WORLD CONNECT

2011-01-14T05:18:00.000-08:00

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=SHOW&db=miranda2011&recno=278

CHURCH FAMILY OF MONTVILLE, CT MA AND THE UK 1300 - 1900

2009-04-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

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THE CHURCH FAMILY dates from John at
Church (that is, living near a certain church, whence
his patronymic.) He lived at Great Parndon, Essex,
1335-96. He married, in 1360, Catherine Winchester,
daughter of Richard Winchester. Their son, Robert
Church, died in 1420, leaving a daughter, Joan, who
married Richard Maistor. John (2) Church, the
second son of John at Church, was a resident of the
city of Leicester, where he held much property. In
1399 he was a member of Parliament, and also in
1420, from Leicester; from 1402 to 1422 he was mayor
of Leicester. He had sons, John (3) and Robert,
(the latter a haberdasher in London, and father of
Thomas Church, the sculptor), and a daughter, Ca-
therine, who died before July 25, 1450. Of these,
John (3) Church, a merchant, had two sons, John (4)
and Reynold. Reynold Church, son of John (3) and
.•\gnes Church married, in 1496, Margaret Green,
daughter of Robert Green, of Chester. To Reynold
Church was given a coat-of-arms. The arms of the
Maiden, Essex, branch is almost identical with the
Nantwick coat-of-arms.

John (5) Church, son of Reynold and Margaret
(Green) Church, was alderman and bailiff of Maiden,
Essex. He married (first) Joan Henkyn; (second)
Mary Tyrrell, daughter of Edmond Tvrrell, a des-
cendant of Walter, who slew King William Rufus.
This line is closely connected with the Greens of Es-
sex, who also intermarried with the Wrights of
Essex, in several instances. William Church, second
son of Reynold and Margaret (Green) Church, had a
son Richard, who built, in 157?. the half-timbered
house still standing at Nantwick, styled "Church's
Mansion." Richard Church married Margaret
Wright, daughter of Roger Wright, and died in 1592.
Robert Church, third son of Reynold and Margaret
(Green) Church, born about 1505. in Castle Camps,
Cambridgeshire, was a counscllor-at-law, and also
steward of the Earl of Oxford (Harleian M. T. 1542).
He had two sons, Bartholomew and Tohn (6). The
first married .Mice Runner. John (6) Church, brother
of Bartholomew Church, was of Sanford county, Es-
sex, and married Catherine Swan, circa I>47: and
their children were John and Thom?s. The latter
married Thomasine (the feminine name of Thomas).

NEW LONDON COUNTY

He was warden of St. Clements, Ipswich, 1597. Jolin
(7) Church, son of John (6) Church, of Sanford (or
Samford), married Joan Titerall; he died before Nov-
ember 4, 1593, leaving several children, of whom
Richard Church, born May 9, 1570, married Alice,
widow of his brother Henry, and was a merchant
tailor. Richard Church, settled in Braintree, Essex,
where he was thrown into contact with many subse-
quent settlers of this country, the Greens, Marshes,
Wards and Graves. His son, Richard (2) Church,
was the immigrant, and evidently came over with
his relatives, John and Nathaniel Marsh, and Isaac
Graves, from Braintree, Essex, to Braintree, New
England. The father, Richard (l) Church, had five
children, who married into these families: Alice, born
January 12, 1603, married. May 18, 1624, Thomas
Green, of Witham, Essex; John, born May 7, 1607,
died July 15, 1638, married Elizabeth Marsh, daughter
of Robert Marsh, of Braintree; Henry, born in 1609,
married a Browne, but died without issue; Richard
(2), already named as the immigrant; and Arnold,
born March 23, 161 1, married Margaret Ward, sister
of Nathaniel Ward, later of Hartford and Hadley.

(I) Richard (2) Church, the immigrant ancestor,
born February 6, 1610, married, May 18, 1627, Anna
Marsh, daughter of Edward Marsh, of Braintree.
In 1636 he came with the Hookes to Hartford, and
was one of the original proprietors, and resided on
the east side of Burr street (originally known as the
road from "Centinel Hill to the Cow Pasture," ac-
cording to W. L. Porter). "Centinel Hill" is that
part of Main street at the head of the present Mor-
gan street, and was originally much higher than it
now is. The "Cow Pasture" was in the vicinity of
the present Kency Memorial tower, and it was di-
rectly east of the "Cow Pas'ture" that Richard
Church lived, his land probably extending down to
the present Windsor street. He was a participant
in the great controversy which divided the First
Church in Hartford, and he sided with the party
which opposed the Rev. Samuel Stone, as his signa-
ture to a letter to Mr. Stone's remonstrance shows.
This letter bears date of March 12, 1655, at which
time Richard Church was in Hartford. Probably, in
1659, he removed to Hadley, wi"ch the "withdrawers,"
and there died, December 16. 1667. He left five chil-
dren: Edward, born February 26, 1628, died Septem-
ber 10, 1704; Samuel, born March 3, 1629, died young;
Mary, born November 2, 1632; John, of whom fur-
Hartford, Connecticut, was born May 9, 1636, died
April 3, 1684.

