Francis Pharcellus Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Francis Pharcellus Church
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Francis Pharcellus Church
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| Born | February 22, 1839 |
| Died | April 11, 1906 (aged 67) New York City, US
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| Alma mater | Columbia University (BA, MA) |
| Occupation | Publisher, editor |
Francis Pharcellus Church (born February 22, 1839 – died April 11, 1906) was an American publisher and editor. He was born in Rochester, New York. After studying at Columbia University, he started a career in journalism.
With his brother, William Conant Church, Francis helped start and edit several magazines. These included The Army and Navy Journal, The Galaxy, and the Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal. During the American Civil War, he worked as a war reporter for The New York Times. He also worked at The New York Sun for many years, writing thousands of articles.
In 1897, Church wrote a famous article called "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". He wrote it because an eight-year-old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon asked if Santa Claus was real. This article has been printed many times and is one of the most famous ever written. Church passed away in New York City and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Francis "Frank" Pharcellus Church was born in Rochester, New York, on February 22, 1839. His father, Pharcellus Church, was a Baptist minister. His mother was Chara Emily Church. Francis had three sisters and two brothers. His older brother, William Conant Church, was someone Francis looked up to.
In 1848, his family moved to Boston. His father preached at a church there and edited a newspaper. In 1852, his father became ill, so the family moved to Vermont. The next year, they moved to Brooklyn. Francis then went to Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in Manhattan. He focused on math and foreign languages in school.
Francis Church went to Columbia College in New York City. He graduated with honors in 1859. Two years later, he earned a Master of Arts degree. At first, Church studied law and religion. But he soon changed his focus to writing. He graduated from Columbia studying journalism.
Becoming a Writer and Publisher
After college, Church worked at The New York Chronicle. His father and brother published this newspaper. When his brother William left to work at The Sun, Francis became the chief assistant at the Chronicle. Later, he also left to work at The Sun. In 1862, he reported on the American Civil War for The New York Times.
In 1863, Francis and William, along with others, started The Army and Navy Journal. This magazine helped support the Union during the Civil War. It also reported on military news. During the war, Church worked as a war reporter for the Journal. From 1863 to 1865, he was an editor and publisher there. He continued as a co-publisher until 1874.
In 1866, the brothers started Galaxy. This was a literature magazine that competed with The Atlantic Monthly. Church was a publisher for two years and an editor there until 1872 or 1878. He did most of the editing work for the magazine. The brothers were known for being strict editors. For example, they cut out large parts of a novel by Rebecca Harding Davis.
They wanted to attract the best writers to their magazine. They focused on authors from New York. In 1870, Church asked Mark Twain to write a column for the magazine, which Twain agreed to do. The magazine published works from over 600 authors. These included Henry James and Rebecca Harding Davis. The Galaxy magazine joined with the Atlantic Monthly in 1878.
Church also managed the Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal with his brother. He did this from 1870 to 1895. In 1874, he was hired again as a part-time editor and writer at the New York Sun. He started working there full-time after leaving The Galaxy. At The Sun, Church wrote thousands of articles. Most of them were not widely known. He continued to work for The Sun until he died in 1906.
Edward Page Mitchell, the editor-in-chief of The Sun, said Church knew a lot about journalism. He also said Church was "energetic and a brilliant conversationalist." An article in The New York Times said Church was not well known in writing circles. This was because his reputation was "merged" with The Sun's. But those who knew him thought highly of him. He liked to write about religious topics from a non-religious point of view. He did not like politics.
The Famous "Yes, Virginia" Article
In 1897, Mitchell gave Church a letter. It was from an 8-year-old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon. She wanted to know if Santa Claus was real. Church wrote a 416-word answer. He wrote that Santa exists "as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist". This article, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", became Church's most famous work. It is the most reprinted newspaper article in history.
Mitchell said that Church did not want to write the answer at first. But he wrote it "in a short time" one afternoon. The article was published on September 21, 1897. A journalist named Charles Anderson Dana called Church's writing "Real literature." He said it would be a good idea to print it every Christmas.
The article was first printed again five years later because readers asked for it. The Sun started printing the article every Christmas in 1920. They continued until the newspaper went out of business in 1950. The Sun usually did not say who wrote their articles. So, Church was not known as the author until he died in 1906. This article is one of only two whose author The Sun ever shared.
This article has been called "the most famous editorial in history". It has been translated into 20 languages. It has also been turned into music and at least two movies. A book based on the article, Is there a Santa Claus?, was published in 1921.
Personal Life and Passing
In 1871, Francis Church married Elizabeth Wickham. She was from Philadelphia. In 1882 or 1883, Church moved to the Florence Apartment House in New York City. He and his wife lived there until 1890. They did not have any children.
He was a member of several groups. These included the Sons of the Revolution and the Century Association.
Church died in New York City on April 11, 1906. He was 67 years old. He had been sick for several months before he passed away. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
