The Woodruff Family of Elizabethtown and Westfield, NJ - Genealogy

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The Woodruff Family of Elizabethtown and Westfield, NJ

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This is the Family of John Woodruff, The Immigrant, who was born in 1604 in the Parish of Saint Mary Northgate, Canterbury, Kent, England and died at Southampton, Long Island, New York, America, in 1670. John is the Patriarch of the all the Woodruffs who first settled in Southampton, then moved on to New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and eventually to all the fifty states.
In 1967, Ceylon Newton Woodruff and the Arthur H Clark Company first published Woodruff Chronicles I, following it in 1671 with Woodruff Chronicles II. CNW was interested in tracing his own connections to John Woodruff and accumulated extensive research material on the many branches and lines of descent. This website is dedicated to providing the information in CNW’s Chronicles and also includes data from other sources. There are at times conflicting reports, and of course, all information may not be fact. Other resourses used are The Ogden Family, by William Ogden Wheeler; Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments, also by William Ogden Wheeler, Magie Family History, by William Magie Jr.; The Clark Family Webpage, with research contributed by Harmon Clark; Crane Genealogy, by E B Crane; The Norris Family Website, The Pierson Family, by Pierson, The Descendants of Deacon Samuel Potter, by Helen Potter Alleman, Genealogy of The Potter Family, by Ruth Potter Hart, Robert Woodruff and his wife Elizabeth Baker, by Bertha E Hobson, A Branch of Woodruff Stock, by Francis Eben Woodruff; The Family of Moses Woodruff, by Delwood Jackson; The History of The Colony of New Haven, by Edward E Atwater; The History of Long Island, by Benjamin Thompson; Rootsweb.com , Ancestry.com and Dave Kane’s First Families of Westfield website at www.westfieldnj.com/firstfamilies
Corrections, additons and suggestions are welcome.
For those of you who are lost with my website, I now have put my data base on roots web
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=elizawoodruffs

1. William Woodruff #97, b. 1521 at Fordwich, Kent, England, d. 1587 at Fordwich, Kent, England

* Key-Keeper of the Town Chest
* senior jurat of Fordwich
* "Little is know concering William Woodruff Sr. he is recorded as a jurat of Fordwich in 1579 and may have been the senior jurtat since he generally signed the minutes of the borough court, probably for the mayor in his absence. he likewise held the honorable office of Key-Keeper of the Town Chest, which was conferred upon the most
respectable men of the borough. Records show he had two sons, William Jr. and Robert Woodroffe."
* CNW I p 26

Children:

1 2. Robert Woodruff #98, b. 1547 at Fordwich, Kent, England, m. Alice Russell , 1573 at Saint Mary Northgate, England, d. 1611

* "Records show he married Alice Russell in 1573 in the Parish of Saint Mary Northgate, in the city of Canterbury, Kent. Both he and his brother William Jr. appear in the Fordwich town books as "freemen" entitled to the privleges of the borough. Robert is recorded as a jurat and as a churchwarded in 1584. He died in 1611. Little is known of William Jr. and his family became extinct in Fordwich in 1673.
* CNW I p 27 -28

Spouse: Alice Russell , b. 1552 at Canterbury, Kent, England

Married 1573 at Saint Mary Northgate, England.

Children:

1 3. John Woodruff #99, b. 1574 at Fordwich, Kent, England, m. Elizabeth Cartwright ,1601 at Saint Mary Northgate, England, d. 1611 at Saint Mary Northgate, England

* resided in the parish of St Mary Northgate, Canterbury, in which parish his uncle, William Russell, was churchwarden
* "his will, dated in September 1611, and proved in October of that year, provided that he be "buried at the discretion of my well beloved wyffe," made minor legacies to his young and only son John, and to others, and bequeathed the remainder of "Goods and chattills" to his wife Elizabeth. The witness to this will was John Gosmer. (Canterbury and St Mary Northgate Wills; C E Woodruff's search and correspondence.)"
* CNW I p 28

Spouse: Elizabeth Cartwright , b. 1582 at Fordwich, Kent, England,
Married 1601 at Saint Mary Northgate, England.
m. John Gosmer , 1612
1. John Gosmer , b. at Fordwich, Kent, England, d. 1661 at Southampton, LI, NY

