Pulaski Co, AR - William Edward Woodruff - Biography ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Submitted by: Meredith Gibson Email: calmeg47@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free Information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Files may be printed or copied for Personal use only. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I have long wanted to do a biography on William Edward Woodruff,,,,,,owner, editor & publisher of the Arkansas Gazette newspaper. He established it in Nov of 1819 and today (2001) it still part of the newspaper world. It merged with the Arkansas Democrat paper some ten-twelve yrs ago, making it at that time the oldest paper in the south. So it begins. WILLIAM EDWARD WOODRUFF ============================== Was born on 24 December, 1795 at Fireplace, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, near the town of Bellport. His parents were Nathaniel and Hannah (Clark) Woodruff. Early records tell of his grandfather, Jehiel Woodruff, having a large grant of land, from the king of England, that extended over a large portion of Long Island. A copy of the deed is in the possession of his descendants in this city His maternal grandfather, Clark, was a Revolutionay War soldier captured by the British and imprisioned on the ship, Jersey, for some time. He escaped, returned home, but his father, being a Tory, turned him away, and so he left and nothing was ever heard of him again. His father died when he was 13 yrs. old. His mother having the care of four sons apprenticed them all, William to J. Spooner to learn the trade of printing on the Long Island Star. Here he obtained a prinicipal part of his education. He applied himself faithfully to the printing trade and became thorough in it. Before his apprenticeship ended, the War of 1812 occurred and the spirit of the time possessed him as it had his grandfather.... so in 1815 he enlisted in the reserve corps and continued his work at the printing office. Finishing his apprenticeship in 1817, he decided to leave New York and try his fortune in the far west.. He and a companion bought a canoe and made their way down the Ohio River to Louisville, KY., going afoot much of the way through Ohio and into Tennessee to Nashville, Where he worked for a time as a journeyman printer. Continuing his search for a place to locate and establish a newspaper he parted with his companion and started out alone. At Franklin, Tennessee, he purchased, with his savings, a small hand printing press and type. He decided to go into the new Territory of Arkansas and establish a newspaper at the Post of Arkansas, the provisional capital. He conveyed his precious press and type into a wagon to the Cumberland River and procuring two canoes, he lashed them together, & with an assistant, loaded all his worldly possessions, & he embarked on the wearisome journey down the Cumberland River into the Mississippi River, thence to the Arkansas River, finally reaching the Post of Arkansas after a tedious trip of three months, on October 30, 1819. He went to work and located a log cabin and on Saturday Nov 20, 1819, the first number of the arkansas Gazette made its appearance and was welcomed by the people. He began without a single subscriber, but was encouraged by the people of the village to carry on the good work. The paper was issued on Saturdays and people came by and picked up their copies, eager for news even if a month old. The coming of William E. Woodruff & his press was counted a blessing, and it did not take long to gain a list of subscribers. When Little Rock was made the capital of the territory, the editor of the Gazette removed his valuable possessions to that place. The last number of the paper at the Post was printed on 24 Nov 1821, just two years after its first appearance. In Little Rock he boarded with the Chester Ashley family and here began a friendship that lasted during the lifetime of Mr. Ashley. When a man named Garrett tried to shoot Mr. Ashley, William protected him and received a bullet in his arm, leaving an ugly scar. In Little Rock, Wm. E. Woodruff met and married Jane Eliza Mills, 'The lovliest maiden in the village," on 14 November 1827, and theirs was an ideally happy life for fifty eight years. They were rarely apart and always congenial companions through fortune and misfortune which came to them in later life. Their home was a center for pleasant social gatherings, and their children and grandchildren looked back with great pleasure on the happy days spent in the old home. William E. Woodruff died on 19 June, 1885, in his ninetieth year, respected and loved by all who knew him. His faithful wife, Jane Eliza Mills Woodruff, survived him by less than two years, dying on 27 February, 1887. William and Jane Eliza had eleven children (two died young) : 1.. Alden Mills b- 27 Aug 1828 & d- 10 Sep 1893 2. George Watkins b- 26 Nov 1829 & D- 1 Sep 1830 3. William Edward Jr b- 8 Jun 1831 & d- 8 July 1907 4. Maria Jane b- 3 May 1833 & d- 17 Jan 1918 5. Harriet Maria b- 31 Jan 1836 & d- 17 Jan 19189 6. Mary Eliza b- 17 Apr 1838 & d- 20 Nov 1927 7. Evelina Walton b- 21 Jun 1840 & d- 30 Nov 1927 8. Francis Clark b- 4 Apr 1843 & d- 6 Feb 1936 9. Jane Georgine b- 23 Feb 1845 & d- 3 Dec 1935 10. Lizzie Ashley b- 6 Jan 1848 & d- 29 Oct 1854 11. Chester Ashley b- 12 Jan 1850 & d- 3 Feb 1899 Jane Eliza (Mills) Woodruff was b- 10 Feb 1810 in Louisville, Ky. She was the dau of Ann Elizabeth (Toncray) & Abraham Mills. Mr. Mills d-in Ky in 1810 and Ann Eliz later married a Mr. Keesacker in 1814, and he died in 1825. She later moved to Little Rock and lived there until her death on 19 Mar 1842. Maria (Toncray) Watkins Stevenson was a sister, and she also lived out her life in Little Rock and d- 1874. Jane Eliza Mills Woodruff and Maria Toncray Watkins Stevenson were both sisters of my 2nd grtgrdfather, Silas Tracy Toncray, pioneer minister and silversmith, by trade, who settled in Little Rock in 1824 and organized the first Baptist church. along with Isaac Watkins, Maria's husband. I have taken material from an article by Jane Georgine Woodruff on her father's life, some from a cousin, Joan Huot, a desc. of Jane Eliza Mills Woodruff and from my own genealogy materials. Meredith Gibson ( calmeg47@aol.com ) 10 Apr 2001