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Woodward DNA Genealogy

Updated July 21, 2008

Contact webmaster: Rosemary at mcnerneywinkler dot com

This site includes Woodward DNA charts, stories, and pedigrees.

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ll known branches of Woodwards in America came from England. The New Jersey family was founded by a native of Derbyshire. He first went to Long Island but settled in Crosswicks, Burlington County, New Jersey, before 1686. The family of Fauquier County, Virginia, is of this branch. The Woodwards who settled in St. Marys and Anne Arundel Counties, Maryland, are of a distinct origin. Another branch, though originally not Quakers, identified with that denomination, settling in Philadelphia and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania. The founder of another branch was a descendant of Major Benjamin Woodward of Biddeford, Devon, England, who married Sarah Venn in 1812. They came with their children to America on the day before Good Friday, 1825, and settled near Hector, New York. Source: Colonial Families of the United States, Volume III, edited by George N. MacKenzie, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966. Two settlers in the Boston area in the 1630s were Richard and Nathaniel Woodward and their families.

istorical records indicate that a Woodward Knight came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror of Normandy and fought in the Battle of Hastings, the name an Anglo-Norman variant of the French "warden of the wood". See the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle, select Full Tapestry then Part 22 to view "Wadard" riding a horse. Read the personal story of a visit to Hastings, England by a Woodward hoping to see the Tapestry. Other researchers consider the possibility that Woodward is of Scandinavian origin, entering France in about 910 AD with the invading Viking Warriors. See a wonderful site on the Chester County Pennsylvania Woodwards. Browse the comprehensive, professional Woodwards We Search with numerous resources. This link is to photographs of Woodward headstones in an old cemetery in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, compliments of Jeff Hall. Click on the bottom center of a photo to see an enlargement and right click on it to download.


roject administrator Rosemary is a volunteer and receives no financial remuneration of any kind from FamilyTreeDNA. She says, "Genealogy is my hobby." Read her non-technical article, About DNA, and find stories, pedigrees, and much more on this site. The role of group administrator for a DNA project is a fascinating challenge. Each is a volunteer who prepares and maintains the website, recruits and works with new members, and offers assistance to participants keeping costs down. For general information or more detailed information on a lineage and participant contact information, email Rosemary at mcnerneywinkler dot com. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of spam, email links on this site have been changed to manual entry email addresses, with "@" replaced by "at" and "dot" replaces "." in the contact address. Apologies for any inconvenience.



Woodward/Woodard DNA Chart

For more technical information see World Families Network site and Woodward Chart, or Interpreting Genetic Distance by FamilyTreeDNA.

Woodward Pedigrees

Chester County, Pennsylvania Group

homas Woodward, sea captain of William Parish, Hertford, England, married Mary Gilbert there January 14, 1750 at Church of Severnage in Little Wymondley. Their daughter Sarah was christened there in 1754. The family came to Philadelphia before the American Revolution. He was serving the rebels as first mate on the Little Porgy when he was captured by the British and taken to Old Mill Prison in England where he probably stayed for the remainder of the war. In Philadelphia, Poulson's Daily Advertiser noted his marriage to Margaret Houston in 1792. In 1801, Thomas was listed in the Philadelphia directory as sea captain. The place of his death is not established. His son Thomas left Philadelphia, and most of his children were born in Virginia and he also lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Source: Ralph Mason Woodward

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ichard Woodward of Chester County, Pennsylvania was probably born in Acton Parish, Cheshire, England in about 1636. He is believed to have immigrated to America with his brother Robert and sister Elizabeth. Some of the children of both Richard and Robert accompanied them. They arrived in Chester County before 1687 when Richard purchased land in Thornbury, Chester County, as is found in court records. The surname of Richard's wife Jane is not known although several have been suggested. Many of Richard and Jane's descendants were Quakers and their records helped prove numerous family relationships. In about 1765, some descendants left Chester County for North Carolina. Ultimately, descendants from North Carolina and Tennessee moved north to Indiana, meeting up with other Woodwards from Chester County who had migrated directly to western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and then to Indiana. From Indiana they continued west and today are found in various western states. Many also remained in Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. Source: Nadine Holder.

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New England Group I

ichard and Rose Stewart Woodward and their two young sons embarked in 1634 at Ipswich, England, on the ship Elizabeth, bound for New England. They settled in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Over the next 150 years, their descendants spread out to New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. After serving as Patriots in the American Revolution, some Woodwards stayed in New England while others scattered, heading west, south, and north to Canada. Richard's parents may have been William and Elizabeth Woodward. Sources: Descendants of Richard, Nathaniel, Robert, and Henry Woodward of New England 1589-1996 by Thomas R. Steadman, a 1996 revision of Norma Slater Woodward's original work; Leigh S. Woodward; Rosemary McNerney Winkler.