* stepfather to John Woodruff
* Mayor of Corporation of Fordwich, England
* arrived in Lynn, MA 1639
* one of the original and prominent settlers of Southampton, LI, NY in 1640 where he was admitted as an undertaker
* represented Southampton in the House of Magistrates in Hartford, CT for several years
* adopted John Woodruff #2 as his heir, who used his holdings to purchase land in Elizabethtown, NJ
* "The Southampton records state that John Gosmer headed the list of parties of the second part to the "Indian Deed" for the land lying eastward "Between the foresaid bound by water" from the place "Where the Indians bayle thier cannoes out of the North Bay to the south side of the Island." On March 7, 1644, John Gosmer and others were designated to dispose of any whales that were cast up. Among the others was Richard Gosmer who was designated from the third ward, while John Gosmer was named from the second ward. John Gosmer took a prominent part in dealing with the Indians, in dividing the lands among the townsmen, in fencing out the wilderness, and in clearing the forests. By 1644, he had been elsected Magistrate. Southampton entered into a compact with Connecticut in 1647, and Edward Howell and John Gosmer were the first to represent the town in the House of Magistrates in the General court at Hartford, and John Gosmer continued so to serve until 1650. (Howell; Hinman's Puritan Settlers; Colonial Records of Connecticut, 1636 -1650; Plymouth Colony Records, IX, p143, 167; Savage)"
* "John Gosmer was Primus of the three Southampton Magistrates in 1652, being re-elected for several years, and was chosen treasurer on September 16, 1653. (RS., I p 94.) Between 1655 and 1658, he again represented the town at Hartford. In 1657, he was one of seven men selected to direct the defense of the town during Indian alarms, (Howell.) However, John Gosmer's life was drawing to a close and he undertook the arrangment of his earthly affairs. He had purchased property in Boston in 1655, which he subsequently transferred to his Kinswoman, Ann Carter, in 1658 (Savage.) In 1657, he was replaced in the whaling fleet by his stepson John Woodruffe, and in 1660, he deede to his stepson the land purchased from John Topping. Likewise, on July 29, 1659, he executed the deed to his "Adopted sone."
*"John Gosmer's deed of July 29, 1659, reads (RS II, p 236) "Be it known unto all that are present and to come that I, John gosemr of Southampton upon Long Island in America (Gentlemen), have given and granted and by this my present Deed have confirmed to my adopted sone John Woodruf who hath lived with me from a child, All my goods and chattlells, howeses and lands with all the appurtenances, therunto belonging, and all privileges portaining thereunto; To have and to hold and to enjoy the above mentioned gifts as his owne forever. Also Elizabeth the wife of ye said John Gosmer hath consented and confirmed the above mentioned gifts in witness whereof they have boath of them hereunto set their hands and seals this Day of July 29; 5; in the year of ye nativity of our Lord Christ one thousand six hundred fifty-nine. Witnesses, John Ogden and Samuel Clarke."
*"A careful study of this deed, in conjunction with related facts and circumstances, shows that the "Elder brother" John Woodruff (of the two brothers John) was actuallly John Gosmer's "adopted" son and heir. The Gosmers and Woodruffs apparently lived as one household in Southampton until about 1650. Therefore, the words "who hath lived with me form a child" in John Gosmer's deed of July 29, 1659, evidently refer to Elder brother John, who had lived with John Gosmer since infancy to manhood." (John, the younger would have been 9 years old when this deed was made.) "In 1665, when he removed to Elizabeth Town, NJ, Elder brother John Woodruff disposed of extensive land holdings, although he was then only 28 years of age. In view of his father's will, it is likely that Elder brother John received part of these lands from his father, but it appears more likely that the greater part of them was acquired by gift from John Gosmer under the deed of July 29, 1659. and September 6, 1665. (SR II, p 48.) John Woodruff Jr. sold to Obadiah Rogers, 4 acres at Captain's Neck that "his Grandfather John Gosmer purchased of Josiah Stanborough." Also there is a deed of 1672 of Isaac Halsey, recorded in Suffolk County Clerk's Small Book of Deeds, p 46, in which Halsey states that he purchased from John Woodruff Jr. "the adopted sone of John Gosmer, Gent.," his 300 pound home lot on the west side of Main Street."
* CNW I p 32 -38

Children:

1 4. John Woodruff Sr. #1, b. 1604 at Saint Mary Northgate, England, m. Ann ? at Saint Mary Northgate, England, d. 9 May 1670 at Southampton, LI, NY

