Earl Church, was born in Parish on August 11, 1890.  He was of inquisitive mind, eager to learn.  Earl graduated from Parish High in 1905.

At an early age he mastered the violin and gave lessons.  Robert Miller was one of his  pupils.  He was a member of the community orchestra.

Years later while working in Washington he played with the Meyer Davis Orchestra.  His great uncle, Daniel Edick, created some of the violins he played.

He returned to work in the family hardware store after graduating from Syracuse University.  He also taught math in the local high school.

In 1912 he began working for the U.S. Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey as a field officer in the northwestern United States and the Alaskan Coast.   In 1914, he was mathematician with the United States Boundary Commission.  The summers of 1915 and 1916 he was an instructor in astronomy and geodesy for the Columbia University field camp.

Church’s work and reputation came to the attention of Dr. Alexander Hamilton Rice, a renowned geographer and explorer.  Dr. Rice requested that Earl accompany him to Brazil.  Church assisting in mapping some 2000 miles on the exploration of the Amazon and Negro Rivers in Brazil.

After his return from Brazil, he served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1917.  He served in France for two years and was in charge of the Second Army Geodetic Computations in the Topographic Division of Intelligence Section.  He was decorated by the French Government with the Order of Silver Palm for accomplishments.

From 1919 to 1921 he taught at the Pennsylvania Military College.

He then returned to his love the Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey for three years.  He returned to the Central New York area, becoming a member of the faculty at Syracuse University.  Church’s development of analytical photgrammetry began a new era in American surveying and mapping.

He loved his native Parish, and in his last years, Parish was his refuge.

Click here to read the detailed obituary of Professor Earl Church