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No kit available--seek male descendant

No kit available--seek male descendant

New England Group II

athaniel Woodward was born in the 1580s, probably in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England. He married in Rushden 19 September 1608 Margaret Lawrence. Of their children, the following are known to have come to America with their parents, but there may have been others: Nathaniel, Robert, Lambert, Ezekial, and Prudence. The family settled in the Boston area in the 1630s and many of their descendants remained in Massachusetts. Son Ezekial married Anne Beamsley, and their son Ezekial settled in Gloucester. Of the Gloucester family, a son, Beamsley Woodward, moved to York, Maine, and is the ancestor of most of the Maine Woodwards. Lambert moved to Newton, Long Island, New York. Nathaniel's parents may have been Lambert and Isabell Smith Woodward. Source: Doris J. Woodward.

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New England Group III

enry Woodward emigrated from England on the James to New England in the 1630s in company with Reverend Richard Mather who called him "physician". Henry settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, before moving to Northampton, Massachusetts, in about 1660 where he and his son John took the oath of allegiance on or before February 8, 1678. He built a grist mill and was struck by lightening there on April 7, 1685. After the death of his father, John moved his family to Westfield, Massachusetts, and later to Lebanon, Connecticut, where he and his wife Anna are buried. Elezear's sons Eleazer Jr. and Oliver eventually moved to Maine Sources: Robert C. Woodward and Jo Woodward.



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Southern States Group I

itt Woodard, as a young man, headed west to Davidson County, Tennessee, with his parents and brother Edward. His father purchased 320 acres on White's Creek on February 7, 1795. Pitt married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas & Elizabeth Smith, and they raised their family on the Woodard farm on White's Creek. They were devout praying, shouting Methodists. They founded the first Methodist church in that area, and Pitt served in the capacity of class leader, steward, and trustee. The church also held camp meetings at Woodard's Campground on their farm. Pitt and Elizabeth had eleven children, and when they again headed west, over half of their children and families went with them. They traveled south and made their home in Polk County, Missouri, along the Little Sac River in 1836. Pitt, now 68 years old, built a two-story house with a huge stone fireplace. He also constructed a dam across the river and built a flour mill, operated by his slave Jacob, which served Polk County for more than thirty years. William Winton brought his family from Tennessee the following year and settled on land adjoining Pitt's. There they established the Hickory Grove Methodist Church where the two families and Pitt's slaves worshiped together. In a sermon preached at the church on its 50th anniversary, Pitt's grandson William S. Woodard said of Pitt, "In politics he was a Whig-decidedly so-by trade a tailor, and practically a farmer. He was five feet eight inches high, compactly built, walked erect, had blue eyes, fair complexion and a good countenance.... He lived a consistent Christian life, and died peacefully." Elizabeth died in 1844, and Pitt in 1849. They are buried in the Hickory Grove Church Cemetery. By 1893, they had more than twenty descendants who were Methodist preachers and a number of their descendants were gifted writers and musicians. Source: Family historian Kena Jacobs. They fought with the Confederacy in the American Civil War, after which the family lost its land and broke up. Some stayed in the same place in Missouri, which later became part of Oklahoma, and others moved west. Source: J. W. Woodard in 1954 as given to Jerry M. Woodard. Stories paraphrased by Rosemary McNerney Winkler.


ames Woodward fought in the American Revolution. He and his sons acquired plantations and land in Craven County, South Carolina which later became Horry and Georgetown Counties. They worked as planters, ministers, lawyers, lumbermen, doctors, fishermen, newspaper editors, teachers, mechanics, journalists, farmers, accountants, shop owners, and developers. South Carolina lost much after the American Civil War, and this family was no exception. Some stayed in South Carolina, and others moved to Georgia, Florida, California, and Hawaii. Source: Dixie Woodward Hinson.



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Southern States Group II

harles Woodward's origins are unknown. He was born in about 1755, possibly in North or South Carolina, Virginia, or Connecticut, and in 1804 purchased land called Pole Cat Pond in Barnwell District, South Carolina. He married Keziah Morris and they had eight children, all born in Barnwell District. The family lived next door to the Simeon Cushman family, descendants of the Mayflower, and four Woodward children married Cushmans. Charles' probate and estate settlement as well as family plats and court cases have been located, but no hard evidence on where he came from. He died in Barnwell District, now Montmorenci, before 1813. Research indicates that a Charles C. Woodward and his wife Rebecca lived about 20 miles away in Orangeburg District, South Carolina, but it is unknown whether he was related to our Charles. Source: Bradford Scott Woodward by Rosemary McNerney Winkler.