* babtised at St Mary Northgate, England, where his great uncle, William Russell was churchwarden
* recorded as a churchwarded in Fordwich in 1636, where he had married Ann___, and their infant son John was babtised in 1637 in the adjoining parish of Sturry, Kent, England
* arrived at Lynn, MA in 1639
* original settler of Southampton, LI, NY with his wife, infant son, stepfather, John Gosmer and mother; signed the Southampton Plantation Contract of 1640
* "It is indicative of John Gosmer's regard for his stepson that on February 20, 1660,
"Mr John Gosmer gave and assigned unto John Woodruff Senr that mesuage or tenement scituate over against the said Mr. gosmer his home lot, which tenement he bought of John Topping, with all the appurtenances to the said tenement belonging, with all the land, fencing, and the privileges thereunto appertaining, according as was formerly purchased as aforesaid. Allsoe the said Mr. Gosmer gave unto him the said John Woodruff Senr the five acres was laid out to him the said John Gosmer instead of land he gave up in the ox pasture, doth acknowledge to bee unto him the said John Woodruff his heirs executors administrators and assigns forever. - Witness: Henry Pierson, register." (RS II, p 136)"
* The will of John Woodruff was proved July 1, 1670, "at the court of Sessions at Southold, devised to his "Eldest son John Woodruff of Elizabeth Town, New Jersey," a "half Crown Piece in full of all portions and patrimony to be expected of me; 20 punds each were left to his daughters Anne Wooley and Elizabeth Dayton, and the residue of his estate to his wife Ann and "Youngest son John Woodruffe," and appointed them executors. The witnesses were Christopher Foster and John Laughton. The probate includes this testimony: "Know all men by this that the above written will is of my own handwriting and that I saw ye said Joh Woodruff sett to his marke and take off ye seale or stamp the wax. As witness my hand, John Laughton." The inventory of the estate, taken May 24, 1670, was appraised as 122 pounds, 7 shillings, 8 pence, and "one half of ye land and housing and accomodation is already clearly by deed of fit disposed of to his son John, the other we apprize at 55 pounds. John Howell, Henry Pierson, Edward Howell, John Jennings." (Abstracts of Wills in the Surrogate's office City of New York and published in Colliections of the New York Historical Socity, 1892, p17)"
* History of Long Island by Benjamin F Thompson, p 147
* CNW I p 28 -38

Spouse: Ann ?

Married at Saint Mary Northgate, England.

Children:

1 5. Anne Woodruff #999, b. 1630 at Southampton, LI, NY, m. Robert Wooley

2 6. John Woodruff Jr. #2, b. 1637 at Sturry, Kent, England, m. Sarah Ogden at Southampton, LI, NY, m. Mary Parkhurst , aft. 1684, d. 27 April 1691 at Elizabethtown, NJ

3 7. Elizabeth Woodruff #998, b. 1640 at Southampton, LI, NY, m. Robert Dayton

4 8. John Woodruff #02, b. 1650 at Southampton, LI, NY, m. Hannah Newton at Southampton, LI, NY, d. 1703 at Southampton, LI, NY

5. Anne Woodruff #999, b. 1630 at Southampton, LI, NY

Spouse: Robert Wooley , b. 1615 at of Southampton, LI, NY

* son of Teckla Pemberton and Robert Wooley of Hertfordshire, England
* immigrated to Fairfield MA, then settled in Southampton, LI, NY

