Pewee Valley Vet: The H.M. Woodruff Years
The earliest known photo of H.M. Woodruff's corner mercantile appeared in "Beautiful Pewee Valley," a promotional brochure published in 1910 by Powhatan Wooldridge of The Locust and George R. Washburne, who owned two homes on Ash Avenue.
At 220 Mt. Mercy Drive stands Pewee Valley’s finest and oldest extant historic commercial building. Constructed circa 1880 as the Woodruff-Foley Brothers General Store, the building received an addition around 1915…The earliest portion of the building was constructed by H.M. Woodruff as a general store. The Foley Brothers, who operated a meat market in the rear of the store for some years, purchased the building in 1903, opened Foley Brothers General Store and then built the addition in 1915."
---- Historic Pewee Valley," published in 1991 by Historic Pewee Valley, Inc.
---- Historic Pewee Valley," published in 1991 by Historic Pewee Valley, Inc.
The Henry Martyn Woodruff Years
Henry Martyn Woodruff; his wife, Sallie; and their three children, Mary Ruth, Laura Elam and John McFarland, arrived in Pewee Valley in 1870, the year the town received its state charter. The family moved here when Woodruff became a station agent for the railroad, a combination of responsibilities that including ticketing, baggage handling and telegraph operation.
The New Albany, Indiana, native was a well-educated man. By the time he was 21, Woodruff had earned both an A.B. and A.M. degree from Miami College in Oxford, Ohio. Prior to opening his Pewee Valley store, he had also tried his hand at several professions. He taught school in both Lexington and at an academy in Owensboro. During the Civil War, he founded the Owensboro Monitor, a pro-Union paper.*
While the newspaper's political bent may have been acceptable at the beginning of the war, it became far less acceptable to the citizens of Owensboro, Daviess County and the commonwealth as a whole as the fighting dragged on.
By 1864, the Union Army was actively recruiting slaves by promising them their freedom. They were drafting whites into military service. Homes of Confederate sympathizers were being confiscated, and Confederate prisoners of war were being executed in retaliation for guerrilla activities outside the Confederate Army's control. Though Woodruff remained a publisher of the Owensboro Monitor until 1868, he quit editing the paper in 1864. Evidently, however, his pro-Union views found favor with Governor Thomas Elliott Bramlette. He was awarded a government appointment as a state tobacco inspector in Louisville for three years.*
His next venture was in manufacturing, when he purchased and operated a woolen mill in Rollington.* Though textile manufacturing was a growing industry in Louisville at the time, the business didn't thrive. Woodruff took a classified ad in the January 20, 1872 New York Tribune offering for sale a "complete one-set Woolen Factory, with residence and 28 acres of land."
Woodruff's decision to open a mercantile at Pewee may have been the result of his boyhood in Indiana. His father had been a leading hardware merchant in New Albany until his death in 1847. Plus, he was one of the six men who had financed the construction of the town's train depot in 1867. Not surprisingly, his first store appears to have been located in the depot itself, as evidenced by this description in "Country Seats: A Pen Picture of Pewee Valley" that ran in the December 31, 1871 Courier-Journal:
....Our depot is the handsomest on the Short-line, was built by the enterprise of a citizen ever ready to aid in public improvement, and is most ably managed by H.M. Woodruff, Esq., who dispenses from his celebrated "family supplies" abundant stores of comforts for the inner and outer man. Opposite is the Adams Express Office, in charge of the long and well-known W.J. White, one of the oldest (though not in years) and most highly esteemed Peweegians....
Later, as the enterprise grew, he built the store that still stands on the corner of Mt. Mercy Drive and Central Avenue today. By 1882, Woodruff was one of the chief taxpayers in Oldham County and Pewee Valley and paid out $4,700 in taxes (Courier-Journal, June 24, 1882). By 1887, he owned "sixteen acres ... and several valuable lots in the town," according to "Kentucky: A History of the State," Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 6th ed., 1887.
The New Albany, Indiana, native was a well-educated man. By the time he was 21, Woodruff had earned both an A.B. and A.M. degree from Miami College in Oxford, Ohio. Prior to opening his Pewee Valley store, he had also tried his hand at several professions. He taught school in both Lexington and at an academy in Owensboro. During the Civil War, he founded the Owensboro Monitor, a pro-Union paper.*
While the newspaper's political bent may have been acceptable at the beginning of the war, it became far less acceptable to the citizens of Owensboro, Daviess County and the commonwealth as a whole as the fighting dragged on.
By 1864, the Union Army was actively recruiting slaves by promising them their freedom. They were drafting whites into military service. Homes of Confederate sympathizers were being confiscated, and Confederate prisoners of war were being executed in retaliation for guerrilla activities outside the Confederate Army's control. Though Woodruff remained a publisher of the Owensboro Monitor until 1868, he quit editing the paper in 1864. Evidently, however, his pro-Union views found favor with Governor Thomas Elliott Bramlette. He was awarded a government appointment as a state tobacco inspector in Louisville for three years.*
His next venture was in manufacturing, when he purchased and operated a woolen mill in Rollington.* Though textile manufacturing was a growing industry in Louisville at the time, the business didn't thrive. Woodruff took a classified ad in the January 20, 1872 New York Tribune offering for sale a "complete one-set Woolen Factory, with residence and 28 acres of land."
