Roy O. Woodruff
Encyclopedia
Roy Orchard Woodruff was a politician, soldier, printer and dentist from the U.S. state
of Michigan
.
Woodruff was born of English
and Scottish
ancestry to Charles Woodruff and Electa A. (Wallace) Woodruff in Eaton Rapids, Michigan
. He attended the common school
s and the high school of Eaton Rapids, and apprenticed to the printing business from 1891 to 1899. He enlisted as a corporal in Company G, Thirty-third Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War
. He saw active service and was mustered out.
Woodruff graduated from the dental department of the Detroit College of Medicine in 1902 and practiced dentistry in Bay City
from 1902 to 1911. In 1906 he married Vera May Hall, the daughter of Michigan Republican State Central Committee member De Vere Hall. He was mayor of Bay City from 1911 to 1913.
In 1912, Woodruff defeated incumbent Republican
U.S. Representative George A. Loud
to be elected as the candidate of the Progressive Party
from Michigan's 10th congressional district
to the 63rd Congress
, serving from March 4, 1913 to March 3, 1915. Woodruff and William J. MacDonald
(12th district
) were the only two Michiganders elected to the U.S. House from the Progressive Party. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1914 and served for two years in the First World War as an Infantry officer, acquiring the rank of major
during his service in France
.
In 1920, Woodruff returned to Congress, elected as a Republican
from the same district to the 67th Congress
. He was subsequently re-elected to the fifteen succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1921 to January 3, 1953. On June 11, 1921, just three months after returning to office, he married his second wife Daisy E. Fish. He was re-elected unopposed in 1922 and 1926 and was alternate delegate to Republican National Convention
from Michigan in 1940. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1952 to the 83rd Congress.
Roy O. Woodruff was a Baptist
, later Presbyterian and a member of the American Dental Association
, American Legion
, United Spanish War Veterans
, Freemasons
, Elks
, and Odd Fellows
. He died in Washington, D.C.
a little over a month after leaving office and a month before his seventy-seventh birthday. He is interred in Elm Lawn Cemetery of Bay City.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Woodruff was born of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
ancestry to Charles Woodruff and Electa A. (Wallace) Woodruff in Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Eaton Rapids is a city in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,214 at the 2010 census.The city is located in the south of Eaton Rapids Township, on the boundary with Hamlin Township, though it is politically independent of both townships...
. He attended the common school
Common school
A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....
s and the high school of Eaton Rapids, and apprenticed to the printing business from 1891 to 1899. He enlisted as a corporal in Company G, Thirty-third Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. He saw active service and was mustered out.
Woodruff graduated from the dental department of the Detroit College of Medicine in 1902 and practiced dentistry in Bay City
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
from 1902 to 1911. In 1906 he married Vera May Hall, the daughter of Michigan Republican State Central Committee member De Vere Hall. He was mayor of Bay City from 1911 to 1913.
In 1912, Woodruff defeated incumbent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
U.S. Representative George A. Loud
George A. Loud
George Alvin Loud was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Loud was born in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio, and moved with his parents to Massachusetts in 1856 and then to Au Sable, Michigan, in 1866...
to be elected as the candidate of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
from Michigan's 10th congressional district
Michigan's 10th congressional district
Michigan's 10th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, covering a region known as the Thumb. It consists of all of Huron, Lapeer, St...
to the 63rd Congress
63rd United States Congress
- House of Representatives:*Democratic : 291 *Republican : 134*Progressive : 9*Independent : 1TOTAL members: 435-Senate:*President of the Senate: Thomas R. Marshall*President pro tempore: James P. Clarke-Senate:...
, serving from March 4, 1913 to March 3, 1915. Woodruff and William J. MacDonald
William Josiah MacDonald
William Josiah MacDonald was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.MacDonald was born in Potosi, Wisconsin. He attended the common schools and graduated from the high school at Fairmont, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and Georgetown Law School in...
(12th district
Michigan's 12th congressional district
Michigan's 12th congressional district is a United States Congressional District located in Detroit's inner suburbs to the north, along the Interstate 696 corridor in Macomb and Oakland counties, as well as a portion of Macomb north of the corridor....
) were the only two Michiganders elected to the U.S. House from the Progressive Party. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1914 and served for two years in the First World War as an Infantry officer, acquiring the rank of major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
during his service in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In 1920, Woodruff returned to Congress, elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from the same district to the 67th Congress
67th United States Congress
The Sixty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...
. He was subsequently re-elected to the fifteen succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1921 to January 3, 1953. On June 11, 1921, just three months after returning to office, he married his second wife Daisy E. Fish. He was re-elected unopposed in 1922 and 1926 and was alternate delegate to Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
from Michigan in 1940. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1952 to the 83rd Congress.
Roy O. Woodruff was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, later Presbyterian and a member of the American Dental Association
American Dental Association
The American Dental Association is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 155,000 members. Based in Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental...
, American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, United Spanish War Veterans
United Spanish War Veterans
Soon after the Spanish-American War ended, in early 1899, discharged veterans rushed to form fraternal societies. Among these were the Spanish War Veterans, the Spanish-American War Veterans, the Servicemen of the Spanish War, American Veterans of Foreign Service, the Army of the Philippines, the...
, Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
, and Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
. He died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
a little over a month after leaving office and a month before his seventy-seventh birthday. He is interred in Elm Lawn Cemetery of Bay City.