(II) John Church, son of Richard (2) Church, of
Hartford, Connecticut, was born May 9, 1636, died
October 16, 1691. He married, October 27, 1657,
Sarah Beckley, daughter of Richard Beckley, of New
Haven ("Hartford town records"). John Church
may have gone to Hadley with his father, as no
births of his family are found at Hartford. Richard
Beckley removed from New Haven (founding the
well known family there) to Wcthersficld. If John
Church did go to Hadley, he returned to Hartford
and was admitted to the Second Church. February

26, 1670. No mention of his wife is made at this time,
but she was admitted to the church, June 23, 1678.
'J"hc names of their children are known from his ad-
ministration and will, and are as follows: Sarah,
born in 1659, married George Knight, died in 1730;
Richard, of whom further; Mary, died January 30,
1705; John, born in 1670, married Abigail Cadwell,
in 1699, died in 1735; Samuel, born in 1671, married
Elizabeth Clark, in 1710, died in 1718; and Deliver-
ance, born in 1679.

(III) Richard (3) Church, son of John and Sarah
(Beckley) Church, was born in 1663. He married,
March 3, 1692, Elizabeth Noble, daughter of Thomas
Noble, of Boston, born February 9, 1663. He set-
tled in Westfield Massachusetts, where eight chil-
dren were born to them. Af^er 1705 they removed
to Colchester, Connecticut, where he died April I,
1730, in his sixty-seventh year. His widow married
Deacon Samuel Loomis, and died in Colchester, Au-
gust 10, 1741, aged seventy-eight years, six months
and one day. Their son, James Church, born at
Westfield, Massachusetts, October 26, 1696, came to
Hartford, and married, in 1722, Abigail Stanley,
daughter of Caleb Stanley. He was ensign, and was
admitted to the South Church, March 28, 1725. He
died in 1751. His will, dated March 13, 1750-51, men-
tioned wife Abigail, and gives to son Joseph the
land in Colchester, "it being the lot my honored fa-
tlicr lived on, with the buildings." To "my son
James, one-half of my dwelling house in Hartford.
.Son James, who is under age, to be maintained at
college ; tlircc daughters, Abigail, Jcrusha and Mary."
Joseph Church, a grandson, is given a hundred acres
of land in Litchfield. Lands in the 'cown of Bed-
ford are also mentioned. Children of Richard and
Elizabeth (Noble) Church: Hannah, born October 5,
1692; Rachel, born March I, 1694; John, born Janu-
ary 12, 1695, died June 19, 1754; James, mentioned
above; Joseph, born December 7, 1698; Jonathan, of
whom further; Samuel, born November 28, 1702; and
Elizabeth, born March 26, 1705.

(IV) Jonathan Church, son of Richard (3) and
Elizabeth (Noble) Church, was born December 7,
1700, and died October 27, 1 761. He was an early set-
tler of North Parish, New London, now Montville,
where he came from Colchester. First notice of him
is in his marriage, February 24, 1724, to Abigail Fair-
banks, born in 1705, daughter of Samuel and Chris-
tian (Chapel) Fairbanks, by Rev. James Hillhouse.
Soon after this union he purchased a farm in the vi-
cinity of Uncasville, at a place afterwards called
"Pennytown." His wife was a woman of considera-
ble ability and moral character. Her mother was a
member of the Hillhouse church. These children
have been recorded: I. Jonathan, Jr., born in 1726;
married (first) Mary Angel!, February 13, 1762,
daughter of William and Almy (Harding') .iXngell, of
Warwick, Rhode Island, he served in the Revolution-
ary War as private in Colonel Erastus Wolcott's
regiment at New London, February 28, 1777; married
(second) Mary .'\ngel Fairbanks: (third) Jemina An-
gel; he died previous to 1800; his widow sold out his

41

interest in the farm to Levi Lester in 1801 and re-
moved to New York State. 2. Fairbanks, born in
17J8. 3. John, born in 1734. 4. Amos, born in 1736.
5. Pelcg, of whom further.