Woodruff's decision to open a mercantile at Pewee may have been the result of his boyhood in Indiana. His father had been a leading hardware merchant in New Albany until his death in 1847. Plus, he was one of the six men who had financed the construction of the town's train depot in 1867. Not surprisingly, his first store appears to have been located in the depot itself, as evidenced by this description in "Country Seats: A Pen Picture of Pewee Valley" that ran in the December 31, 1871 Courier-Journal:
....Our depot is the handsomest on the Short-line, was built by the enterprise of a citizen ever ready to aid in public improvement, and is most ably managed by H.M. Woodruff, Esq., who dispenses from his celebrated "family supplies" abundant stores of comforts for the inner and outer man. Opposite is the Adams Express Office, in charge of the long and well-known W.J. White, one of the oldest (though not in years) and most highly esteemed Peweegians....
Later, as the enterprise grew, he built the store that still stands on the corner of Mt. Mercy Drive and Central Avenue today. By 1882, Woodruff was one of the chief taxpayers in Oldham County and Pewee Valley and paid out $4,700 in taxes (Courier-Journal, June 24, 1882). By 1887, he owned "sixteen acres ... and several valuable lots in the town," according to "Kentucky: A History of the State," Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 6th ed., 1887.
Beers and Lanagan Atlas showing Floydsburg and Rollington, 1879. Rollington would eventually become part of the City of Pewee Valley.
Turnpike illustration by Mary G. Johnston from "Ole Mammy's Torment" written in 1897 by Annie Fellows Johnston. The drawing depicts the Pewee Valley and Old Floydsburg Road Turnpike Company toll gate. Henry Martyn Woodruff was one of the original investors.
The iron bridge at Floyds Fork. From "History & Families of Oldham County: 1824-1924" published by the Oldham County Historical Society (Turner Publishing, Paducah, Ky.) in 1996. The photo was donated by Pewee Valley Town Historian Virginia Herdt "Gin" Chaudoin.
|
Woodruff was an upbuilder and wanted the city to prosper and grow. In 1876, he was one of the 27 men who incorporated the Kentucky College for Young Ladies on Ash Avenue. Ten years later, he, along with several other Peweeans, helped establish a turnpike road from the end of Ash Avenue to the iron bridge at Floyd's Fork:
§ 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That Levi Collins, H. M. Woodruff, George Metz, James F. Smith, and William H. Collins, be, and the same are hereby, incorporated under the name and style of the Pewee Valley and Floyd’s Fork Turnpike Road Company, and under said name and style may sue and be sued, answer and be answered, have and use a corporate seal, which they may alter and change at their pleasure, and do and perform all and singular the acts and duties incident, obligatory, and usual to other corporations of this State of like character. § 2. The principal place of business of said corporation shall be in the town of Pewee Valley, in Oldham county, and the object of said corporation is the construction of a free turnpike road, from the southern limits of the town of Pewee Valley, commencing at the southern termination of Ash avenue in said town and running thence, in continuation of said avenue, southerly, by the nearest and best route to the new iron bridge on Floyd’s Fork, thence with the county road in Shelby county, known as road district No. 33, to an intersection with the Aiken Turnpike Road. For the construction of said road, said company may receive subscriptions or contributions from individuals to' be paid in rights of way, in money, or in labor to be performed on said road, as may be prescribed by said company, and may receive donations from the counties of Oldham, Jefferson and Shelby, as may be deemed expedient by the County Courts of said counties. A tax of ten cents on the hundred dollars of the taxable property situated within one mile on each side of said turnpike, may be collected by the duly appointed agent of said company, for the term of five years from and after the pas~ sage of this act, which said tax may be collected by said agent by suit before any court having competent jurisdiction, or by distraint, as other taxes are collected, or said company may by agreement and arrangement authorize the Sheriffs of said counties to collect said tax in their respective |
counties, which said Sheriffs when thus authorized shall be, and are, required to collect in like manner as other taxes are collected by them, and pay over said taxes to the treasurer of this company after deducting his legal commissions, which are the same allowed him for collecting other taxes.
§ 4. Rights of way and material for the use of the company, when no agreement therefor can be made with the owner or owners, shall be condemned by the provisions of the general law for said purposes.
§ 5. The incorporators named herein shall constitute the first board of directors, and shall remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified as provided herein ; and annual on the first Saturday in June the stockholders may meet and elect a new board of directors consisting of five members, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
§ 6. The board of directors shall elect a president, secretary and treasurer; the last two offices may be held by the same individual. The treasurer shall execute such bond with such security as the board may prescribe for the faithful performance of his duties.
§ 7. The stockholders shall consist of those who shall by donations, contributions, or by the payment of taxes aid in the construction of the road, or who shall by labor, rights of way, or material, further the enterprise, and the board of directors shall for every ten dollars in money, or its value so paid or contributed, issue a certificate of one share of stock to the person entitled, and he shall be entitled to one vote for each sum equal to ten dollars.
