Hannah Church

Genealogical Summary

From NEHGR Fall 2016 Vol 170 The Wife and Descendants of Revolutionary War Traitor Dr. Benjamin Church, Jr., of Boston, by Michael J. Leclerc. (American Ancestors membership needed to view)

1.  Benjamin5 Church (Benjamin4, Edward3, Benjamin2, Richard1)[35] was born in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, 24 August 1734, son of Benjamin4 and Hannah (Dyer) Church.[36] He was lost at sea when the sloop Welcome went down with all hands during a storm in 1778.[37]

Benjamin married at St. Stephen Coleman Street, London, 18 January 1759, Sarah Miller, baptized in Ross, Herefordshire, 18 March 1727/8, daughter of James and Mary (_____) Miller. She died in England 8 August 1788.[38]

Children of Benjamin5 and Sarah (Miller) Church, baptized Hollis Street Church, Boston:[39]

• 2. i. James⁶ Miller Church, bp. 28 Oct. 1759; m. Mary Amey Powney.
• 3. ii. Sarah Church, bp. 15 March 1761; m. Benjamin Weld.
• 4. iii. Hannah Church, bp. 8 July 1764; m. (1) William Kirkby; m. (2) William Longhurst.

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From Descendants of Richard Church of Plymouth, Mass. by Church, John A. (John Adams), 1843-1917 Published 1913. page 91, page 99

290. Benjamin Church, Dr. 5 (Benjamin 4, Edward 3 , Benjamin 2 , Richard 1 ), b 24 Aug., 1734, at Newport, R. I. ; d June, 1776, at sea ; m Hannah Hill [SIC: Miller]

Dr. Benjamin Church was the most brilliant and prominent member of the Church family in the years just preceding the Revolution. He entered the Latin School in Boston in 1745, graduated from Harvard in 1754, and was given the degree of M. A. by Yale, 1773. .... He went to London, studied medicine with Dr. Charles Pynchon, a noted surgeon, at the London Medical College, and walked the hospitals industriously. He m Hannah Hill [SIC: Miller], of Ross in Herefordshire, sister to one of his student friends. Returning to Boston, where his first child was born, about 1758, he pursued the two professions of medicine and literature, and with credit in both. ....

... Never did man make a more unfortunate choice than Dr. Benjamin Church. His defection, though alarming, had no results injurious to the cause of the patriots. Even the memory of his unfaithfulness has almost passed away and it is not considered an important item of American history now. But it ruined him. With his brilliant parts and professional skill, his honorable ancestry and high social position, and the opportunities of the times, he should have won a place among the most treasured American names. ...

Sabine (Loyalists of Am. Revolution) says the widow of Dr. Church d in England in 1788, but the name given is not Hannah. Little is known of his children. Loring (Hundred Boston Orators) obtained what is given here from a descendant of Mrs. Kirby. They appear to have taken refuge in England where they, or some of them, received a pension from the government.

CHILDREN.

479. Benjamin, b about 1758 ; m a lady of London and became a surgeon in the British Army. A descendant of the same name and profession is said to be in the same service to-day.

480. James Miller, b 1759.

481. Sarah, b 1761; m Benjamin Weld, a Tory refugee, probably in London. Another Benjamin Weld, the son of Dr. Church's sister Hannah was an officer in the Revolution and commanded a fort in Boston, Harbor.

482. Hannah, b 1764; m William Kirby, a merchant of London and had sixteen children.

comments

From Leclerc, Fall 2016:

"It appears that James Miller Church somehow has been portrayed as two individuals. The son Benjamin supposedly “married a Lady of London, and became a surgeon in the British army,” but this actually describes James."

notes

In the Fall 2016 edition of the NEHG Register (Volume 170), a major piece of research by Michael Leclerc demonstrates that Benj. Church was actually married to Sarah Miller, dau. of James and Mary Miller, in London on January 18, 1759, and that this was his only wife. She was baptized in Ross, Herefordshire 18 Marc 1727/8 and died in England 8 August 1788. Their three children were James Miller, Sarah Weld, and Hannah Kirkby/Longhurst. Sarah's marriage to Benjamin Weld was later dissolved by the Supreme Judicial Court in Boston in 1790 for her misbehavior. This research clears up longstanding confusion among historians about Benjamin Church's wife.

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, VOLUME 170, WHOLE NUMBER 680, FALL 2016. Table of Contents:

Our lead article is The Wife and Descendants of Revolutionary War Traitor Dr. Benjamin Church, Jr., of Boston, by Michael J. Leclerc. Although Dr. Church was the first surgeon general of the U.S. Army, he gave information to General Gage of the British Army. As a result Dr. Church was court martialed in 1775 and imprisoned. Michael Leclerc has compiled an account of three generations of his descendants in England and America, correcting previous errors. Dr. Church’s three children were born in Boston but moved to England. One daughter married an Englishman and returned to Boston after 1794, leaving descendants in the U.S.

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• Trust But Verify: The Story of Dr. Benjamin Church’s Family December 8, 2016]
• [http://justinmuseum.com/tjoschultz/church.html Doctor Benjamin Church: American Revolutionary War Rebel Patriot and English Spy 1710-1780
  • Sources: Spies of The Revolution, Katherine and John Bakeless, Scholastic Book Services, 1962, New York, NY; The Standard American Encyclopedia, Standard American Corporation, 1937, Chicago