Henry Kumler was born on January 3, 1775 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. He was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Young) Kumler. The former, son of John Kumler, was a native of the county of Basel, Switzerland, and was brought to America by his parents when he was about seven years old.
Henry grew up on his father's farm with very ordinary educational advantages.
Kumler's early connections had been with the German Reformed Church, but in 1814, having passed through a severe spiritual struggle and experienced a call to preach, he became a member of the Eastern conference of the United Brethren in Christ. He was at this time well on toward middle age, but he threw himself into the work of this young denomination with wholehearted devotion and extraordinary energy.
The year after his admission he was a delegate to the first General Conference of the church, which revised the Confession of Faith and the Discipline; and he was a delegate to every subsequent General Conference until 1825, when he was elected bishop. Much of his life was spent in the saddle.
The first five years of his ministry were in the East. In 1815 he traveled a large circuit near Greencastle; in 1816 he was appointed to the Virginia circuit, on which he covered 370 miles every four weeks; in 1817 he was made presiding elder. For some time the Pennsylvania Germans had been migrating westward in large numbers, and the valley of the Miami had become a center for the work of the United Brethren. In 1819 Kumler transferred his activities to that section. Acquiring a fertile farm near Trenton, Butler County, Ohio, he made it his home for the rest of his life. Adjoining his house he built a large room, where regular services were held for many years. His home became a stopping place for preachers, and conferences were frequently entertained there.
First elected bishop in 1825, he served in that office for five successive terms, twenty years in all. By the end of this period age had made it difficult for him to endure the extended horseback journeys required. In addition to his services, being a man of some means, he gave liberally to the needs of the work, and to him as much as to any other person, perhaps, the planting and nurture of the churches of the United Brethren in southwestern Ohio was due.
Kumler married Susanna Wingert on September 5, 1797. He had twelve children, one of whom, Henry Kumler, Jr. , also became bishop. Bishop Daniel Kumler Flickinger was his grandson.