6. John Woodruff Jr. #2, b. 1637 at Sturry, Kent, England, d. 27 April 1691 at Elizabethtown, NJ

* arrived with his parents at Lynn MA 1639, settled in1640 Southampton, LI, NY as one of the first families; The Southampton contract of 10 March 1640 names amongst the settlers John Woodruff, John Gosmer, Henry Pierson, Abraham Pierson, John Lum
and Benjamin Haynes
* one of the founding fathers and influential men in Elizabethtown, NJ; an original Elizabethtown associate of 1664; received a 3rd lot right
* inherited from his "adopted" father, John Gosmer, extensive land holdings in Southampton, LI, NY, which he used to purchase land in Elizabethtown, NJ
* m 2nd Mary Parkhurst, sister of Benjamin Parkhurst
* Officers of the Militia sworne in, 1673; Capt. Jacob Melyn, Lieut. Isaac Whitehead and Ensign John Woodruff
* Constable for Elizabethtown, 1675
* High Sheriff of Essex Co., 1684
* "He is first mentioned in the Southampton Records on April 30, 1657, when he and his father were among 40 persons to whom powder was issued to repel a threatened attack by Indians. As early as February 20, 1659, he was a land owner in Southampton, and at about that time he married Sarah Ogden, daughter of the prominent "Mr John Ogden" of that town. In confirmation, is the acknowledging entry of September 7, 1665, (RS LL, p 236,) whereby "Mr John Ogden doth acknowledge that what land or housing or priviledges thereunto belonging, which he bought of his cousin John Ogden, he ye said Mr. Ogden did make over all the same unto his sone in law John Woodruff, that it became his." On May 1st, 1663, John Woodruff Jr. and Samuel Cleark were chosen "cunstables" to execute according to warrent upon the water as well as at land within our limits. (RS II, p 221)"
* "On July 19, 1663, James Herrick transferred to him 1 1/2 acres in Halsey's Neck in exchange for 1 acre "sometime belonging unto Mr. John Ogden, & lying by ye side of the said James Herrick his home lot, unto which exchange the said John Woodruff consenteth." By deed of October 18, 1663, "John woodruff Junr. has sold to William Ludlam his interest in a parcel of land lying at the head of the mill pond, 36 acres, for which he has received full satisfaction. (signed) John Woodruff Junr." He also made an exchange of land with Edmond Howell whereby Howell transferred 4 acres in Halsey's neck, 5 acres in the 10 acre lot furlong, next to the plain gate, and 2 acres in saik furlong, next to John Woodruff Sen. in exchange for 8 acres in Cooper's Neck, next to Howell's land. (RS II, p 223, 225.)"
* "In 1665, in prepartation for his removal to Elizabeth Town with John Ogden, his father in law, Elder brother John Woodruff disposed of the following holdings, in addition to the Obadiah Rogers and Isaac Halsey transactions; August 29th, to Francis Sayre, 8 acres at Captain's Neck, bounded north by thomas Sayre and south by Joshua Barnes. (RS II p 48,); September 2, to William Russell, a 50 acre commonage (RS II p 48); September 6, 1665 to Ann Phillips, the 4 acres he had purchased form Edmond Howell; to Robert Wooley, the acre of land in Captain's Neck (RS II p 236); and on the following day, September 7, 1665, "John Woodruff Jun. doth acknowledge to have sould and delivered unto robert wooley all that housing and land aand privileges of John Ogden of Southampton, and which ye said Mr. Ogden made over unto him the said John Woodruff, ye said bargain being on record in this book. (RS II p 236.)"
* " Elder brother John Woodruff removed to and became one of the founders of Elizabeth Town, where is first mentioned "Rights of land due, according to the concessions of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of East Jersey of 10 February 1664, were each assigned to John Woodruff of Elizabeth town, his wife, and three servants."
* Brief Early History of Elizabeth, NJ
From the official website of Elizabeth, NJ
On October 28, 1664, the Indians of Staten Island sold to John Bailey, Daniel Denton and Luke Watson, a tract of land lying between the Raritan River and the Passaic River, extending westward from Newark Bay. The tract extended about 34 miles between the two rivers and about17 miles westward from Newark Bay, comprising 500,000 acres. It included what is now the City of Elizabeth.The purchase price was 20 fathoms of trading cloth, two "made" coats, two guns, two kettles, ten bars of lead, 20 handsful of powder, and 400 fathoms of white wampum. The purchase price was payable in one year after the territory was occupied, indicating that even this small sum was difficult to meet in those early days. Permission to purchase from the Indians was granted by Colonel Richard Nicolls who was Governor of all the territories in North America. Colonel Nicolls was Governor by virtue of appointment by the then Duke of York, who had been granted the territories in North America by King Charles the Second of England. The deed of conveyance from the Indians was delivered on December 1, 1664 to John Baker, John Ogden, John Bailey and Luke Watson (Denton having sold his interest to Baker and Ogden). The four grantees took possession of the tract by building at least four houses before April1665 and thus the settlement and development of Elizabeth began. Neither Governor Nicolls nor the purchasers knew that on June 24, 1664, the Duke of York had conveyed to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret the tract of land known as New Jersey. Berkeley and Carteret commissioned Philip Carteret, a relative of Sir George, as Governor of New Jersey and he arrived in August 1665 with a group of settlers and servants. Colonel Nicolls and Governor Carteret worked together, despite the confusion as to ownership of the land and developed the new town which they called Elizabethtown, probably so named in honor of Elizabeth, the wife of Sir George Carteret. Houses were constructed by the settlers and also a church where the First Presbyterian Church now stands on Broad Street next to the Courthouse. Governor Carteret made Elizabethtown the capital of the province of New Jersey and the first legislature met here on May 30, 1668.

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