James was born on January 19, 1819 in Montville CT. His parents were George Church and Fitche Church. His mother may have been the mother of Charles Church (AM0961), Erastus Church (AM0966), and/or Henry F. Church (AM0968). Reference is made to those masters for more information about her role in the Church family. James married Anstiss Snell (1830-1910), daughter of Nathaniel and Betsey Snell, on June 19, 1856. Census records from Montville show that they had several children, including Anstiss, Nathaniel, Virginia, Mason, Arthur and Adel. Arthur died at age 17 in 1883, and Adel died in infancy in 1862. James died on January 15, 1901 in Providence RI. The RI death certificate recites his occupation as “Capt. Whaling Vessel”. His 1884 will,probated in Providence and Montville, gives to his wife “all the money lately expended by me on the dwelling house” being built on her land in Providence. The will mentions Anstiss (V. Crawley), Nathaniel and Mason as his children then living and appoints his wife as executor of his will. He is buried in Comstock Cemetery in Uncasville CT.According to his obituary in the New London Day (January 16, 1901), he was “believed to be the last survivor of the older generation of whaling captains”, was in the whaling trade for 42years, and experienced his first shipwreck 100 miles off Montauk Pt. while returning in FLYING FISH from its So. Shetland voyage (see AV05020 below).
James was master on four voyages on four ships with New London as home port:
EXILE (AS1333): (schooner, 83 tons, length 70’, built in Dorchester MD in 1834, wrecked abroad). Sailed on April 10, 1846 for Desolation Island, returned on May 26, 1848. Other sources verify James as master, but Dennis Wood Abstracts 1-150 shows “Bolles” as master. Learned & Stoddard was the agent. AV04740.
MARCIA (AS1840): (schooner, 128 tons, length 76’, built in Brookhaven NY in 1839, lost in Dominica, West Indies on December 29, 1856). Sailed on August 2, 1853 to Desolation Island, returned on June 12, 1856. E.V. Stoddard was the agent. AV08880.
DOVE (AS1228): (brig/bark, 77 tons, length 75’, built in Newbury MA in 1817). Sailed on June 13, 1857 for the South Atlantic, returned on May 12, 1858. Williams & Haven was the agent. AV03821.
FLYING FISH (AS1380); (schooner, 74 tons, length 75’, built in Essex MA in 1857). Sailed on July 22, 1873 for the So. Shetland Islands, returned on May 15, 1874. AOWV lists Simeon Church (AM0971) as master of the 1873 voyage. However, Colby, Decker and the New London crew list for this voyage confirm that James was the master. AOWV, Colby, and Decker agree that Simeon was the master of the 1872 voyage of FLYING FISH. Starbuck and Dennis Wood Abstracts 4-328 show “—-Church” as master of both voyages. Mystic Seaport Museum holds the logbook for the 1873 voyage. Lawrence & Co. was the agent. AV05020.
James served on the crew of eight voyages on seven ships, all except one with New London as home port: GEORGE (AS1462) for its 1837-1839 voyage; BOSTON (AV0999) for its 1839-1840 voyage (home port Norwich CT); PEMBROKE (AS2163 for its 1841-1842 voyage; JASON (AS1690) for its 1842-1844 and 1844-1846 voyages; PERUVIAN (AS2174) for its 1848-1850 voyage; PHOENIX (AS2188) for its 1850-1853 voyage; and GOLDEN WEST (AS 1483) for its 1865-1868 voyage. On June 10, 1840, James was issued Seaman’s Protection Certificate #45 in New London when he was 21.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
December 2024