Editing Francis Pharcellus Church

{{Short description|American publisher and editor (1839–1906)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Francis Pharcellus Church
| image              = FrancisPharcellusChurch.jpg
| alt                = Francis Pharcellus Church pictured wearing a collared shirt and with a mustache
| birth_date         = February 22, 1839
| birth_place        = [[Rochester, New York]], US
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1906|4|11|1839|2|22}}
| death_place        = [[New York City]], US
| alma_mater         = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])
| occupation         = Publisher, editor
| spouse             = {{marriage|Elizabeth Wickham|1871}}
| relatives          = [[William Conant Church]] (brother)
}}
[[File:Yes,Virginia,ThereIsASantaClausClipping.jpg|thumb|Church's ''Sun'' editorial of September 21, 1897, "[[Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]]|alt=Refer to the caption]]

'''Francis Pharcellus Church''' (February 22, 1839 &ndash; April 11, 1906) was an American publisher and editor. In 1897, Church wrote the editorial "[[Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]]". Produced in response to eight-year-old [[Virginia O'Hanlon]]'s letter asking whether [[Santa Claus]] was real, the widely republished editorial has become one of the most famous ever written. 

Born in [[Rochester, New York]], Church graduated from [[Columbia University]] and embarked on a career in journalism. With his brother, [[William Conant Church]], Francis founded and edited several periodicals including ''[[The Army and Navy Journal]]'', [[The Galaxy (magazine)|''The Galaxy'']], and the ''Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal''. He was a war correspondent for ''[[The New York Times]]'' during the [[American Civil War]]. He worked at ''[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]'' in the early 1860s and again from 1874 until his death, writing thousands of editorials.

Church died in [[New York City]] and was buried at [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]].

==Early life and education==
Francis "Frank" Pharcellus Church was born in Rochester on February 22, 1839, to Pharcellus Church, a [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=December 9, 1930|title=His Art Alone Endures|page=6|work=The Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90844566/his-art-alone-endures/|access-date=December 19, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=":1"/> and Chara Emily Church ({{nee}} Conant). He had three sisters; an older brother, [[William Conant Church]];<ref name=":1" /> and a younger brother, John Adams Church.<ref name=":3"/> As a child, Francis  looked up to William "as his 'big brother' and was his 'admiring satellite'."<ref name="Bigelow"/> In 1848, the family moved to Boston, where Pharcellus preached at [[Bowdoin Square (Boston)|Bowdoin Square]] Baptist Church and edited the ''Watchman and Reflector,'' a weekly Baptist newspaper. In 1852, Pharcellus' health failed; he resigned his pastorship and moved the family to Chara's home in Vermont. The following year, the family moved a final time, to [[Brooklyn]].<ref name="Bigelow">{{Cite book|last=Bigelow|first=Donald Nevius|url=https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/40/1/145/703563|title=William Conant Church & the Army and Navy Journal|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1952|isbn=978-0-404-51576-8|location=New York|pages=11–12|language=en}}</ref> Francis began to attend Manhattan's [[Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School]], whose headmaster was [[Charles Anthon]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|date=April 14, 1906|title=Obituary Notes|url=https://archive.org/details/publishers_weekly_1906/1906-04-14/page/1172|journal=The Publishers' Weekly|pages=1173–1174}}</ref> His education was centered around math and foreign languages.<ref name=":3" />

Francis Church matriculated at [[Columbia College (New York)|Columbia College]] in [[New York City]], where he graduated with honors in 1859.<ref name=":0"/> He earned a [[Master of Arts]] two years later.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 12, 1906|title=Francis Pharcellus Church|page=2|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38872464/obituary-for-francis-pharcellus/|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref> Although Church had entered university studying law and divinity,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Ranniello|first=Bruno|date=December 25, 1969|title='Yes, Virginia' Editorialist: Francis Pharcellus Church|page=22|work=The Bangor Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90871391/yes-virginia-editorialist-francis/|access-date=December 20, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> and spent a time studying under the judge [[Hooper C. Van Vorst]],<ref name=":22"/> he soon switched his focus completely to writing<ref name=":0"/> and had graduated Columbia studying journalism.<ref name=":6"/>

