Church Family Collection

Collection

Identifier: WCMss-485

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Church Family Collection, which dates from the late 1800s through 1980, consists primarily of negatives of the Church family, their friends, landscapes in the Walla Walla, Washington area, as well as slides, photograph prints, photograph albums, newspaper clippings, correspondence, a marriage certificate, and genealogy research. The collection also contains ephemera related to a mine operated by the Church family. This collection documents the lives of the Church family, as well as W.D. Church’s work in the mining industry, through photographs and written works.

Dates

circa 1800-1980

Creator

Church family (Family)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

William Dement Church was born on June 3, 1873 in Oregon City, Oregon Territory. He moved to Walla Walla, Washington in 1890 to become an accountant for his uncle’s grain mill. On November 23, 1898, he married Bertha Ballou, born April 18, 1874 in Santa Rosa, California, with whom he had six children. In approximately 1903, he was put in charge of mining operations at the Tom Thumb mine, as well as the grain mill’s head secretary. He died July 23, 1969, at the age of 96.