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RUFUS CHURCHILL 
--Ancestor of Aaron Flint Churchill, 
the "Famous Sea Captain." 

Rufus Churchill ("Rufus I")

Rufus Churchill was born May 19, 1793. He was the son of Ephraim and Asenath Churchill, original pioneers to Nova Scotia from Massachusettes. On December 10, 1816, he married Gertrude Flint. Gertrude died July 30, 1881 at age 86. According to the chart, he was a millwright, shipbuilder and farmer. Rufus and Gertrude had the following children:

  1. Martha Churchill. Born Dec. 17, 1817. Died July 13, 1887. She married Moses S. Crosby on November 26, 1839 and had five children.
  2. Rufus Churchill. ("Rufus II") He was a contractor. He was born August 2, 1819. He married Emily Jane Kendrick on December 23, 1845. They had seven children, their third child was Capt. Aaron Churchill, the "famous sea captain."  (See biography below.)
  3. Mary Churchill. Born June 14, 1821. Married March 14, 1841 to Zechariah Corning, had five children.
  4. David Churchill. Sea captain. Born Feb. 20, 1823. He married Martha Williams on January 30, 1849 and had five children.
  5. Sarah Churchill. Born December 31, 1824. She married Samuel L. Killam on Nov. 26, 1848 and had eight children.
  6. Harriet Churchill. Born October 15, 1826. She married Benjamin Pilman on January __, 1851, and had nine children.
  7. Nancy Churchill. Born Aug. 30, 1828. Married Charles Walker on Oct. 3, 1850 and had 4 children.
  8. Alvin Churchill. Farmer. Born May 1, 1830. Married Jane Carey on Dec. 16, 1852.
  9. Hannah Churchill. Born Oct. 4, 1832. Married Ludovic (?) Chapman on Dec. 19, 1850, and had two children.
  10. George Churchill. Born Dec. 18, 1835. Married June 16, 1866 to Louisa Smith and had three children.
  11. William Churchill. Occupation: lumbering. Born June 11, 1839. Married Catherine Doucette on February 18, 1860.

Rufus died August 2, 1865

Rufus Churchill ("Rufus II")

Rufus Churchill was born August 2, 1819. His parents were "Rufus I" and Gertrude Flint Churchill. According to the chart, "Rufus II" was a contractor. He married Emily Jane Kendrick on December 23, 1845.

Emily Jane Kendrick was descended from Capt. John Kendrick, according to an article published in the Yarmouth newspaper. Capt. Kendrick took the ship Columbia from Boston around South America to the Columbia River, which he named after his ship. This was the first American ship to reach present-day Oregon and Washington, and the Columbia River, according to the Yarmouth newspaper article.

"Rufus II" and Emily Churchill had eight children:

  1. Deliah Churchill
  2. Norman Churchill. Born June 17, 1848. Married Sadie Gillis on July 17, 1878.
  3. Aaron Flint Churchill. "Famous sea captain." Born May 19, 1850. Married Lois Churchill on July 2, 1874. Lois was the daughter of Capt. William Churchill, who was born May 29, 1822.
  4. Maria P. Churchill. Born July 18, 1852. Died Feb. 20, 1877.
  5. Major W. Churchill. Born Nov. 1, 1855. Married Frances Dervan or Bervan on May 15, 1874.
  6. Margery F. Churchill. Born April 3, 1858.
  7. Emeline R. Churchill. Born June 9, 1860.
  8. Annie F. Churchill. Born April 17, 1862.

Aaron Flint Churchill

Aaron F. Churchill was born in 1850 and died in 1920. He was the son of Rufus Churchill and Emily Jane (Kendrick) Churchill.

Aaron married his cousin, Lois Churchill, on July 4, 1874. (Lois was born in 1849, and died in 1928.) He had no children, but helped raise a niece of Lois.

Although he is not a direct ancestor of ours, no story of the Churchill family is complete without mention of Aaron Flint Churchill. On November 10, 1866, he left on a sea voyage to Glasgow, Scotland, at the age of 16. He earned a reputation for surviving terrible storms, even though the rudder on their boat kept breaking. Aaron was first mate on that fateful voyage of "The Research," with his uncle, Captain George Churchill, in charge of the vessel. At one point, for example, the heroic Aaron took off all his clothes and jumped into the cold Atlantic, naked, to try to fix the broken rudder of the ship.

By surviving such terrible storms, and bringing their cargo safely to Glasgow, both George and Aaron were considered heroes. They were richly rewarded by the insurance company for the boat, British Underwriters. Aaron was paid $2,000, which was a large fortune at that time.

By the time he was 24, Aaron was ready to retire from his life on the sea. He went to Savanah, Georgia, and set up a ship building business. He was a prominent citizen, and gave a lot of money to charity. He encouraged people from the United States to take vacations in Nova Scotia, traveling on his ships.

Aaron Churchill died in 1920. His body was taken to Nova Scotia and buried at Darling Lake in Yarmouth County, near Short Beach.

 


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