==Writing and publishing career==

After graduation, Church found work at ''[[The New York Chronicle]]'', which was published by his father and brother. For a time after William left to work at ''[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]'', Francis Church was the chief assistant at the ''Chronicle'', but he eventually left to work at ''The Sun'' as well.<ref name=":3">{{Cite encyclopedia|year=1989|title=William Conant Church (August 11, 1836&ndash;May 23, 1917) and Francis Pharcellus Church (February 22, 1839&ndash;April 11, 1906)|encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Literary Biography]]|last=Frasca|first=Ralph}}</ref> In 1862, he covered the [[American Civil War]] for ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Mynatt|first=Jenai|url=http://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth00jena|title=Contemporary authors. [electronic resource] : a bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields|date=2004|location=Detroit, Michigan|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-0-7876-9295-7|pages=72–73}}</ref>

In 1863, Church, his brother William, and others established ''[[Armed Forces Journal|The Army and Navy Journal]]''<ref name=":3"/> to promote loyalty to the Union during the Civil War and report on military affairs. During the war, Church worked for the ''Journal'' as a war correspondent, and from 1863 to 1865, he was an editor and publisher of the ''Journal''.<ref name=":1"/> He remained co-publisher until 1874.<ref name=":3"/>

In 1866, the brothers founded the [[The Galaxy (magazine)|''Galaxy'']] literary magazine as a competitor to ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'';<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=O'Brien|first=Frank Michael|url=http://archive.org/details/storyofsunnewyor00obri|title=The story of the Sun, New York: 1833–1928|date=1928|publisher=D. Appleton and Co.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=137}}<ref name=":3" /> Church was a publisher for two years<ref name=":3" /> and an editor there until 1872<ref name=":1" /> or 1878.<ref name=":3" /> The ''[[Dictionary of Literary Biography]]'' credits Francis with doing "most of the editorial work."<ref name=":3" /> As editors, the brothers became known for their heavy-handed style, for instance cutting major parts of  [[Rebecca Harding Davis]]'s ''Waiting for the Verdict'' when they serialized it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mott|first=Frank Luther|title=A History of American Magazines| volume = III: 1865&ndash;1885|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=1967|pages=21–22|lccn=39-2823}}</ref> Supported by literary figures, notably [[Edmund Clarence Stedman]], the brothers worked to attract the best authors possible to their publication, though they focused on New York authors and largely ignored the well-established literary society in [[New England]].<ref name=":3" /> Stedman, while speaking about the editors in 1903, stated that the magazine focused on featuring authors from across the United States and did not focus on publishing works from popular authors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scholnick |first=Robert |date=1972 |title=Whitman and the Magazines: Some Documentary Evidence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2924507 |journal=American Literature |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=222–246 |doi=10.2307/2924507 |jstor=2924507 |issn=0002-9831 }}</ref> 

They published the magazine [[fortnightly]] for a year, then switched to a monthly format. In 1870, Church proposed that [[Mark Twain]] contribute a "Memoranda" column in the magazine, a request Twain accepted; he edited the column from May 1870 to March 1871. Altogether, the magazine published the work of more than 600 authors,<ref name=":3" /> including Rebecca Harding Davis, [[Henry James]], [[John William De Forest]], [[Rose Terry Cooke]], [[John Esten Cooke]], and [[Constance Fenimore Woolson]].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Twain|first=Mark|url=http://archive.org/details/marktwainatbuffa0000twai|title=Mark Twain at the Buffalo express : articles and sketches by America's favorite humorist|date=1999|publisher=DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press|isbn=978-0-87580-249-7|pages=xxxi, xxxix}}</ref> The magazine's circulation peaked around 21,000 in 1871 and fell dramatically afterwards.<ref name=":3" /> The ''Galaxy'' merged with the ''Atlantic Monthly'' in 1878.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=137}}

