Person:Elijah Churchill (3)

From: The History of Delaware County [New York]1797 - 1880 by W.W. Munsell

The Town of Stamford

"Of the Churchill family, among the earliest settlers, much might be said. We will only refer to Elijah Churchill, father of Dr. S.E. Churchill, who was born near the village February 3rd, 1797, and died March 24th, 1878, at the same place. One who knew him says he was a pattern of piety and benevolence. In the affairs of the town he was always earnest and active for improvement in whatever related to the welfare of society, the growth of education and the improvement of agriculture. As a home man few have been his equal, and none his superiors. As a citizen he was prompt in all the offices of humanity, a friend to the poor, and liberal up to and often beyond the ordinary standard. He sleeps among the grand old mountains of his native place, and his good deeds will be remembered and his memory honored."......

"The new cemetery grounds were located in 1847, just on the east side of the village [Stamford], at the foot of the mountain, and were occupied in the fall of that year by the interment of the remains of Dr. Dayton. The grounds are under the care of an association, organized under the laws of the State.

The monuments in these grounds that attract the most attention are the two that mark the resting places of two of Stamford's noble pioneers, viz.: Samuel Judson and Elijah Churchill. These men were honored, and are still remembered for their real worth. Their descendants, Colonel E.Z.C. Judson and the Churchill brothers, have erected stately monuments with fitting inscriptions for the honored dead."

Deacon Elijah's grandfather, Giles Churchill, settled about 1751, on the Delaware river in what is now Cochecton, N.Y., though he may have chosen the west bank, as that was within the boundary of William Penn's grant. Here, in an unbroken wilderness, he built a small log-cabin, and thither, in a short time, brought his wife, and his children were born, and his cleared farm began to give back goodly harvests, while other families were settling around him. Here, in 1757, Stephen, the father of Deacon Elijah, was born. When Stephen was only seven years old, the family was driven out by Indians. The family escaped, but was still within sight when the Indians set their house on fire. The family, with only one horse for the mother and younger children to ride, and a cow that carried a precious sack of meal for food, made their way back to the border of Massachusetts.

Elijah's father Stephen, now grown, reappeared about 1785, in Harpersfield, Delaware County with his small family. Here Deacon Elijah was born. He suffered the great privations of frontier farm-life in his early years; but despite his limited means for schooling, he obtained a better than the ordinary education, and began to teach school at an early age, working on the farm except in the winter, when he was teaching.

His father died when he was about fifteen years of age, and his older brother carried on the farm for some years. When his younger brother, Joseph, married and took the farm for a while, then, at his mother's desire, Elijah bought out the interests of his brothers and sisters and settled down on the homestead farm.

On May 12, 1830, he married Sarah Ann Benedict, in Andes, Delaware County. The had seven known children: Calvin, Epenetus, Sarah, Stephen, Frances, Esther, and Addie.

He was a strong and able man, and a good citizen. He was a leading influence in public affairs, a consistent Christian, and an earnest promoter of education. He was popular in the community. In his younger days was captain of the local militia. He was an ardent Whig, and became an earnest Republican. He knew how to be a good father without repressing or punishing his children, and also knew how to make a Christian home and a Christian life pleasant and attractive.

He joined the First Presbyterian Church in Stamford, with many others from Harpersfield, June, 1834, at its organization, and was then elected elder, or deacon, an office which he held during his life. His funeral sermon was preached in the Presbyterian Church in Stamford, by his pastor, Rev. L. E. Richards, March 24 1878.

Family links:

Parents:
 Stephen Churchill (1758 - 1813)
 Esther Lloyd Churchill (1757 - 1832)

Spouse:
 Sarah Ann Benedict Churchill (1809 - 1907)

Children:
 Epenetus Webb Churchill (1833 - 1920)*
 Sarah Ann Churchill (1838 - 1914)*
 Stephen Elijah Churchill (1841 - 1917)*
 Esther Melvina Churchill Coe (1847 - 1943)*

1. ↑ The Town of Stamford, in Munsell, W. W. History of Delaware County, N.Y., 1797-1880: with illustrations, biographical sketches and portraits of some pioneers and prominent residents. (Ithaca, New York: Photo Science of Cornell University, 1974).

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