, on 3rd above Franklin (the same address as George W. the cooper of a couple years earlier), and Jones Urwiler, who is still working as a grocer at 4th & Thompson. The 1850 directory appears to be the last listing of George Urwiler, Sr. He may have died, or moved away. Through 1855 to 1857, George Urwiler, Jr, is listed as a metallicroofer, on 3rd & Germantown Road. By 1858 addresses were uniformed because of the consolidation of the county into the city, so his address was then listed as 1235 N 3rd. He was still there in 1860 by the time the new church building had been completed for about a year or so.

The 1860 directory introduces the subject of this study, George C. Urwiler. This George Urwiler has the middle initial of "C," and is the first and only one to be recorded as such in the city directories between the years 1825 and 1900. The only other appearance of a George C. Urwiler in the records that I looked at were in the marriage records of First Presbyterian Church of Kensington, when a George C. Urwiler married Caroline Lindnner in 1856. This city directory of 1860 lists George C. Urwiler as a "conductor" at 24th on the corner of Coates Street, or present day Fairmont Avenue, which would seem a bit of a way off to be associated with First Presbyterian Church of Kensington in the mid-19th Century, but transportation at the eve of the Civil War was getting better and if working as a conductor meant a "train conductor," then there were railroads located out by 24th & Coates.

The 1862 Directory shows a George Urwiler living at 23rd & Wallace (2334 Wallace) working as a lithographer. This address would only be around the corner from the 24th & Coates address and the profession of lithographer would connect this George with other Urwilers in Kensington who worked in this industry, however, this George is only listed this one time as a lithographer. It could be he was in-between jobs, or something to that effect, as he isn't listed in the directories during the next couple of years. It is quite possible he was serving with the government in some capacity during the Civil War, which raged between 1860 and 1865.

By 1870, the only George Urwiler listed in the city directories is George Urwiler, roofer, now living at 146 Richmond Street. Logic would seem to say that this George is the same as the metallicroofer George, who now moved closer to First Presbyterian Church.

The 1880 Census has George C. Urwiler as being born in 1827, with both him and his parents being born in Pennsylvania. His wife Caroline is forty years old making her born in 1840. She was born in Pennsylvania, but her parents were born in Germany. All of their children were born in Pennsylvania (George H., b. 1857, Kate R., b. 1869, & Lillian G, b. 1872).

When next George C. Urwiler surfaces in the directories, it is 1885. Why his long absence from the city directories takes place one can only guess. Perhaps he moved away, worked out of state, or something. In any event he is working as a conductor and living at 4269 Germantown Avenue. His son George H. is living with him and working as a salesman. By 1890 they had moved to 1812 Cayuga and they were both working as clerks. 1895 finds his son George H., working as a manager and there is no profession listed for George C. Urwiler. It could be that he was getting up in years and was retired.

By 1900, his wife Caroline is listed as a widow living at 1814 Cayuga, therefore George C. Urwiler must have died sometime between 1895 and 1900. His father George Urwiler, Jr, had died in 1874 and his grandfather George Urwiler, Sr, most likely died sometime between 1850 and 1860 when stopped being listed in the city directories.

George C. Urwiler will best be remembered for his service to the church as an elder, as a superintendent of the Sabbath School, and as a one time member of the board of trustees. Although the stainglass window does not have the middle initial of "C" it would appear that if this window is not devoted to George C. Urwiler, then it would more then likely have been donated by George C. Urwiler for either his father or grandfather, who were both named George Urwiler and who were both members of the church. But only George C. Urwiler played an active role in the church and therefore it would appear more likely that this window would be dedicated to him.

Afterward: There were several other Urwiler families in the Kensington area and presumably they were all related. The family of John J. Urwiler, who had married Susan B. Smith at First Presbyterian and had their son William Overington Urwiler baptized there, went into the lithography business and later into the printing trade. They lived around the area of Frankford and York Streets for some time, and then later they lived on the 2300 block of Adams, or present day Hagert Street. John J. was in the lithography and printing business for over 40 years (1860 to 1900). They most assuredly were related to George C. Urwiler, but as yet, not enough research has been done to confirm this. Their naming their son with the middle name of Overington, probably shows that John J's wife, Susan B. Smith, was related the Frankford family of Overingtons, who were married into the Fries, Teese, Wilen, and Clothier families. The Wilens and Teese were members of First Presbyterian, and the Clothier family was the family of stainglass honoree, Conrad F. Clothier, whose middle initial stands for "Fries."

