He was born in Rochester, New York.
With his brother William Conant Church he established the "Army and Navy Journal" in 1863, and "Galaxy" magazine in 1866. He was a lead editorial writer on his brother's newspaper, the New York Sun, and it was in that capacity that in 1897 he wrote his most famous editorial, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He also wrote biographies of Ulysses S. Grant in 1899 and John Ericsson in 1891.
A third brother John Adams Church was famous as a mining engineer, and was present in Tombstone, Arizona at the time of the OK Corral.
He died in New York City.