Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Woodruff, George H.

Born: 1814-08-16 Clinton, New York

George H. Woodruff was a clerk, public servant, county judge, druggist, local historian and author, and a Republican. He graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, in 1833. He worked in the law office of Daniel Gott in Pompey, New York, for a year. In 1834, he moved to Joliet, Illinois, and served as a clerk for Martin H. Demmond for two years. In 1836, Woodruff won election to the position of recorder for Will County, Illinois. He also won election as county judge in 1838, but resigned after serving one year. He was reelected recorder in 1839. At the conclusion of his second term as recorder, he became a druggist, selling drugs, medicines, books, stationary, and the like in Joliet. In July 1842, he married Anne Baldwin and they had at least one child together before Anne died in May 1847. In June 1848, he married S. Frances Ward, with whom he also had children. By 1850, Woodruff owned real estate valued at $600. He grew more politically active within the Republican Party over time, serving as one of Will County's delegates to the 1856 Illinois Anti-Nebraska Convention. He also wrote several works on the history of Will County, and sometimes contributed articles to newspapers and periodicals. He married once more before 1860 and had several more children. By 1860, he owned $10,000 in real and personal property.

Charles Candee Baldwin, The Baldwin Genealogy, From 1500 to 1881 (Cleveland: The Leader Printing, 1881), 573; The History of Will County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr., 1878), 223, 381, 724; Gravestone, Anne B. Woodruff, Pompey Hill Cemetery, Pompey, NY; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, DuPage County, 6 June 1848, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 25 September 1856, 2:2; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Joliet, Will County, IL, 200; The Davenport Daily Times (IA), 3 November 1890, 1:4; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Joliet, Will County, IL, 491; U.S. Census Office, Ninth Census of the United States (1870), Ward 3, Joliet, Will County, IL, 2; Gravestone, George H. Woodruff, Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, IL.