John Urmston was born in England in about 1662. A chaplain, he accepted a mission to North Carolina in 1709. Responsible for Chowan and Perquimans Precincts, Urmston found that there were few resources for or strong adherents to the Church of England in the colony. Urmston returned to England in 1721 and was reassigned to a chaplaincy in Philadelphia and later Maryland. He died in Cecil County, Maryland in November 1731.