Church also managed the ''Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal'' with his brother from 1870 to 1895.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> He was re-hired as a part-time editor and writer at ''[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]'' in 1874.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He started working full-time there after leaving ''The Galaxy''.<ref name=":1" /> In this capacity, Church published thousands of editorials, most of which attracted little note.<ref name=":3" /> One of his more popular editorials was in response to a maid asking about etiquette, after which Church wrote a series of additional replies to letters asking for advice.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilbert|first=Kevin|date=2015|title=Famous New Yorker: Francis Pharcellus Church|url=https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nny360.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/59/d59c764a-b2fb-11ea-a283-770c7c3b5ab4/5eee122fd14fd.pdf.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220171429/https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nny360.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/59/d59c764a-b2fb-11ea-a283-770c7c3b5ab4/5eee122fd14fd.pdf.pdf |archive-date=December 20, 2021|url-status=live|website=New York News Publisher's Association}}</ref> He continued to work for ''The Sun'' until his death in 1906.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

[[Edward Page Mitchell]], ''The Sun''{{'s}} editor-in-chief, later said Church had "a knowledge of journalistic history and an insight into journalistic character that could hardly be expected of any but a major figure in the profession."<ref name=":3" /> Mitchell also considered Church "energetic and a brilliant conversationalist."<ref name=":6" /> An obituary published in ''The New York Times'' described Church as not being well known among literary circles because his reputation had been "merged" with that of ''The Sun'', but among those who knew him he was "highly and justly esteemed." It said his editorial style specialized in treating theological topics "from a secular point of view."<ref>{{cite news
| author             = <!-- Unspecified by source. -->
| date               = April 13, 1906
| title              = Francis P. Church
| work          = [[The New York Times]]
| page               = [https://archive.org/details/NYTimes-Mar-Apr-1906/page/n1092/mode/1up 10]
<!-- 3rd column, 1st article from bottom -->
| url                = https://archive.org/details/NYTimes-Mar-Apr-1906/page/n1092/mode/1up
| access-date        = January 15, 2023
}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 13, 1906|title=Francis P. Church|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/04/13/archives/francis-p-church.html|access-date=December 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He disliked politics.<ref name=":6" />

=== "Yes, Virginia" ===
{{Main|Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus}}
In 1897, Mitchell gave Church a letter written to ''The Sun'' by 8-year-old [[Virginia O'Hanlon]], who wanted to know whether there truly is a Santa Claus.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Turner|first=Hy B.|url=http://archive.org/details/whengiantsruleds0000turn|title=When giants ruled : the story of Park Row, New York's great newspaper street|date=1999|publisher=New York : Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-1943-8|pages=129–130}}</ref> In Church's 416-word response,<ref name=":6" /> he wrote that Santa exists "as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Editorial Board|title='Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus': Read the iconic 1897 editorial that continues to bring Christmas joy|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/yes-virginia-article-1.1556978|website=New York Daily News|publication-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> "[[Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]]"<ref>{{Cite web|title='Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus'|url=http://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia/|access-date=September 21, 2017|website=Newseum|language=en-US}}</ref> became Church's best-known work and the most reprinted editorial in newspaper history.<ref name="new details">{{cite journal|last=Campbell|first=W. Joseph|date=Spring 2005|title=The grudging emergence of American journalism's classic editorial: New details about 'Is There A Santa Claus?'|url=http://academic2.american.edu/~wjc/santa.htm|journal=[[American Journalism Review]]|location=[[University of Maryland, College Park]]|publisher=[[Philip Merrill College of Journalism]]|volume=22|issue=2|pages=41–61|access-date=October 29, 2007|doi=10.1080/08821127.2005.10677639|s2cid=146945285}}</ref>

Mitchell reported that Church, who was initially reluctant to write a response, produced it "in a short time"<ref name=":3" /> during an afternoon.<ref name="Christmas A Candid History">{{Cite book|last=Forbes|first=Bruce David|url=https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520933729|title=Christmas A Candid History|year= 2007|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-93372-9|location=Berkeley|doi=10.1525/9780520933729}}</ref>{{Rp|page=90}} Upon publication on September 21, 1897, journalist [[Charles Anderson Dana]] described Church's writing as "Real literature," and said, "Might be a good idea to reprint it every Christmas{{Em dash}}yes, and even tell who wrote it!"<ref name=":5"/>