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or this family, the name was Woodward until about 1865 when James Henry spelled it both ways. He also fought on both sides in the American Civil War, after which he moved to Tucumcari, New Mexico. His son, Robert Peter, went further west, and by 1930 was living in Bisbee, Arizona, and later Yuma, Arizona. Source: Sally A. Woodard Sheridan.



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No kit available--seek male descendant

Southern States Group III

enjamin Alphord Woodward's records cannot be found in Wytheville, Virginia, because the courthouse was burned during the Civil War. Neither were state records on his name located. Current information indicates that many Woodwards still live in the area, but Benjamin's family left for Texas by way of Mobile, Alabama. They were farmers in Robertson County, Texas, and Benjamin died while on a trip to Waco, Texas, in about 1870, and was buried in an "East Waco" cemetery. His son W. H. "Hal" Woodward was buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Houston. The family moved westward and settled in Utopia, a small town west of San Antonio, and soon moved west again, settling in Alpine in the Big Bend area. John Franklin bought land south of Alpine, and lived there for the rest of his life. A William Woodward, possibly related, wrote a will in Jefferson County, Tennessee, on September 11, 1812. His wife was Elizabeth and their children were Abraham, William, Benjamin, Jesse, and Anna. It appears that Abraham may have been named for his grandfather Woodward. Source: Tommy R. Woodward.

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Unassigned Haplogroup I1

empsey was born to Estella Williams. His sister wrote his birth date on a scrap of paper and gave his name as Dempsey Walter Eggar Woodward. Estella lived with Dempsey and Orpha Sloan Woodward and was listed as "one of the family" in the 1890 census. Illigitimate births were not discussed at that time and Dempsey's birth was not officially recorded until 1954. LDS records and a book about his wife's Adams family report his parents as Dempsey Woodward and Estella Williams, and give his name as Walter Edward Woodward. Source: Betty Woodward



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homas "The Regulator" fought with George Washington in the French and Indian Wars, and died of wounds received in the American Revolution. He was part of a group of small planters and leading men in Charleston, South Carolina, who, out of desperation without courts or law enforcement in the back country, organized a Regulation. Many joined the movement to rid the country of the lawless. The Regulators were activated by Thomas Woodward, Barnaby Pope, and Edward McGraw between the Broad and Catawba Rivers. Alfred and his brother Lewis and sister Sarah "Sallie" Ann were children of General Thomas S. Woodward and Mary, his mixed-blood Choctaw Indian Slave. Sallie Ann was named for Thomas' wife, Sarah "Sallie" Ann Dubose. He fought in the War of 1812 and Creek Indian Wars of 1813-14, and was escort to French General Lafayette on his triumphant 1824 return to the country he helped save during the Revolutionary War. General Thomas S. Woodward, Southern slaveholder and Unionist who believed in the preservation of the country, died before the American Civil War. His letters and memoirs were published shortly after his death, and Don C. Marler recently added his findings and reissued the book as General Thomas S. Woodward and Woodward's Reminiscences. Alfred and Hulda Carter had a slave wedding prior to 1859 and were "officially" married after emancipation. Thomas, born in 1874, changed the name to Woodard due to Post-reconstruction social pressures in the South. Source: Tommie Marsters

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Unassigned Haplogroup R1b

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ames Woodward settled and married Mary Walker in 1728 in Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England. Hanborough is a village located within a few miles of the Blenheim Palace. Most of James' many descendents remained in Hanborough until the late 1800s. However, those descendents of James who have taken a serious interest in their genealogies, have failed so far to pinpoint his origins. Blenheim Palace was constructed in the early 1700s following the granting of the Royal Manor of Woodstock by Queen Anne to the Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill--from whom Winston descended, following the Duke's success over the French-led forces in 1704 near the small village of Blenheim on the Danube. Construction of the Palace was completed in 1722. James Woodward was probably drawn into the area to help in the development or upkeep of the Palace and its gardens--he lived in a cottage that was owned by the estate. Searching the archives of the Palace to unearth possible information on James is planned. Meanwhile, exploration of genetic information is seen as an alternate line of research--the intent being to identify genetic connections to other Woodward family groups whose origins are English, and so identify possible origins for our James. Source: Christopher J. Woodward.

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Go to the Woodward Join page or the Family Tree DNA Woodward site. Contact webmaster: Rosemary at mcnerneywinkler dot com.

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