Another Urwiler family, Jones Urwiler, the one that went into the grocery business in the 1840's, continued on in that business into the 1860's at 3rd & Thompson Streets. While still another group, most likely related, Sarah & Lizzie Urwiler, had a dry goods business on the 800 block of North 2nd Street, then on the 1500 block of North 11th Street. This business lasted for at least the last two decades of the 19th Century.

Family of George Urwiler?
[This is only a preliminary study]

This family tree is a likely scenario of the family of George Urwiler, Sr. and Ann Urwiler, who both joined the church at the same time in 1847, with possibly their son George who joined with them, and their grandson who may have been George C. Urwiler:

1. George Urwiler, Sr., born in PA
+ Ann ?, born in PA

2. Margaret Urwiler, b. 1832 in PA, , keeping house, probably
the Margaret who joined the church in 1851.

2. Susanna Urwiler, b. 1840 in PA, dry goods dealer

2. Jennie C. Urwiler, b. 1848, in PA,
+ W. Morris Woodley, b. 1850, dry goods clerk, he and his parents
were born in PA

3. Carrie L. Woodley, born in 1879-80 in PA.

2. Orormina Urwiler, b. 1852 in PA, dry goods clerk, she may
have married a Mr. Baker as she joined the church in 1866 and had
the name Baker, or it could have been her maiden name? But for that
to happen she must have been living with her sisters in 1880
and they all would have had to marry Urwiler brothers. Not too
possible.

2. Julia W. Urwiler, could possibly be another sister as this
woman joined the church the same day (3-28-1851) as Margaret
Urwiler, this woman died 7-1877 (or it could have been Margaret's
mother?)

2. George Urwiler, Jr. (? Could he be a son of this other George?)
+ ?

1. George C. Urwiler, b. 1827 in PA, as were his parents, m. 4-13-1856,
worked as conductor
+ Caroline Lindnner, b. 1840 in PA, but her parents were from
Germany, keeping house

3. George H. Urwiler, b. 1857, working as a salesman
3. Kate R. Urwiler, b. 1869, at school
3. Lillian G. Urwiler, b. 1872, at school

The last two sisters, Jennie C. & Orormina stated that their mother was
born in Scotland, whereas the two older sisters state that their mother
was born in Pennsylvania. It would appear that Mr. Urwiler had married
twice. There is also listed a Julia J. Yonker, who is a neice of the
oldest sister and head of the household (Margaret). She was born in
PA as were her parents. She was born in 1874.

Other Unaccounted for Urwilers:

Family of William K. Urwiler:

William K. Urwiler, m. 11-14-1858
+ Elizabeth Conn,

Family of John Urwiler:

John Urwiler, m. 7-20-1851, probably the John I. (J.?) Urwiler who
joined the church on 9-21-1852 and was dismissed in 1872.
+ Susan B. Smith, joined church on 12-25-1850, dismissed
1. William Ovington Urwiler, b. 2-20-1862

Urwiler families listed in the records of First Presbyterian Church of Kensington:

Marriages:

Judah Collom to Susan Urwiler, 6-4-1835
Charles C. Atkens to Mary Urwiler, 2-10 (16?)-1836
Wm. K. Urwiler to Eliz. Conn, 11-14-1858
George C. Urwiler to Caroline Lindnner, 4-13-1856
John J. Urwiler to Susan B. Smith, 7-20-1851

Baptisms:

Wm. Ovington Urwiler, 4-22-1868 (John & Susan B. Urwiler), 2-20-1862

Roll of Members:

George Urwiler, sr., 9-23-1847, dead
George Urwiler, 9-23-1847, d. 5-5-1874
Agnes M. Urwiler (Dickenson), 3-23-1853, dismissed Nov. 1867
Ann Urwiler, 9-23-1847, dead
Janet C. Urwiler, 3-30-1862, gone
John I. (J.?) Urwiler, 9-21-1852, dismissed 1872
Julia W. Urwiler, 3-28-1851, died 7-1877
Margaret Urwiler, 3-28-1851,
Orannia (Baker) Urwiler, 3-25-1866, dismissed 1888
Sarah Urwiler, 9-23-1847, d. 5-28-1862
Sarah Youkens Urwiler, 3-22-1860, dismissed 3-29-1900
Susan B. Smith (Urwiler), 12-25-1850, dismissed