(V) Peleg Church, son of Jonathan and Abi-
gail (Fairbanks) Churtli, was born in 1738. He mar-
ried Elizabeth Congdon, daughter of Jeremiah and
Ann (Chapel) Congdon. He was a blacksmhh, and
first started a shop on the land bought of Joseph
Church, in 1764, in Uncasville, then called "Penny-
town." He afterwards removed to tlic Fort Hill
farm at Mohcgan, where it is said he lived for over
thirty years. He served in the Kcvolutlonary War as
a private in Captain Calkins company, General Lati-
mer's regiment, at Saratoga, in 1777. He died before
1805. His children are: Elizabeth, Pelcg, Jr., of
whom further; Sanford, born in 1768, married Sarah
Monroe; John, born in 1770, married Sarah Leach,
sister of Mary Leach, wife of Peleg Church, Jr.

(VI) Peleg Church, Jr., son of Peleg and Eliza-
beth (Congdon) Church, was born in 1766. He mar-
ried Mary Leach, daughter of John and Mary (Gray)
Leach, of Mohegan. His children arc: Erastus, of
whom further; Peleg, born in 1793, married Jane
Harrington; Henry, born in 1795, married Partlicma
Bradford, in January, 1816, daughter of William
Bradford; Nancy, born in 1796, married Ebenczer
Story; Maria, born in 1798, married Joshua Rogers;
James B., born in 1790, married Julia O'Brien;
Lydia, married Joseph Fuller in 1830; Eliza, born
April 2, 1800, married Samuel Atwell; William, mar-
ried Harriet Lucas; and Abby, married George F.
Dolheise.

(VH) Erastus Church, son of Peleg, Jr. and
Mary (Leach) Church, was born .\pril 6, 1792. He
married (first) Nancy Ford, daughter of John
Ford, and had children: i. Mary, born November
2, 1812, married George Carpenter, and died January
5, 1848. 2. Elisha R., mentioned below. 3. Alniira,
born April 23, 1821, died September 24, 1822. 4.
Emelinc, born September 20, 1822, married (first)
George Cranston; (second) Dr. King, of Norwich.
5. Eliza, born January 16, 1824, married Nathan
Champlin Chappell. 6. Nancy, born December 20,
1826, married Edward Burdettc, and died aged forty-
one years. Erastus Church married (second) Mrs.
Fitche (Comstock) Church, widow of George Whit-
man Church, and daughter of Ebcnezer and Desire
(Comstock) Comstock, born in Montville, in 1790.
She had five children by her first marriage: I.
Mary Ann, born December 21, 1815, married Mr.
Carpenter, of Norwich, Connecticut. 2. Captain
James Lcander, born January 19, 1819, and died Jan-
uary 15, 1901; married Anstriss Wentworth Sweet,
born in 1830, and died June 16, 1900, daughter of Na-
thaniel and Betsey (Ellis) Sweet, of Providence,
Rhode Island. 3. George W. 4- Electa, born August
20, 1821, married (first) John Chapman, and (second)
Levi Lester. 5. Dudley, died young. Children by
Erastus Church's second marriage to Mrs. Fitche
(Comstock) Church. I. Captain Erastus, born .April
13, 1834, died March 5, 191 1; married Helen M. Saw-

yer, born September 20, 1859, died September 6,
1919. 2. Charles E., born February 14, 1837, died May
23, 1902; married Isabelle Utky Becbe. 3. Nicholas
W., born May 24, 1839; married (first) Ellen Cong-
don, (second) February 2, 1880, Juliet Maynard, born
October 14, 1839, died February 28, 1914.

(VIH) Elisha R. Church, son of Erastus and
Nancy (Ford) Church, was born April 2, 1816, in

Mohcgan. He married (first) Augusta ,

March 4, 1844, the Jicv. Mr. Potter performing the
ceremony. She was born .August 14, 1826. He mar-
ried (second) Melissa S. Williams, daughter of John
and Eliza (Brown) Williams, who was born in
Montville, October 4, 1841. She died November 5,
1918. He died in Preston, February 6, 1892. Chil-
dren by first wife: Bishop S., Isabell A., and
Charles B. Children by second wife: Theodore N.;
Henry E.; Jane E.; Leonard P., of whom further;
Elisha, twin brother of Leonard P., died young;
Warren W.; Evelyn.

