Philip Schuyler Church (April 14, 1778 – January 1, 1861) was an American judge, landowner, and founder of the town of

Angelica, New York Angelica is a town in the middle of Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,284 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Angelica Schuyler Church, a daughter of General Philip Schuyler, sister-in-law of Founding Father ...

. From 1798 to 1800, during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

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 Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...

, his uncle, who was then

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

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 John Barker Church, John Carter, (October 30, 1748 – April 27, 1818) was an English born businessman and supplier of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He returned to England after the Revolutionary War and served in the Hous ...

, a British-born merchant and

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. 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, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Re ...

. 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 in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. 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 exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

before returning to New York in 1797. In New York, he continued his law studies, working in the offices of

Nathaniel Pendleton Nathaniel Pendleton (October 27, 1756 – October 20, 1821) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia. Education and career Born on October 27, 1756, in New Kent County, Colony of Virgi ...

. He also served as a U.S. Army captain and was appointed '' aide-de-camp'' to

from 1798 to 1800, while Hamilton was

and

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

of the Army during the

with France. His mother, Angelica, was the sister of Hamilton's wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. 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 U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. He died at age 19, fatally shot in a duel with George Eacker. Birt ...

in his fatal 1801 duel with

George Eacker George I. Eacker ( 1774 – January 4, 1804) was a New York lawyer. He is best known for having fatally shot Philip Hamilton, the eldest son of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, in a duel on November 23, 1801, in Weehawken, N ...

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 Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHI ...

that had been a portion of the

Phelps and Gorham Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of of land in what is now western New York State from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1,000,000 ( £300,000), to be paid in three annual installments, and the pre-emptive right to th ...

. 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 Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county compl ...

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 Major Moses Van Campen (1757–1849) was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War. He was a prominent figure in Pennsylvania and parts of New York. His primary involvement in the Revolutionary War was in fighting against hostile Native Am ...

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 in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

, with plots and design to be reminiscent of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. 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 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They gr ...

, 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 Belmont is a village within the town of Amity in Allegany County, New York, United States. Belmont is the county seat of Allegany County. The population was 969 at the 2010 census. The name means "beautiful hill". The village is centrally loca ...

, 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 The County Courts are courts within the New York State Unified Court System located in each county outside New York City.Constitution of the State of New York Article VI, § 10. "a. The county court is continued in each county outside the city of ...

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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' cited the

Erie Railway The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Eri ...

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 The Genesee Valley Canal is a former canal that operated in central New York between 1840 and 1878. It ran for a length of 124 miles, passing through 106 locks. Its course was later used by the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and today comprises po ...

, 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 The United States Custom House, sometimes referred to as the New York Custom House, was the place where the United States Customs Service collected federal customs duties on imported goods within New York City. Locations The 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