| Notes |
- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH XXXIX.
WILLIAM WATERS WOODHULL, (Pay Inspector United States Navy), seventh generation from Richard Wodhull I., Patentee of Brookhaven, Long Island, was the second son of Ezra Reeves Woodhull and Elizabeth Waters.
He was born June 15, 1836. His early education was received in Philadelphia, where he later married.
He entered the Navy May 13, 1863, and served with distinction until its close, and since that time has done duty on every important foreign station and on most of those of the home stations.
His first service was on the gunboat "Delaware" in the Sounds of North Carolina, under Rear Admiral S. P. Lee.
In 1864, he was in the fleet on the James River that supported General Butler in his advance on Richmond, and continued in that service until the evacuation. The "Delaware" was constantly at the front, and was one of the vessels that protected the constructors of the Dutch Gap Canal, and was the first vessel to enter Richmond after the evacuation. Later the "Delaware" was transferred to the Potomac Flotilla, and was one of the vessels assigned to patrol the river in search of Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln.
His first sea service, after the Civil War, was in the U. S. S. "Yantic" in 1867, when that vessel was sent to Tampico to receive and protect Emperor Maximilian, but which was unfortunately too late, as he was shot by his captors before the "Yantic" arrived.
In 1869 he was detailed to the "Miantonomah" when she was sent to Portland, Me., with the fleet of Monitors to receive from England the remains of Peabody, from the British battleship "Monarch," which brought the body of that distinguished patriot to this country. Admiral Farragut was in command, and this was his last duty, as he died a few months later.
From 1870 to 1873 William Waters Woodhull was attached to the sloop-of-war "Shenandoah" on the European Station, and during the
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Franco-Prussian war was stationed at Havre under orders of the American Minister, Hon. E. B. Washburn. The officers were among the first to visit Paris after the siege where they were very hospitably entertained by the Minister. The "Shenandoah" visited all the principal ports in the north of Europe and in the Mediterranean, going as far East as the Holy Land.
From 1877 to 1879 he was in charge of the Naval Depot at Nagasaki, Japan, and Purchasing Officer of the China Station.
From 1881 to 1884 served on the "Lackawanna" in the South Pacific. It was this vessel that conveyed Messrs. Trescott and Blaine, Peace Commissioners to Chili, from Panama to Valparaiso in 1882. In 1883 the "Lackawanna" was sent to Honolulu to take part, with ships of other nations, in the coronation of Kalakaua as King of the Hawaiian Islands.
From 1890 to 1893 he was attached to the cruiser "Baltimore," commanded by Captain Schley, which vessel carried the remains of Ericsson, the Swedish inventor of the monitor, from New York to Stockholm, and later was attached to the European Squadron. While in Stockholm the King visited the ship, and entertained the officers at dinner at the palace. They were also very hospitably entertained by the Kings of Denmark and Portugal at Copenhagen and Lisbon, and by Prince Henry of Prussia at Kiel. In the spring of 1891, the "Baltimore" was sent to Valparaiso to protect American interests during the war in Chili. After the close of the war the ship cruised in the northern Pacific, going as far as Puget Sound, and in 1893 returned to New York as Flag-ship of a Special Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Gherardi, stopping, enroute, at ports of the various countries on the Pacific Coast to extend invitations to them to participate in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Landing of Columbus.
In 1898 he was detailed to the supply steamer "Celtic" as Commissary to the Blockading Squadron off Santiago during the Spanish-American War, and after the war was sent to San Juan, Porto Rico, to assist in establishing a Naval Station on that island.
During the intervals between cruises he served at nearly all the Navy Yards and Stations on the Atlantic coast, and at Mare Island, California. He was retired June 15, 1898.
He married, June 24, 1862, Kate Oatly Bryan. They had two children, a son and daughter, both of whom are married.
(See Genealogy, No. 475.)
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1836 - Yes, date unknown
d. 2 Jun 1875, Wayne, New York, United States 