(IX) Leonard P. Church, son of Elisha R. and
Melissa S. (Williams) Church, was born April 2,
1868, in Preston, Connecticut, where he spent his
boyhood days and received his education. When
eighteen years of age he entered the employ of
Charles OfTenheiser, of Norwich, as bookkeeper,
where he remained for one year, after which he was
employed by Welcome A. Smith for two years in
the same capacity. On December l, 1889, he en-
tered the Thames National Bank, where he has
served continuously since, having reached the posi-
tion of assistant cashier, which position he now
holds.

Mr. Church, in his religious faitif, is a Baptist,
he and his family belonging to the Central Baptist
Church. Politically, he is a Republican, and frater-
nally, a member of the Arcanum Club since 1890,
and a member of the Chelsea Boat Club, serving for
many years as treasurer.

On .April 5, 1893, Mr. Church married Harriet C.
Briggs, born January 17, 1872, daughter of Horace
A. and Esther (Green) Briggs, of Norwich. To
this union has been born two children: Natalie N.,
who died at the age of ten years; and Kenneth
Briggs, who graduated from Clark College in 1920,
and then entered Clark University, and is now em-
ployed as a chemist at the .Aspinook Company,
Jewett City.

THIS SECTION FROM THE ONLINE BOOK;

http://www.archive.org/stream/modernhistoryofn02mars/modernhistoryofn02mars_djvu.txt
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Peleg Church I (c.1738 - c.1804)
Birth: 1738 (66) in Montville, Connecticut
Death: 1804 in Montville, Connecticut
Military: 1757-62 French and Indian Wars,
1777 Battle of Saratoga, NY
Son of Jonathan and Abigail
Husband of Elizabeth
Father of Peleg, Amos, Elizabeth, Sanford and John
Brother of Jonathan, Fairbanks and Joseph

Peleg Church II (1766 - 1875)
Birth: 1766 (109) in Montville, Connecticut
Death: 1875 in Connecticut, United States
Immediate Family:
Son of Peleg and Elizabeth
Husband of Mary
Father of Peleg III, Henry, Nancy, Maria, Eliza, William, Abby, Lydia, James B., Harriet and Erastus
Brother of Amos, Elizabeth, Sanford and John

Lydia Fuller (Church) (c.1808 - 1889)
Place of Burial: GREENWOOD CEMETERY, BROOKLYN NY
Birthplace: Montville, Mohegan, Connecticut
Death: Died 1889 in Brooklyn, New York
Immediate Family:
Daughter of Peleg and Mary
Wife of Joseph Gonsolve Fuller
Mother of Edward, Bento, Mary Ann (Nettie), Georgiana, Joseph and Austin Church Fuller.
Sister of Peleg III, Henry, Nancy, Maria, Eliza, William, Abby, James B., Harriet, and Erastus

Joseph Gonsolve Fuller (1807 - 1889)
Birthplace: Providence, RI, United States
Burial; SWAN POINT CEMETERY, PROVIDENCE, RI
Immediate Family:
Husband of Lydia Church
Father of Edward, Bento, Mary Ann, Georgiana, Joseph and Austin
http://gonsolve.blogspot.com/

Edward K Fuller (1828 - 1908)
Place of Burial: EVERGREENS, BROOKLYN, New York
Birthdate: 1828
Birthplace: PA, United States
Death: Died March 18, 1908 in BROOKLYN, New York
Immediate Family:
Son of Lydia and Joseph
Husband of Mary
Father of Ida, Mary, William, Samuel, Charles, Lydia 'Liddy', and Edward K
Brother of Bento, Mary Ann, Georgiana, and Joseph

Samuel B. Fuller (1875 - c.1950)
Birthdate: 1875
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Death: Died 1950 in Brooklyn, New York
Cause of death: Kings County Hospital
Immediate Family:
Son of Mary and Edward
Husband of Sarah Abrams Mathews
Father of Samuel, Charles , Annie, Bella, Helen, Mary A., William H. 2, and Elma D.
Brother of Ida, Mary, William, Charles, Lydia 'Liddy', and Edward K

Charles Fuller (1880 - d.1950)
Birthplace: New York, United States
Immediate Family:
Son of Mary and Edward
Brother of Ida, Mary, William, Samuel, Lydia 'Liddy', and Edward K

CHURCH / FULLER CONNECTION

WORLD CONNECT

CHURCH FAMILY OF MONTVILLE, CT MA AND THE UK 1300 - 1900