William W. Woodworth
Encyclopedia
William W. Woodworth was a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Captain in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and member of the Woodworth political family
Woodworth political family
The Woodworth political family is a collection of American and Canadian politicians who descend directly from colonial settler Walter Woodworth. They rose to prominence in the 19th century, serving in several states, in the United States House of Representatives, the Canadian House of Commons, and...

.

Life

Born in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

 in 1807 to William Woodworth
William Woodworth (inventor)
-Early life:William Woodworth was born around 1780, probably in Massachusetts. He later moved to Hudson, New York where he was a carpenter and carriage maker. He worked on the Livingston family estate as a superintendent of their mill. He was the father of William W...

, William moved to Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....

 in 1834. He received a limited schooling.

Public Service

Woodworth was the Supervisor of Hyde Park in 1838, 1841, 1843, and 1849, appointed judge of Dutchess County in 1838 and reappointed in 1843, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1842 to the Twenty-eighth
28th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:Following the 1840 United States Census, Congress reapportioned the House to include 223 seats . During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Florida .- Senate :*President: Vacant...

 Congress, losing to Richard D. Davis
Richard D. Davis
Richard David Davis was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born at Stillwater, New York, Davis graduated from Yale College in 1818.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar in 1821 and commenced practice in Poughkeepsie....

.

Woodworth was finally elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Twenty-ninth
29th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.-Leadership:-Senate:* President: George M. Dallas * President pro tempore: Willie P. Mangum...

 Congress (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1847), representing New York's 8th district, although he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1846.

Woodworth was elected president of Yonkers in 1857 and 1858, and was elected receiver of taxes in 1870.

Business interests

Woodworth held interests in Cuba and formed the stock company of the Hudson River State Co. at Clinton, New York
Clinton, Dutchess County, New York
Clinton is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,010 at the 2000 census. The town is named after George Clinton, an early governor of New York....

.
His businesses were contracted for building a section of the Hudson River Railroad.

He moved to Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

, December 1, 1849, and engaged in the real estate business and banking. As administrator of his father's estate, he continued the patent litigation and congressional lobbying on behalf of his father; the patent rights generated $15 million annually in royalties until their expiration in 1856.

Riverdale

In 1852, Woodworth speculated on real estate north of New York City near the Hudson River Railroad Line with his business partners Henry Atherton, Samuel Babcock, and Charles Foster. They bought a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) tract on Independence Avenue where Woodworth would construct an Italianate-style villa. His partners and himself laid out plans for a community of villas and country lanes, and named their development Riverdale. The initial investments for their personal property resulted in further homes being constructed by others, including villas that became known as "The Park-Riverdale", as well as the construction of Stonehurst Mansion for the Colgates. Other eventual, notable residents included Henry F. Spaulding, William Appleton, William Duke, Laura Harriman, Percy R. Pyne
Percy R. Pyne
Percy Rivington Pyne was a banker, financier, and philanthropist.He was born in 1857 in New York City, the son of Percy Rivington Pyne and Albertina Shelton Pyne. His maternal grandfather was Moses Taylor, founder of the First National City Bank of New York and a stockholder in the Delaware,...

, and Moses Taylor Pyne
Moses Taylor Pyne
Moses Taylor Pyne , was a financier and philanthropist, and one of Princeton University's greatest benefactors and most influential Trustees....

.

Civil War

Woodworth would serve as a Captain of the 64th Infantry New York Infantry, Company D, in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Death

He died in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

, February 13, 1873 and was interred in Oakland Cemetery.
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