Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Woodruff, George  
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Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907

GEORGE WOODRUFF. It is imperative that mention should be made of George 
Woodruff in the history of Will county, for he has been closely connected with 
many facts which are found upon its records and did much to develop the county 
along lines of material progress and improvement. He was born in Watertown, 
New York, December 7, 1812, and pursued his education in the common schools of 
his boyhood home. At the age of twenty-four years he came west to Illinois, 
settling in Will county in 1836 when the work of improvement and progress had 
scarcely been begun here. He took up his abode in what was then called 
the "Village of Joliet," and from that time until his death was closely 
associated with its business interests. In this way he contributed in large 
measure to the growth and development of the community for the welfare, 
progress and prosperity of every city depends upon its business conditions. He 
first established a grocery and provision store, which he conducted until 
1841, when he sold out and removed to Plainfield. For two years thereafter he 
was engaged in farming, and on the expiration of that period he returned to 
Joliet, where he resumed business as a merchant. In 1852 he built an elevator 
on the east bank of the lower basin in Joliet and commenced operations in the 
grain trade. He conducted his store until 1857, when he sold out, and then, in 
company with others, established what was known as the Joliet bank. In 1864 he 
established the First National Bank of Joliet, of which he became president, 
while his son, Frederick W. Woodruff, was cashier. He continued at the head of 
the institution until his death and inaugurated the safe, conservative policy 
which has since been maintained and which has made his bank one of the 
foremost financial institutions in northern Illinois. A man of resourceful 
business ability, watchful of opportunities, he carried his efforts into other 
lines of activity and became one of the partners in the building of a woolen 
mill at the end of Richards street in 1867. He was also a stockholder in the 
Joliet Gas Light Company and its treasurer for several years. Whatever he 
undertook he carried forward to a successful completion. He knew no such word 
as fail, but carried on his business interests persistently and energetically, 
utilizing the means at hand and shaping conditions to his ends. The value of a 
man of enterprise of this character in a new locality can not be 
overestimated, and Mr. Woodruff's worth was widely acknowledged. On the 9th of 
May, 1838, occurred the marriage of George Woodruff and Miss Dorothy Smith, a 
native of Rutland, Jefferson county, New York. They became the parents of one 
son and two daughters: Frederick W. Woodruff, who died December 24, 1906; Mrs. 
Mary C. Wilcox, wife of J. P. Wilcox; and Cornelia M., wife of J. E. Bush, of 
Joliet. Her death occurred in January, 1876. Mr. Woodruff was killed by a fall 
in the Union Elevator, east of the city, October 26, 1882, and his wife passed 
away October 22, 1888. In his death the city lost one of its valued 
representatives and honored pioneer residents. For almost a half century he 
had resided in Joliet, watching it grow from a. little village to a city of 
industrial and commercial prominence, contributing in large measure to its 
development, and at all times bearing his full share in the work of public 
progress. 

Additional Comments:
PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the 
Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing 
Company, 1907

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