PREFACE [rest of page blank]

[top of page blank] In tracing the history of my Fathers I find it difficult to obtain a satisfactory Account of the Woodruff Family (From whom I descended) for more than three generations. I learn from the English Book of Heraldry that [blank] Woodruff one of my ancestors was Lord Mayor of the City of London at the time of the Great Fire in AD 1666579. My Great Grand Father Josiah Woodruff lived to nearly 100 years of age, he possessed a strong Iron constitution and performed a great amount of ...

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLFORD WOODRUFF CHAPTER 1. My parentage, Birth, (The The misfortunes which befel me in early life,) And occupation. My Fathers family I Willford Woodruff was the son of Aphek Woodruff, who was the son of Capt Eldad Woodruff, who was the son of Josiah Woodruff. My Mother Bulah Thompson was the daughter of Lot Thompson All of which were born in the town of Farmington, Hartford Co, Connecticut. My Fathers family consisted of eight sons & ...

And among them was one cow which I called mine, one evening I accompanied my father to the barn, to fodder them. It being in the fall of the year we were feeding out pumpkins and among our stock Father had a large surley Bull, & while distributing the pumkpkins my cow got one & the Bull another, soon the Bull came & got the one my cow had. I then went & got the one the Bull left, to give my cow No sooner had I got it in my arms, than the Bull left ...

meadows in the debth of winter with the roads drifted with snow and in an exceding blustering day I became so chilled and overcome with the cold that I could not travel I cralwled into the hallow of a large Apple tree to rest me. A man in the distance seeing me go into it hastened to me realizing more fully than I did the danger I was in. when he arived at the spot I had fallen asleep, & was nearly insensible he had much difficulty in arousing me to a sens of my situation. he procu- red ...

In Dec A.D. 1833. The day that I was Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One of my horses newly calked kicked my hat off my head and had he struck two inches lower would probably have killed me instantly. In Ten minutes after while driving the same horses down a hill on a sled with loose bottom boards without a box the boards slip'd forward under the roll caught the ground turned endways & fell on the horses backs throwing me between them under the sled they run to the bottom of ...

the name of the Lord & said I should live and not die I was then laid upon my bed in my waggon as my cabbin was not done, & as the Apostles prophesied upon my head so it came to pass I did live & not die I employed no physician on this occasion but was administered to by the Elders of Israel and nursed by my wife. I lay upon my bed unabled to move untill my breast bone began to knit together which commenced on the 9th ...

Kingdom of God that thare would be a falling away from Apostolic faith Doctrins and ordinances and that other systems would arise in its stead, and when these fals systems had arived at their fullness than would "the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom which should become an Everlasting Kingdom to whose dominion should be no end." [Daniel 2:44] 'Then should this gospel of the Kingdom be preached in all the world as a witness unto all Nations before the End should come" Then should the ...

Before the Lord and I called upon his Holy name and asked him to make known unto me the meaming of the vision. And the voice of the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man thou hast saught diligently to know the truth concerning my Church & kingdom among man, this is to show you that my Church is not organized upon the face of the earth in the generation in which you live, neither is the true fruit of the kingdom of God made manifest among the people; but in the ...

CHAPTER III. The various places in which I resided. My busines and manner of Life and experience up to the time of my being baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I spent my early life in the north part of Farmington now called Avon Hartford County Ct which was the plase of my birth, as soon as I was old enough to travel two miles to school (which was the distance to our district school house) I attended summer & winter with my two Elder Brothers untill I ...

I remained with Mr. Cowles untill June 1823 a little over two years I then returned home & spent the season with my Father & worked in the Mill and in the fall My Father made an arangement with Mr. Andrew Mills of West Hartford Ct for me to board with him & do chores for my board & go to school According to agreement I soon became a member of Mr. Mills Family & for several weeks I passed through a regular course of that ...

I was twenty years of age when I left my Fathers Family & commenced business with aunt Wheeler I remained with her for three years which brought me to 1830. I had the following reflections on leaving my Fathers house. -[should I outlive my Parents how long will it be before I shall follow them to the grave and the places which now know them will know them no more & it will be said of them they have gone the way of all the Earth and their children while filling their places ...