Philip Schuyler Church (1778-1861)
Judge Philip Schuyler Church, of "Belvidere" Allegany Co., New York
He was born in Boston and grew up in England. He was educated for six years at Eton College near to his parent's country home, Down Place. He began studying law at the Middle Temple in London before joining his parents back in America where he resumed his study of law in the offices of Nathaniel Pendleton. In 1799, Washington appointed him a Captain in the U.S. Infantry which enabled his uncle, Alexander Hamilton, to appoint him as his Chief of Staff two days later. In 1800, his father gave him a half-interest in 100,000-acres in upstate New York through which the River Genesee flowed. He founded the town of Angelica (named for his mother, Angelica Schuyler) and started building Belvidere from 1804. In 1807, Governor Lewis appointed him the first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Allegany County, a position he held for 14-years. He was one of the incorporators of the New York & Erie Railroad Company. In 1805, he married Anna, daughter of General Walter Stewart, Washington's aide-de-camp. They were the parents of eight children who survived to adulthood (listed above).
