NOTE-Regarding Woodruff’s of Wooley, England.
Regarding the genealogy of the Woodruff Family, published in Volume III of the Colonial Families of the United States, will say that the circumstances surrounding the record of Matthew Woodruff in said book are as follows:
Sometime in 1910 a party called on me stating that his name was Norris Woodruff. that he was from England and naturally well acquainted with the Woodruff Families there, that he was a descendant of the Woodruffs of Wooley, England, and for a consideration would give out details that would establish a direct connection between the Woodruffs of England and the Woodruffs of the United States. Naturally I was interested and agreed to pay his price for said information, which was as follows:
The Genealogy of Woodruffs of Wooley, England.
Coming down to the time of Sir David Woodruff of Poyle, Min married in 1611 Lettice Duncombe.
Issue:
Matthew, born 1612 and died 1682
Thomas
David
George
Robert
Nicholas
Six daughters
He claimed he had investigated and found that Matthew Woodruff, the emigrant, was born in London in 1612, that he came from England with his wife, Hannah, and settled in Hartford, Conn., and died in Farmington, Conn., in 1682.
I advised him to take up the matter with Mr. George N. Mackenzie who was to publish Volume III of the Colonial Families of the United States.
Later Mr. Mackenzie wrote asking if I would furnish him the genealogy of my branch of the Woodruff Family in America from the time of Matthew Woodruff, the emigrant. If so, he believed a direct connection could be established between the Woodruff Family of Wooley, England and the Woodruff Family of America.
I agreed to this and furnished Mr. Mackenzie with the American Genealogy (My branch of the Woodruff Family) from Matthew Woodruff. the emigrant, and the same was published as it appears in Volume III of the Colonial Families of the United States. After this was published, it occurred to me to take up the matter and substantiate certain data furnished by Norris Woodruff. Therefore, entered into correspondence with several genealogists in London; after considerable research by them and considerable financial cost to me, they reported as far as they could learn, Sir David Woodruff of Poyle, England, had no son by the name of Matthew. They did, however, report five sons as described above.
Therefore, it is my sincere belief that this party who styled himself as Norris Woodruff and sold the information to Mr. Mackenzie and myself was an impostor, for as far as I can learn, Sir David Woodruff of Poyle, England, had no son by the name of Matthew-and if Matthew Woodruff the emigrant, was connected with the Woodruffs of Wooley, England, it was through some other branch of the family.
NOTE-Regarding Noah Woodruff.
Timlow’s History of Southington assigns Noah Woodruff as having only two children as follows:
Hannah, b. Oct. 4, 1753; d. Sept. 16, 1757.
Solomon, h. Dec. 11, 1763.
and states that at his death the male line became extinct.
This is clearly an error as published in Timlow’s History of Southington, for on consulting the Farmington, Conn., Church Records, we find baptisms recorded of three more children born to Noah and Mary (Barnes) Woodruff, as follows:
Roswell, baptized June 12, 1768.
Ichabod and Castina, probably twins, baptized June 27, 1775.
Unfortunately_ these Church Records are not complete. Every little while there is a page missing, hence among others, the pages containing the baptisms between January 27, 1770 and -March 27, 1774, are lost and this is the very period in which we should find the baptism of David Woodruff, son of Noah, who was born May 26, 1770.
Further than this, says Fred’k O. Woodruff (8), I know from my grandfather, Hiram Woodruff (6), son of David (5), that Hiram’s (6), grandfather was Noah Woodruff and that Noah had a son named Roswell, who was my grandfather Hiram’s uncle and with whom ho was on intimate terms. There is no denying the facts of this record of Noah Woodruff, as it is Family History.
The misstatement in Timlow’s History of Southington, Conn.. was taken up with the Timlow Family in 1920 for correction, but they stated that Timlow’s History of Southington was out of print and the plates destroyed.
- Descendants of John Abbe
- Descendants of William Burke
- Descendants of Nathan Coffin
- Descendants of John Folger
- Descendants of Thomas Franckline
- Descendants of Joseph Stevens
- Descendants of Samuel Sturtevant
- Descendants of Matthew Woodruff