§ 8. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
(Source: Journal. Kentucky General Assembly, House of Representatives, 1886)
More than 25 years later, Woodruff, along with many of his fellow Peweeans, was a member of the Suburban Commercial Club. A story from the April 4, 1902 Courier-Journal listed the club's directors:
A follow-up story the next day noted that the club was trying to get a 60-foot-wide road built to connect Anchorage with O'Bannon, Pewee Valley and Beard Station (now Crestwood). George R. Washburne, who presided at the meeting, stated that, "It is probable that the road will be constructed within a very short time. The people living in the four towns which it is proposed to connect are enthusiastic, and are taking hold of the matter in a way that indicates that the road will be built, after many similar attempts have been unsuccessful."
§ 4. Rights of way and material for the use of the company, when no agreement therefor can be made with the owner or owners, shall be condemned by the provisions of the general law for said purposes.
§ 5. The incorporators named herein shall constitute the first board of directors, and shall remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified as provided herein ; and annual on the first Saturday in June the stockholders may meet and elect a new board of directors consisting of five members, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
§ 6. The board of directors shall elect a president, secretary and treasurer; the last two offices may be held by the same individual. The treasurer shall execute such bond with such security as the board may prescribe for the faithful performance of his duties.
§ 7. The stockholders shall consist of those who shall by donations, contributions, or by the payment of taxes aid in the construction of the road, or who shall by labor, rights of way, or material, further the enterprise, and the board of directors shall for every ten dollars in money, or its value so paid or contributed, issue a certificate of one share of stock to the person entitled, and he shall be entitled to one vote for each sum equal to ten dollars.
§ 8. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
(Source: Journal. Kentucky General Assembly, House of Representatives, 1886)
More than 25 years later, Woodruff, along with many of his fellow Peweeans, was a member of the Suburban Commercial Club. A story from the April 4, 1902 Courier-Journal listed the club's directors:
- Executive Committee: Frank H. Hegan
- Committee for Entertainment: Col. W.S. Forrester
- Committee on Membership: J.H. (John Hoadley) Cochran
- Committee on Real Estate: Arthur Kaye
- Committee on Boulevards: R.T. Collins, a farmer who lived in O'Bannon
- Committee on Press: S.G. Royster, a banker in Crestwood
A follow-up story the next day noted that the club was trying to get a 60-foot-wide road built to connect Anchorage with O'Bannon, Pewee Valley and Beard Station (now Crestwood). George R. Washburne, who presided at the meeting, stated that, "It is probable that the road will be constructed within a very short time. The people living in the four towns which it is proposed to connect are enthusiastic, and are taking hold of the matter in a way that indicates that the road will be built, after many similar attempts have been unsuccessful."
H.M Woodruff's signature on a receipt as President/Mayor of Pewee Valley. City of Pewee Valley archives, Town Hall.
Woodruff was also a civil servant. He was Pewee Valley postmaster for 18 years and from 1891 to 1903, Mayor of Pewee Valley, a volunteer position without remuneration. Despite his mercantile's ups and downs-- including a bankruptcy in 1895 due to "poor collections and an inability to collect debt"**-- and his wife's familial ties to Governor J.C.W. Beckham's wife, he helped lead the city's fight against the Kentucky Confederate Home.
It was a fight the town lost, and Woodruff was asked to give a welcoming address at the Home's dedication on October 23, 1902. Woodruff did not accept defeat gracefully, based on author Rusty Williams's description of his address in My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans:
After a short invocation, Bennett H. Young, president of the Home’s board and master of ceremonies, called H. M. Woodruff, mayor of Pewee Valley, to the podium. Obsequious as a hotel desk clerk, Woodruff began with a halfhearted apology for the town’s earlier opposition to the Kentucky Confederate Home. “We feel somewhat like the old folks did when the daughter ran off and married the man of her choice: after the knot was tied, the best thing was to receive the young couple back into the bosom of the family.” Pewee Valley had nothing against the Confederates, he explained. “Had a proposition been made to locate a Federal home within the limits of the town, it would have met with the same opposition.” Finally, a perspiring Mayor Woodruff bowed to the inevitable: “It seems to be the proper thing to give you a hearty welcome and try to make you feel at home.” Amid only a smattering of applause, the mayor returned to his seat.
Finally, H.M. Woodruff was a devout Christian. He was very active in the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church, where he served as Sunday school superintendent in 1888 and often represented it at regional gatherings.
Like his business and political life, Woodruff's personal life, too, had its ups and downs. The family hadn't lived in Pewee Valley long when tragedy struck. Their youngest son, John McFarland, was accidentally killed. His death notice appeared in the June 7, 1871 issue of the Courier-Journal:
DIED
WOODRUFF-- At Pewee Valley, Tuesday morning, at 5 o'clock, from accidental injuries received from railroad train, JOHN MCFARLAND WOODRUFF, son of H.M. Woodruff, aged eight years and nine months.
