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614 convention of 1867, serving as chairman of the committee on finance. He was an unsuccessful candidate for congress in 1862, and for comptroller in 1863. The State constitutional convention of 1867 reorganized the old court of appeals by creat- ing a new court composed of a chief judge and six associate judges, each to hold of- fice for fourteen years from 1 Jan. after his election. The first judges were chosen at a special election held in May, 1870, and Mr. Church was elected chief j udge of the court, in this capacity he served for ten years, until his death. As a politician, Judge Church belonged to the school of William L. Marcy and Silas Wright. His honesty and conservatism were proverbial, and they nearly won for him the nomination for tlie presidency of the United States. His political power throughout western New York was remark- able. As a jurist his opinions were distinguished by solidity rather than brilliancy. He was never an advocate, and he shrank from publicity. On the bench he was as courteous to the humble attor- ney as to the most eminent, and no one ever charged that his earlier political activity warped in the slightest degree his decisions.

CHURCHILL, Sylvester, soldier, b. in Wood- stock, Vt., 3 Aug., 1783 ; d. in Washington, D. C, 7 Dec, 1862. He was educated in the schools of his native place, became a journalist, and published in Windsor, in 1808, a weekly democratic newspa- per, *' The Vermont Republican." He served in the war of 1812-5, was appointed a lieutenant of artillery in March, 1812 ; in August, 1813, was made captain of a company raised by himself. He rendered effective service on Burlington heights in protecting Macdonough's fleet when it was attacked while undergoing repairs, became assist- ant .inspector-general, 29 Aug., 1813, and was ordnance officer under Gen. Wade Hampton, serv- ing as such till the end of the war. He was in the attack on La Colle Mill, was subsequently on the stafE of Gen. Izard, and acting adjutant-general to Gen. Macomb at Plattsburg. He became major of the 3d artillery, 6 April, 1835, served during the war with the Creek Indians, acted as inspector- general of the Creeks and in Florida from July, 1836, till 1841, and was appointed inspector-gen- eral, 25 June, 1841. He accompanied Gen. Wool in the Mexican war, and was promoted brevet bi-igadier-general, 23 Feb., 1847, in recognition of his services at the battle of Buena Vista. He was retired from active service, 25 Sept., 1861. — His eldest son, Capt. William, b. about 1820, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1840, and died at Point Isabel in 1847.

CHURCHMAN, John, preacher, b. in Nottingham, Pa., 4 June, 1705 ; d. there, 24 July, 1775. He began his career as a preachei- of the Society of Friends in 1733, preached throughout New England in 1742, in New York in 1743, and again in 1774. He travelled and preached through England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Holland in 1750-'4, and in 1775 visited the eastern shore of Maryland. He was distinguished for his piety and ability as a preacher. A narrative of his life and labors was published in London in 1780.

CHURCHMAN, John, author, b. in Maryland ; d. at sea, 24 July, 1805. He belonged to the Society of Friends, and was noted for his investigations into the causes of the variations of the magnetic needle. In addition to several philosophical trea- tises, he also published a variation-chart of the globe, magnetic atlas, and explanation (Philadel- phia, 1790; London, 1794). He was a member of the Imperial academy, Russia, and was presented with a set of its transactions. He died on the passage home from Europe.

CHURCHMAN, William Henry, educator, b. in Baltimore, Md., 29 Nov., 1818; d. in Indian- apolis, Ind., 17 May, 1882. He became a pupil of the Pennsylvania institution for the blind in 1836, acquiring a good knowledge of mathematics and music. In 1839 he began teaching music in Penn- sylvania, and in 1840 was appointed an assistant teacher of music and other branches in the insti- tution for the blind at Columbus, Ohio. In 1844 he became principal of the recently established Tennessee institution for the blind, l)ut resigned after two years, in consequence of failing health. He was chosen superintendent of the Indiana in- stitution for the blind at Indianapolis in 1847, and resigned in 1853, having greatly distinguished himself for the ability displayed in the discharge of his duties. In 1854 he established a young ladies' seminary at La Porte, Ind., but. after it had been in successful operation a little over a year, the buildings were burned. Shortly after- ward he was a[)pointed superintendent of the Wis- consin institute for the blind at Janesville.

CHURRUCA Y ELORZA, Cosme Damian (le (chu-ru'-kah), Spanish naval oSicer, b. in Mo- trico, province of Guipuzcoa, 27 Sept., 1761 ; d. in Trafalgar, 21 Oct., 1805. He distinguished him- self at the siege of Gibraltar in rescuing survivors from the floating batteries after it had been de- stroyed by the English. He accompanied a Span- ish surveying ex- pedition to the strait of Magellan, and wrote a diary of his exploration of Tierra del Fue- go (Madrid, 1793). In 1791, being then in command of a frigate, he was placed at the head of an expedition to survey the coasts of the gulf of Mex- ico. The war be- tween Spain and France interrupt- ed this work ; but he had completed twenty-four charts of the coasts of Cuba, Hayti, Porto Rico, etc., some of which have been published. He was

afterward sent as an envoy to Brest. In October, 1805, he was in command of the ship " San Juan Nepomueeno " at Cadiz, and shortly before the battle of Trafalgar wrote to a friend : " If you hear that my ship is taken, know for certain that I am dead." ' In that battle, his leg having been shot