Philip Schuyler Church (April 14, 1778 – January 1, 1861) was an American judge, landowner, and founder of the town of Angelica, New York. From 1798 to 1800, during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

with France, he was a captain in the U.S. Army and '' aide-de-camp'' to

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, his uncle, who was then Major General of the Army.

Early life and education

Church was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 14, 1778. He was the oldest child of

Angelica Schuyler Church Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexand ...

and John Barker Church, a British-born merchant and member of Parliament. As a small child, he moved with his family from New York to Paris, where he and his mother were painted together by

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American painter and military officer best known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Revolut ...

. After 18 months, the Church family moved to London, and Philip was educated for six years at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He began the study of law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

before returning to New York in 1797. In New York, he continued his law studies, working in the offices of Nathaniel Pendleton. He also served as a U.S. Army captain and was appointed '' aide-de-camp'' to

from 1798 to 1800, while Hamilton was Major General and Inspector General of the Army during the

with France. His mother, Angelica, was the sister of Hamilton's wife

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Elizabeth Hamilton (née Schuyler ; August 9, 1757 – November 9, 1854) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was the wife of Founding Fathers of the United States, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and was a passionat ...

. Prior to his admission to practice law in New York, Church served as second to his cousin

Philip Hamilton Philip Hamilton (January 22, 1782 – November 24, 1801) was the eldest child of Alexander Hamilton (the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. He died at age 19, fatally ...

in his fatal 1801 duel with George Eacker.

Settlement of Allegany County

In May 1800, at the age of 22, Church became a major landowner in western New York, with a tract of of land in present-day Allegany County and

Genesee County, New York Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from the Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; ...

that had been a portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. Church's father John Barker Church had loaned money to financier Robert Morris, and accepted a mortgage on the tract in May 1796 as security for the debt owed to him by Morris. After Morris failed to pay the mortgage, John Barker Church foreclosed and sent Philip to Canandaigua in May 1800 to attend the foreclosure sale, where Philip made a successful bid and acquired the tract. Philip Church traveled in 1801 to the area with his surveyor Moses Van Campen and four others to take possession of the land. Church selected specific acreage for a planned village along the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

, with plots and design to be reminiscent of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The plan included a circular road enclosing a village park at the center of town, streets radiating from the circular road to form a star, and five churches situated around the circle. Philip named the village

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

, after his mother, and began to open it up for sale to settlers. By 1803, the village was populated with log cabin homes, including Church's, and he had erected a sawmill and a gristmill. On February 4, 1805, Church married Anna Matilda Stewart (1786–1865), the daughter of General Walter Stewart. Soon after their wedding in Philadelphia, the two settled in the village of Angelica, where a small whitewashed house (locally known as the "White House") had already been built for the couple on the banks of the Genesee River. In 1806, Angelica and John Barker Church began construction on a thirty-room mansion nearby, called Belvidere, which still stands as a privately owned home on the banks of the Genesee in Belmont, New York, near the town of

. Although they had intended to make it their summer home, it instead became the residence of Philip and Anna Church when it was partially completed in 1810.

Career and later life

Church was still under 30 when he was appointed the first Judge of the New York County Court for Allegany County, in 1807. He died in Angelica on January 7, 1861, at the age of 82. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' cited the Erie Railway as Church's "great work to which for a number of years he devoted his time and applied his energies... which he lived to see completed and the process of transformation which followed fairly begun." The ''Times'' also credited Church with being the first to suggest the idea of the Genesee Valley Canal, and influential in its completion.

Children

Philip and Anna Church had nine children. These included: * Elizabeth, who married Robert Horwood (or Harwood), and resided in England * Major Richard Church, who held a position as a political appointee in the New York Custom House * Angelica (d. 1895), who married John Warren and resided in New York City

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Philip Schuyler Schuyler family 1778 births 1861 deaths American people of Dutch descent