It was a fight the town lost, and Woodruff was asked to give a welcoming address at the Home's dedication on October 23, 1902. Woodruff did not accept defeat gracefully, based on author Rusty Williams's description of his address in My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans:
After a short invocation, Bennett H. Young, president of the Home’s board and master of ceremonies, called H. M. Woodruff, mayor of Pewee Valley, to the podium. Obsequious as a hotel desk clerk, Woodruff began with a halfhearted apology for the town’s earlier opposition to the Kentucky Confederate Home. “We feel somewhat like the old folks did when the daughter ran off and married the man of her choice: after the knot was tied, the best thing was to receive the young couple back into the bosom of the family.” Pewee Valley had nothing against the Confederates, he explained. “Had a proposition been made to locate a Federal home within the limits of the town, it would have met with the same opposition.” Finally, a perspiring Mayor Woodruff bowed to the inevitable: “It seems to be the proper thing to give you a hearty welcome and try to make you feel at home.” Amid only a smattering of applause, the mayor returned to his seat.
Finally, H.M. Woodruff was a devout Christian. He was very active in the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church, where he served as Sunday school superintendent in 1888 and often represented it at regional gatherings.
Like his business and political life, Woodruff's personal life, too, had its ups and downs. The family hadn't lived in Pewee Valley long when tragedy struck. Their youngest son, John McFarland, was accidentally killed. His death notice appeared in the June 7, 1871 issue of the Courier-Journal:
DIED
WOODRUFF-- At Pewee Valley, Tuesday morning, at 5 o'clock, from accidental injuries received from railroad train, JOHN MCFARLAND WOODRUFF, son of H.M. Woodruff, aged eight years and nine months.
This ca. 1903 photo by Kate Matthews shows a tree planting ceremony in front of Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church. Left to right, Mrs. Mary Craig Lawton, Mrs. Laura Woodruff Brent, Miss Florence
Matthews, Miss Fanny Craig, Rev. Cyrus Murray Creighton, Mrs. Annie Craig,
and Miss Frances Lawton.
Much happier was the newspaper coverage of their daughter Laura's wedding to Sprigg Brent in 1895. The wedding announcement appeared in the September 29, 1895 Courier-Journal:
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Woodruff, of Pewee Valley, have issued invitations to the wedding of their daughter, Miss Laura Woodruff, to Mr. Sprigg Brent on Wednesday, October 9, at 8 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church at Pewee Valley. The bride is the charming daughter of the well-known merchant of that place and the niece of Mr. Charles R. Woodruff, manager of French Lick Springs.
And a story about the wedding itself ran in the October 11, 1895 Cincinnati Enquirer:
PRETTY
_______
This Kentucky Wedding.
______
Mr. Sprigg Brent, of Covington, and
Miss Laura E. Woodruff, of
Pewee Valley Married
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 10 -- One of the prettiest weddings ever seen about Louisville was that at Pewee Valley last night of Miss Laura Elam Woodruff and Mr. Sprigg Brent, of Covington, Ky. It occurred at 8 o'clock in the little vine-covered Presbyterian church, at Pewee, for which the bride for all her life has been a zealous worker.
The ceremony was performed by the pastor of the church, Rev. Dr. Randolph, and the party was prompt to the minute in entering the church. Mr. Russell Armstrong, a life-long friend of the bride and a connection of the groom, presided at the organ, and Miss Leal McAfee, with her violin, played the wedding march from "Lohengrin," and during the ceremony the organ pealed soft and low, with violin obligato.
The church was brilliantly lighted and artistically decorated in autumn foliage and evergreens and golden red. The bridal party stood in front of the pulpit, which was hidden from view by the foliage, and made a very pretty tableau while Dr. Randolph was performing the ceremony. The church was crowded, everybody at Pewee Valley being present. In addition, there were guests present from Louisville, Evansville, Owensboro, Cincinnati and Covington.
Miss Margaret Thompkins, of Owensboro, one of the most beautiful women in the state and a cousin of the bride, was the maid of honor, and walked up the church aisle with the bride. They were preceded by the groomsmen and best man, who were all from Cincinnati, and following the groomsmen walked the bridesmaids. They were Miss Nell Brent, sister of the groom, who is a remarkably handsome girl and a belle wherever she goes; Miss Hallie Burge and Miss Mamie Johnson, of Pewee Valley. The latter two walked together and formed as pretty a pair of bridesmaids as were ever seen in this state. Messrs. Tom Smith and Louis Armstrong were the ushers at the church.
Some of the Louisville people were Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hughes, Mr. and Mrs. Logan Whitney, Miss Judge, Mr. and Mrs. Sid Muir, Mr. and Mrs. Aleck Semple, Mr. and Mrs. Darwin Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Phil Peace, Mr. and Mrs. Cushman Quarrier, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Edmunds, the Misses Clark, the Misses Caldwell, Miss Quarrier, and the Messrs. McPherson, Willis Davis and Alexander Gilmore.
After the ceremony at the church, there was a reception at the bride's parents for the wedding party and a few of the most intimate friends. At 11 o'clock the bride and groom came into the city on a special Pullman and immediately left for the East. They will travel until Christmas, and then make their home in Covington, where the groom is a well-known business man. He is a son of John Brent.
