Church Family History by Chester R. Church
Tom Pearson (pearsontw@sbcglobal.net), a direct descendant of Samuel Church -> Erastus Church -> Uzziel B. Church -> Martha Florence Church -> ..., has a copy of a hand-written transcription of a family history written by Chester R. Church, son of Erastus Church, on 10 Mar 1924 (which would have been just before he died). The wording of the first sentence suggests that this is not the original, but that someone else has transcribed this document. It is unclear who that might have been or where the original lies. The first page has a notation at the bottom, "rec'd from Curt 5-9-1994," and Tom does not know who Curt is.
Imagery
Here are the scans of the document as Tom sent them to me:
Transcription
Here is a transcription of the document made by Richard Brady Williams on 24 Mar 2012:
Page 1
The family history of Erastus Church and Lucy W. (Whitten) Church was written by Chester R. Church of West Terre Haute Vigo Co. Indiana, March 10, 1924.
My Grandfather Samuel Church and Grandmother Elizabeth (Stickny) Church and their family of nine children. Five daughters and four sons came from Orange County, Vermont in the year 1827 and settled in Brooksville, Franklin County, Indiana, and remained in Brooksville and remained there until 1835. They t[hen] moved to Greenfield, Hancock, Indiana. Where their daughters followed their father’s profession of teaching school.
Many of the old citizens of Greenfield were their pupils. Such men as James Whitcomb Riley, the p(?) [scan cuts this word off at the margin]. Grandfather Church was one of the old pioneer school instructors of Vermont, before he came to the state of Indiana. He was truley one of the old teachers of Vermont and successful and winning the good will of his pupils.
Grandfather Church was a member of the Presbyterian Church and held his membership until his death which occurred Aug 1844. After Grandfather death, Grandmother Church made her home with her son Erastus Church until her death Jan 1st 1860 a[nd] she was buried in Bethesda Cemetary three miles west of West Terre Haute Ind. on the Paris road.
rec’d from Curt 5-9-1994
Page 2
My father Erastus Church and my mother Lucy (Whitten) Church came from orange County Vermont to Greenfield, Hancock County, Indiana. In the year 1834 with their two oldest children, Caroline their daughter, and Erastus Warren, two months old. Father was Wheelwright in Vermont. Learning his trade before he came to Greenfield, Indiana.
He erected a hewed logshop one and one-half stories high, 40’ x 40’. Installed the following machinery, a circlesaw, a boring machine, a mortise machine, turning lathe, and a corn mill.
The old settlers would come from miles to have their corn ground into meal to make bread for their families to eat.
Father made spinning wheels and old wooden pumps and old hand weaving looms to make all kinds of woolen goods for trousers and all kind of under garments that men use to wear in the old pioneer days of Indiana.
Made furniture for the old settlers of Hancock, Ind. My father’s shop was burned in 1802 by Samuel Apple when he was intoxicated and he was arrested and sentenced for two years in Jeffersonville Prison for this crime. On November 1st 1834 my father and his family moved from Hancock County Indiana and bought a farm fourt[een] miles west of Terre Haute on the old National Road in Sugar Creek Township, Vigo County, Indiana, and
Page 3
followed farming and contracting until his death. Sep 3rd 1877.
My Father and mother had a large family of children. Our schooling was limited for the absence of public schools in the pioneer days and the children old subscription school.
My father had to pay the money out of his own pocket to pay for his children’s education. There were twelve children in our family. 8 boys and four girls Six of these boys served in the Union Army. They were not slackers by any means. Any here are the names of those enlisted when President Lincoln made his call for volunteers to put down the rebellion. And here are the names of those that responded to this country’s call.
Langdon W. Church Uzziel B. Church Oscar L. Church Melville A. Church Chester R. Church George D. Church Jefferson S. Murphy, a brother-in-law of the Church boys also enlisted.
Analysis
This document lays out the following family structure:
Generation 1: Samuel Church, d. Aug 1844, and wife Elizabeth Stickny, d. 1 Jan 1860, buried Bethesda Cemetery.
Generation 2: Samuel and Elizabeth had a total of nine children, four sons and five daughters. One son was Erastus Church, d. 3 Sep 1877, who married Lucy H. Whitten.
Generation 3: Erastus and Lucy had a total of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters. Oldest was Caroline, next was Erastus Warren. The other sons were Langdon W. Church, Uzziel B. Church, Oscar L. Church, Melville A. Church, Chester R. Church, and George D. Church. One of the daughters married Jefferson S. Murphy.
The document gives the following timeline for residences:
The sons and daughters of Samuel and Elizabeth moved from Orange Co., VT, to Brooksville, Franklin Co., IN, in 1827. It is not explicitly stated whether Samuel and Elizabeth accompanied them at this time, but the assumption is that they did. They all moved again to Greenfield, Hancock Co., IN, in 1835.
Erastus and Lucy moved from Orange Co., VT, to Greenfield, Hancock Co., IN in 1834 along with their two children at the time, Caroline and Erastus Warren. Erastus and family moved again on 1 Nov 1834 to a farm 14 miles west of Terre Haute, on the old National Rd., Sugar Creek Twp., Vigo Co., IN.
There is a slight inconsistency here. Erastus and Lucy are listed as having moved to Greenfield from VT in 1834, and all of Samuel and Elizabeth's children (of which Erastus is one) moved from VT to Brooksville in 1827. My best guess is that Samuel and Elizabeth, along with most of their children, moved to Brooksville, IN, in 1827. Then, in 1834, Erastus and his family moved to Greenfield, IN. The following year, Samuel's family moved over to Greenfield as well.
The bit about Erastus and family relocating from Greenfield, IN, to West Terre Haute, IN, on 1 Nov 1834 must be an error, because we clearly see Erastus and family living in Greenfield in the 1850 census. Census data suggest that this move took place sometime between 9 Sep 1850 and 12 Jun 1860.
In discussions with fellow researcher Tom Pearson (pearsontw@sbcglobal.net), he suggests that Chester has the month of Elizabeth's birth incorrect. Also he suspects that the move to Vigo County happened in 1854, not 1834. This is backed up by the 1850 census, Uzziel's obit, and the fact that Erastus shows up as a Justice of the Peace in Center Twp. in 1848.
