One of two little-known Orange County residents of
1860, William Woodruff, in January 1861, traveled to Tallahassee to take part in
Florida’s Secession Convention. His role as a delegate at the convention
transformed Woodruff into one of the most widely known citizens of his day. As
for the other little-known delegate from Orange County – Isaac N. Rutland - not
so much.
William Woodruff, born 1831 in Mississippi, came to Orange
County’s Mellonville in the 1850s to live with his father, Elias Woodruff.
Elias had been appointed the first postmaster at the Lake Monroe village of
Mellonville on 31 March 1846. The father and son also established a citrus
grove of 40 acres, a historic parcel which became known as “Woodruff Place.”
In 1860, William Woodruff and Isaac Rutland, two of only
several young men residing in all of Orange County, were chosen to serve as
delegates representing Orange County at the Secession Convention. Both men
voted NO to Secession at the convention, two of only seven delegates to oppose
Florida leaving the Union. Both men then remained in Tallahassee to write a new
Florida Constitution, and afterwards, each then enlisted in the Home Guard, a
local Orange County Calvary regiment charged with protecting Central Florida
from a possible Union invasion.
William Woodruff narrowly escaped being captured by
the Union Army in May 1864 at Cook’s Ferry, near Lake Jesup. He reportedly swam
across the St. John’s River to safety. As a member of the Home Guard, William
was able to return home to his wife Nancy (Galloway) at times during the War.
Two Woodruff children were born during the War, and another two after.
William Washington Woodruff died in 1872. Widow Nancy
(Galloway) Woodruff remarried, to Charles Beck, a subject for a later 2024
Trailblazer.
Both will be available at Pine Castle Pioneer Days, February 2024
Ethel State Park Grand Opening, March 9, 2024
And Amazon.com
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