(Sprigg Brent was, indeed, connected with the organist at his wedding. The Covington Brents seemed to have a thing for Pewee Valley girls. Sprigg's older brother Charles had tied the knot with Alice Bridgeford Armstrong, the daughter of J.M. Armstrong of Valhalla, on December 20, 1882 at the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church. Russell Armstrong was Charles's brother-in-law. (source: Courier-Journal, December 24, 1882.) It's also likely that Charles, as a "prominent railroad official in Cincinnati," gave his little brother a leg up on establishing his career. The Annual Report of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Merchant's Exchange, Volume 40, published in 1889, gave Sprigg's profession as freight agent for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, with offices at the corner of Fifth and Vine streets in Cincinnati.)
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Woodruff, of Pewee Valley, have issued invitations to the wedding of their daughter, Miss Laura Woodruff, to Mr. Sprigg Brent on Wednesday, October 9, at 8 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church at Pewee Valley. The bride is the charming daughter of the well-known merchant of that place and the niece of Mr. Charles R. Woodruff, manager of French Lick Springs.
And a story about the wedding itself ran in the October 11, 1895 Cincinnati Enquirer:
PRETTY
_______
This Kentucky Wedding.
______
Mr. Sprigg Brent, of Covington, and
Miss Laura E. Woodruff, of
Pewee Valley Married
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 10 -- One of the prettiest weddings ever seen about Louisville was that at Pewee Valley last night of Miss Laura Elam Woodruff and Mr. Sprigg Brent, of Covington, Ky. It occurred at 8 o'clock in the little vine-covered Presbyterian church, at Pewee, for which the bride for all her life has been a zealous worker.
The ceremony was performed by the pastor of the church, Rev. Dr. Randolph, and the party was prompt to the minute in entering the church. Mr. Russell Armstrong, a life-long friend of the bride and a connection of the groom, presided at the organ, and Miss Leal McAfee, with her violin, played the wedding march from "Lohengrin," and during the ceremony the organ pealed soft and low, with violin obligato.
The church was brilliantly lighted and artistically decorated in autumn foliage and evergreens and golden red. The bridal party stood in front of the pulpit, which was hidden from view by the foliage, and made a very pretty tableau while Dr. Randolph was performing the ceremony. The church was crowded, everybody at Pewee Valley being present. In addition, there were guests present from Louisville, Evansville, Owensboro, Cincinnati and Covington.
Miss Margaret Thompkins, of Owensboro, one of the most beautiful women in the state and a cousin of the bride, was the maid of honor, and walked up the church aisle with the bride. They were preceded by the groomsmen and best man, who were all from Cincinnati, and following the groomsmen walked the bridesmaids. They were Miss Nell Brent, sister of the groom, who is a remarkably handsome girl and a belle wherever she goes; Miss Hallie Burge and Miss Mamie Johnson, of Pewee Valley. The latter two walked together and formed as pretty a pair of bridesmaids as were ever seen in this state. Messrs. Tom Smith and Louis Armstrong were the ushers at the church.
Some of the Louisville people were Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hughes, Mr. and Mrs. Logan Whitney, Miss Judge, Mr. and Mrs. Sid Muir, Mr. and Mrs. Aleck Semple, Mr. and Mrs. Darwin Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Phil Peace, Mr. and Mrs. Cushman Quarrier, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Edmunds, the Misses Clark, the Misses Caldwell, Miss Quarrier, and the Messrs. McPherson, Willis Davis and Alexander Gilmore.
After the ceremony at the church, there was a reception at the bride's parents for the wedding party and a few of the most intimate friends. At 11 o'clock the bride and groom came into the city on a special Pullman and immediately left for the East. They will travel until Christmas, and then make their home in Covington, where the groom is a well-known business man. He is a son of John Brent.
(Sprigg Brent was, indeed, connected with the organist at his wedding. The Covington Brents seemed to have a thing for Pewee Valley girls. Sprigg's older brother Charles had tied the knot with Alice Bridgeford Armstrong, the daughter of J.M. Armstrong of Valhalla, on December 20, 1882 at the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church. Russell Armstrong was Charles's brother-in-law. (source: Courier-Journal, December 24, 1882.) It's also likely that Charles, as a "prominent railroad official in Cincinnati," gave his little brother a leg up on establishing his career. The Annual Report of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Merchant's Exchange, Volume 40, published in 1889, gave Sprigg's profession as freight agent for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, with offices at the corner of Fifth and Vine streets in Cincinnati.)
The Woodruff Graves at Pewee Valley Cemetery
In 1904, following the sale of his mercantile to the Foley brothers, Woodruff and his wife moved back to Owensboro, Ky., where he worked as an agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. The last years of his life can only be described as horrendous. He lost his daughter, Laura, in 1907; his wife on February 27, 1910, after 50 years of marriage; and his youngest child, Harry, just a few weeks before he, himself, died.
Laura Woodruff Brent's obituary ran in the April 11, 1907 Courier-Journal and noted that her dying request was to be buried in her childhood hometown of Pewee Valley:
IN CHILDHOOD'S HOME
_________________________
MRS. SPRIGG BRENT LAID TO REST YESTERDAY
_________________________
Services in Pewee Valley Presby-
terian Church Well Attended --
Mrs. Brent Died in Owensboro
Funeral services for Mrs. Laura Brent, who died in Owensboro last Monday, were conducted at the Presbyterian Church at Pewee Valley yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Rev. C.M. Creighton, of Delavan, Ill., former pastor of the church, officiating. Mrs. Brent had been seriously ill for several weeks, and while her death was not unexpected, it was a great shock to her relatives and friends at Pewee Valley, where she resided with her mother and father for years. Last fall, Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Woodruff, Mrs. Brent's parents, moved to Owensboro, and were accompanied by their daughter, whose husband spends much of his time on the road.
