Jesse Wells Church papers

Jesse Wells Church was born in Byron, Genesee County, New York on September 8, 1838 and died on June 7, 1911 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Church's parents, Philetus and Elizabeth, brought their family to Mackinac Island, Michigan in 1845 and moved to Sugar Island in the St. Mary's River near Sault Ste. Marie in 1846. Philetus Church began the shipbuilding company that Jesse Church later operated. Many of the early Church employees were Ojibwas and Jesse learned their language as a child. An interest in the welfare of the Ojibwa caused Jesse Church to combine his varied talents in forms beneficial to his lifelong friends. When Jesse Church ran the shipbuilding company, Ojibwas learned carpentry and other skills. When Church became a doctor, he spent much of his time treating Ojibwa patients. After marrying Rosalie LaSage in 1865, the Indian ancestry of his wife prompted an interest in education for Ojibwa children while he was raising what became a family of four daughters and four sons. Later in life Church published Ojibwa legends told to him by friends to preserve that part of traditional Ojibwa culture.

Church's shipbuilding career was characterized primarily by designing skiffs and other vessels of less than fifty feet in length. Many of the Mackinaw boats used for commercial fishing and hauling small freight cargoes were built by Church's company. Working with Ned Pero and other French Canadians, Church designed new variations on Mackinaw boats to meet requirements for sailing on the St. Mary's River and the open lakes. Church did build some steam vessels as well as sailing vessels. An interest in the development of propulsion systems led to an active correspondence with the editor of The Scientific American magazine regarding screw propeller design.

In other sidelines, Jesse Church was a census enumerator and deputy customs collector. Church measured boats for official registration purposes. Participation in Republican Party activities marked his political interests.