The editorial was first reprinted five years later to answer readers' demand for it. ''The Sun'' started reprinting the editorial annually in 1920 at Christmas, and continued until the paper's bankruptcy in 1950.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Applebome |first=Peter |date=December 13, 2006 |title=Tell Virginia the Skeptics Are Still Wrong |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/nyregion/13towns.html |access-date=December 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Because ''The Sun'' traditionally did not byline their editorials, Church was not known to be the author until his death in 1906.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sebakijje|first=Lena|title=Research Guides: Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus: Topics in Chronicling America: Introduction|url=https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-yes-virginia/introduction|access-date=December 20, 2021|website=|publisher=Library of Congress|language=en}}</ref> The editorial is just one of two whose authorship ''The Sun'' disclosed.<ref name=":6"/>

The editorial, which has been described as "the most famous editorial in history", has been translated into 20 languages, set to music, and adapted into at least two movies.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowler|first=Gerald|url=http://archive.org/details/santaclausbiogra0000bowl|title=Santa Claus : a biography|date=2005|publisher=Toronto : McClelland & Stewart|isbn=978-0-7710-1532-8|pages=244–245}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vinciguerra|first=Thomas|date=September 21, 1997|title=Yes, Virginia, a Thousand Times Yes|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/21/weekinreview/yes-virginia-a-thousand-times-yes.html|access-date=December 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A book based on the editorial, ''Is there a Santa Claus''?, was published in 1921.<ref name=":3" />

== Personal life and death ==
[[File:Francis Pharcellus Church Monument 2010.JPG|thumb|upright|The monument of Francis Pharcellus Church in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]]
In 1871, he married Elizabeth Wickham, who was from Philadelphia.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hamersly|first1=Lewis Randolph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0V1IAAAAYAAJ|title=Who's who in New York City and State|last2=Leonard|first2=John W.|last3=Mohr|first3=William Frederick|last4=Knox|first4=Herman Warren|last5=Holmes|first5=Frank R.|last6=Downs|first6=Winfield Scott|date=1907|publisher=L.R. Hamersly Company|page=280}}</ref><ref name="NYT Dead" /> In 1882 or 1883, Church moved from 107 East 35th Street to the [[Florence Apartment House]], located at East 18th Street and East Union Place (now known as Park Avenue South). He and his wife lived there until 1890.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gretchko|first=John M.|date=2014|title=The Florence|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1529942018|journal=Leviathan|language=en|volume=11|pages=22–32|doi=10.1353/lvn.2014.0014|s2cid=201764074|id={{ProQuest|1529942018}}|via=ProQuest}}</ref> They had no children.<ref name="Christmas A Candid History" />{{Rp|page=91}}

He was a member of the [[Sons of the Revolution]], the [[National Sculpture Society]], and the [[Century Association]].<ref name=":1" />

Church died in [[New York City]] on April 11, 1906, at the age of 67,<ref name=":0" /> at his home on 46 East 30th Street.<ref name=":22"/> He had an unknown illness for several months before his death.<ref name="NYT Dead">{{Cite news |date=April 12, 1906 |title=Francis P. Church Dead |language=en |page=9 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1906/04/12/101774100.html?pageNumber=9 |access-date=December 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He was buried in [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 23, 2016|title=Honored|pages=A2|work=Livingston County Daily Press and Argus|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90850361/livingston-county-daily-press-and-argus/|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|Francis Pharcellus Church}}
{{wikisource author}}
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.sleepyhollowcemetery.org Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]
*[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/francis-pharcellus-church-dlb/ Biography by BookRags.] 
* {{Gutenberg author | id=31902| name=Francis Pharcellus Church}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Francis Pharcellus Church |sopt=t}}
* {{Librivox author |id=2604}}

{{Christmas}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Francis Pharcellus}}
[[Category:1839 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:American newspaper editors]]
[[Category:19th-century American publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Rochester, New York]]
[[Category:Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]