The funeral was largely attended, as Mrs. Brent was exceedingly popular in Pewee Valley and the surrounding country, and out of respect for her father, who was formerly in business in Pewee Valley, all the stores closed from 2:30 o'clock to 4:30 o'clock. Mrs. Beckham, wife of governor J.C.W. Beckham, who was a cousin of Mrs. Brent, was present at the funeral, as were other relatives from other parts of the state.
During her residence in Pewee Valley, Mrs. Brent was an active worker in the Presbyterian church and also devoted much of her time to charity, and she dearly loved everyone in the little town. It was her dying request that her body be taken back to the scene of her childhood to be buried.
Mrs. Brent is survived by her father and mother, her husband, Sprigg Brent, a member of the firm of Crane, Breed & Co. of Cincinnati, and two sisters and one brother, Mrs. Richard Ernst***, of Covington; Miss Mamie Woodruff and Harry C. Woodruff, of this city. Mrs. Brent's husband is the brother of Charles Brent, of the L&N Railroad Company.
His youngest child and only surviving son, Harry, died very suddenly and unexpectedly on January 19, 1912, while visiting his ailing father in Owensboro. His obituary, from the January 20, 1912 Courier-Journal is below:
SUDDEN DEATH
__________
Harry C. Woodruff Dies of
Spinal Meningitis
Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 19. -- (Special) -- Harry C. Woodruff, 35, the son of Henry M. Woodruff, of this city, died at the City Hospital at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon after having been in an unconscious condition for eight hours, following an attack of acute cerebro spinal meningitis, which he suffered shortly after 5 o'clock this morning.
Mr. Woodruff had recently been in Louisville, but returned to Owensboro last Saturday for the purpose of caring for his father, who is critically ill of heart disease at the boarding-house of Ella P. Slack. Mr. Woodruff had been sleeping on a lounge in the parlor at the boarding-house, and Friday morning he arose shortly after 5 o'clock, and went upstairs to the lavatory, which is located on the second floor. He was discovered a short time afterward by the nurse who was attending his father, and it was at once seen that he was in a critical condition. Dr. J. P. Lacer was summoned and diagnosed the case as one of apoplexy. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he lived till in the afternoon, but he never regained consciousness.
Mr. Woodruff was a member of the W.W. Clarke Lodge of Masons in this city. The body will be taken to Pewee Valley for burial.
___________________
News of the death of Mr. Woodruff was received yesterday at the home of Alex M. Woodruff, secretary of the Kentucky & Louisville Mutual Insurance Company, 333 South Bayly avenue, and Mr. Woodruff left at once for Owensboro to accompany the body to this city. Upon its arrival here the body will be taken to the chapel of L.D. Pearson, Third and Crescent streets, at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Burial will be 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Burial will be in the Pewee Valley Cemetery.
Harry Woodruff was 39 years old and was born and reared at Pewee Valley. He worked as a clerk in the grocery of his father, Henry C.**** Woodruff, at Pewee Valley, for several years. Later he came to Louisville and for many years was employed in the local offices of the Big Four railroad. He left here three years ago, going to St. Louis. Besides his father, who is critically ill of heart trouble at Owensboro and who has not been informed of his son's death, he is survived by a sister, Miss Mary Ruth Woodruff, of 857 South Third street, this city.
Henry Woodruff, himself. died of pneumonia two weeks later, at age 75, on January 31, 1912, at an Owensboro boarding house. His obituary ran in the February 1, 1912 Courier-Journal.
HENRY MARTIN WOODRUFF
DIES AT OWENSBORO
_____________________
FORMER RESIDENT OF PEWEE
VALLEY QUICKLY FOLLOWS
SON TO GRAVE
___________________
Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 31 -- (Special) -- Henry Martin Woodruff, 78, died this afternoon at his apartments of heart trouble. He had been ill for three weeks. Less than two weeks ago, his son, Harry C. Woodruff, of Louisville, was called to his father's bedside and the son died suddenly of apoplexy while attending his father. At the time of his death, Mr. Woodruff was engaged in the life insurance business. In 1862, he started the Owensboro Monitor in which he advocated the Unionist principles. Mr. Woodruff lived at Pewee Valley in Jefferson county for a number of years and for a time was connected with the Louisville & Nashville offices in Louisville. Miss Mary R. Woodruff, of Louisville, the only daughter of Mr. Woodruff, returned to Louisville Tuesday, thinking her father's condition improved. Funeral services will be held here to-morrow and the body will be taken to Louisville on Friday morning for burial.
Henry Martyn Woodruff (1838-1912); his wife, Sallie Elam Woodruff (February 23, 1838-February 27, 1910); and their daughter, Laura Woodruff Brent (1868-1907), are buried in Pewee Valley Cemetery. Mary R. Woodruff, who died on September 7, 1948, and her brother Harry C. Woodruff, are buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Section 10, Lot 26, Part E1/2. John McFarland Woodruff may also be buried in Cave Hill. There is a McFarlan Woodruff in Section C, Lot 66, Grave 4, with a burial date of June 7, 1871. He died before the Pewee Valley Cemetery was incorporated.
*Sources for Henry Martyn Woodruff's bio included "Annual Reports of the President, the Deans, and Other Officers of Miami University," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), 1908; and "Kentucky: A History of the State," Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 6th ed., 1887, Unknown Co.
**December 17, 1895 Courier-Journal, "Bad Collections; H.M. Woodruff Makes an Assignment at Pewee Valley; Liabilities About $12,000"
***Richard Prelow Ernst was married to Susan Brent, a relation of Sprigg's. She was not Laura's sister.
****Henry's middle initial was "M" for Martyn, not "C" as stated in his son's obituary
Laura Woodruff Brent's obituary ran in the April 11, 1907 Courier-Journal and noted that her dying request was to be buried in her childhood hometown of Pewee Valley:
IN CHILDHOOD'S HOME
_________________________
MRS. SPRIGG BRENT LAID TO REST YESTERDAY
_________________________
Services in Pewee Valley Presby-
terian Church Well Attended --
Mrs. Brent Died in Owensboro
Funeral services for Mrs. Laura Brent, who died in Owensboro last Monday, were conducted at the Presbyterian Church at Pewee Valley yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Rev. C.M. Creighton, of Delavan, Ill., former pastor of the church, officiating. Mrs. Brent had been seriously ill for several weeks, and while her death was not unexpected, it was a great shock to her relatives and friends at Pewee Valley, where she resided with her mother and father for years. Last fall, Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Woodruff, Mrs. Brent's parents, moved to Owensboro, and were accompanied by their daughter, whose husband spends much of his time on the road.
The funeral was largely attended, as Mrs. Brent was exceedingly popular in Pewee Valley and the surrounding country, and out of respect for her father, who was formerly in business in Pewee Valley, all the stores closed from 2:30 o'clock to 4:30 o'clock. Mrs. Beckham, wife of governor J.C.W. Beckham, who was a cousin of Mrs. Brent, was present at the funeral, as were other relatives from other parts of the state.
During her residence in Pewee Valley, Mrs. Brent was an active worker in the Presbyterian church and also devoted much of her time to charity, and she dearly loved everyone in the little town. It was her dying request that her body be taken back to the scene of her childhood to be buried.
Mrs. Brent is survived by her father and mother, her husband, Sprigg Brent, a member of the firm of Crane, Breed & Co. of Cincinnati, and two sisters and one brother, Mrs. Richard Ernst***, of Covington; Miss Mamie Woodruff and Harry C. Woodruff, of this city. Mrs. Brent's husband is the brother of Charles Brent, of the L&N Railroad Company.
His youngest child and only surviving son, Harry, died very suddenly and unexpectedly on January 19, 1912, while visiting his ailing father in Owensboro. His obituary, from the January 20, 1912 Courier-Journal is below:
SUDDEN DEATH
__________
Harry C. Woodruff Dies of
Spinal Meningitis
Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 19. -- (Special) -- Harry C. Woodruff, 35, the son of Henry M. Woodruff, of this city, died at the City Hospital at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon after having been in an unconscious condition for eight hours, following an attack of acute cerebro spinal meningitis, which he suffered shortly after 5 o'clock this morning.
Mr. Woodruff had recently been in Louisville, but returned to Owensboro last Saturday for the purpose of caring for his father, who is critically ill of heart disease at the boarding-house of Ella P. Slack. Mr. Woodruff had been sleeping on a lounge in the parlor at the boarding-house, and Friday morning he arose shortly after 5 o'clock, and went upstairs to the lavatory, which is located on the second floor. He was discovered a short time afterward by the nurse who was attending his father, and it was at once seen that he was in a critical condition. Dr. J. P. Lacer was summoned and diagnosed the case as one of apoplexy. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he lived till in the afternoon, but he never regained consciousness.
Mr. Woodruff was a member of the W.W. Clarke Lodge of Masons in this city. The body will be taken to Pewee Valley for burial.
___________________
News of the death of Mr. Woodruff was received yesterday at the home of Alex M. Woodruff, secretary of the Kentucky & Louisville Mutual Insurance Company, 333 South Bayly avenue, and Mr. Woodruff left at once for Owensboro to accompany the body to this city. Upon its arrival here the body will be taken to the chapel of L.D. Pearson, Third and Crescent streets, at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Burial will be 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Burial will be in the Pewee Valley Cemetery.
Harry Woodruff was 39 years old and was born and reared at Pewee Valley. He worked as a clerk in the grocery of his father, Henry C.**** Woodruff, at Pewee Valley, for several years. Later he came to Louisville and for many years was employed in the local offices of the Big Four railroad. He left here three years ago, going to St. Louis. Besides his father, who is critically ill of heart trouble at Owensboro and who has not been informed of his son's death, he is survived by a sister, Miss Mary Ruth Woodruff, of 857 South Third street, this city.
Henry Woodruff, himself. died of pneumonia two weeks later, at age 75, on January 31, 1912, at an Owensboro boarding house. His obituary ran in the February 1, 1912 Courier-Journal.
HENRY MARTIN WOODRUFF
DIES AT OWENSBORO
_____________________
FORMER RESIDENT OF PEWEE
VALLEY QUICKLY FOLLOWS
SON TO GRAVE
___________________
Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 31 -- (Special) -- Henry Martin Woodruff, 78, died this afternoon at his apartments of heart trouble. He had been ill for three weeks. Less than two weeks ago, his son, Harry C. Woodruff, of Louisville, was called to his father's bedside and the son died suddenly of apoplexy while attending his father. At the time of his death, Mr. Woodruff was engaged in the life insurance business. In 1862, he started the Owensboro Monitor in which he advocated the Unionist principles. Mr. Woodruff lived at Pewee Valley in Jefferson county for a number of years and for a time was connected with the Louisville & Nashville offices in Louisville. Miss Mary R. Woodruff, of Louisville, the only daughter of Mr. Woodruff, returned to Louisville Tuesday, thinking her father's condition improved. Funeral services will be held here to-morrow and the body will be taken to Louisville on Friday morning for burial.
Henry Martyn Woodruff (1838-1912); his wife, Sallie Elam Woodruff (February 23, 1838-February 27, 1910); and their daughter, Laura Woodruff Brent (1868-1907), are buried in Pewee Valley Cemetery. Mary R. Woodruff, who died on September 7, 1948, and her brother Harry C. Woodruff, are buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Section 10, Lot 26, Part E1/2. John McFarland Woodruff may also be buried in Cave Hill. There is a McFarlan Woodruff in Section C, Lot 66, Grave 4, with a burial date of June 7, 1871. He died before the Pewee Valley Cemetery was incorporated.
*Sources for Henry Martyn Woodruff's bio included "Annual Reports of the President, the Deans, and Other Officers of Miami University," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), 1908; and "Kentucky: A History of the State," Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 6th ed., 1887, Unknown Co.
**December 17, 1895 Courier-Journal, "Bad Collections; H.M. Woodruff Makes an Assignment at Pewee Valley; Liabilities About $12,000"
***Richard Prelow Ernst was married to Susan Brent, a relation of Sprigg's. She was not Laura's sister.
****Henry's middle initial was "M" for Martyn, not "C" as stated in his son's obituary
Little Colonel Connections
The Woodruffs were mentioned in several letters written by Mary Craig Lawton to Annie Fellows Johnston. This January 3, 1906 letter mentions “Mother” Sallie Woodruff and her daughter, Laura;
...One of the funny features to me, in all the pow-wow over the "Mistress of the Manse", is, that Mother Woodruff's curiosity, & leftout feeling, succombed at least - She had Mrs. Creighton (editors note: wife of the Rev. Creighton at the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church) to dine Christmas day, & walked up in the rain to see the Parsonage - another - Laura. All day at the parsonage, her little shoulders were quivering with importance, pleasure, eager anticipation & a very personal or possessive air that was amusing - Katy Mathews has already told you of her elaborate preparations & disappointment - every time we picture the scene to ourselves we enjoy it anew. The rainy night, Laura in gala dress, sweet eager smiles, flutter of importance at Seelbach's - decorating the supper table -tieing the chairs with white ribbon, rice and shoes & a general air of festivity --- kind Sprigg dashing anxiously from R.R. stations to telephones --- getting useless information and wet feet. Ordering the neighbor's carriage to his barn. Calling for a livery Surrey from Beard --- then the quiet, sleepy little party at the manse to keep up fires and protect the church wedding gift sitting in a dim religious light almost dozing --- It is quite good enough for you to use.”
Letter from Mrs. Mary Craig Lawton to Annie Fellows Johnston, January 3, 1910:
....Did you receive cards announcing the anniversary of the Woodruff’s* golden wedding? Stop a moment right here and meditate quietly to realize what it means to have sat opposite Old “Rain in the Face” for fifty long years!!! To have put buttons on his clothes, darned his socks, fixed his cuff links, and seen him frisking around coyly in his night shirt. Oh, I know he addressed those cards and sent newspapers notices afterward, with the joy of what Maggie calls a “baby-toute.” “Cousin Vitula” was present; a bridesmaid...
Finally, in The Filson Historical Society’s collection (Louisville, Ky.) is a Valentine poem written by Annie Fellows Johnston to a Mary Ruth Woodruff:
To Miss Mary Woodruff
‘Mong all the myriad friends of mine
Whom should I choose for a Valentine?
Some have beauty of form and face,
Some have charm and some have grace,
But one has a heart of gold, forsooth,
And I fain would choose her – Mary Ruth.
Winsome and sweet of soul is she,
And many kindnesses there be
Wrought by her hands to ease the load
Of fellow travelers on her road.
So for the sweetness of her ways
I hold her dear and sing her praise,
For her heart of gold and happy grace
To make sunshine in a shady place.
And for her loyalty and truth
I choose from them all – my Mary Ruth.
Related Links
