Woodward High School - Treasures Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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William Woodward ILLIAM WOODWARD, the founder of Wood- ward High School, was born on the eighth of March, 1770, in Plainfield, Windom County, Connec- ticut. His father, Silas Woodward, was a farmer and a native of Plainfield. He had served in the American army throughout the Revolutionary War. Woodwardb mother was Lydia Cliff. William was the fifth of twelve children born to the Woodwards. All these children received such education as a plain New England school could afford. William, because of his poor health, received special advan- tages. He was given a course of instruction in sur- veying of which he made good use for a time, after coming to Cincinnati. William Woodward was reared under the rigid influences of New England WILLIAM WOODWARD Puritanism. He was taught to repress expressions of emotion, whether of fear or courage, joy 0r sor- row, affection or dislike, and thus, perhaps, he acquired the habit of making himself 7 known by his actions rather than by his words. The spirit of self-reliance, characteristic of the youth of New England, impelled William to seek his fortune in the wilderness country of the Northwest Territory. He made the tedious journey to Cincinnati, at that time scarcely more than a mili- tary post, in the latter part of 1791. The youthts knowledge of surveying was brought into practical use, but it seems that he desired to be established as a farmer, and the acquisition of land for that purpose soon entered into his plans. Woodward married Jane McGowan a few years after settling here, but she lived little more than a year. In 1801 he became guardian for Abigail Cutter, the daughter of Joseph Cutter, who had been killed by Indians while cultivating land in an out-lot at Twelfth and Cen- tral Avenue, where the Cincinnati Hospital formerly stood. Abigail, then about fifteen years of age, possessed a goodly inheritance in money and in lands. Part of her holdings in the city was a two hun- dred-foot lot in the center of the block on Fifth Street where the Government Building now stands. To her, also. belonged a lot at the southeast corner of Fifth and Main Streets, now occupied by the Pickering Building. Two years after he was made her guardian, Mr. Woodward made Miss Cutter WOODWARD MEMORIAL TABLET Eight

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Tho RUSS HATTIE DAVID Oldest Living Graduate of XVuodwurd

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THE XVOODXV'ARD HOMESTEAD IN CONNECTICUT his wife, and in her estate, no doubt, he had the foundation on which he built his fortune. Mr. Woodward led a busy life as a farmer, tanner, and owner of a large estate. Although he had no practical knowledge of tanning, Mr. Woodward estab- lished a tannery on his farm on the outskirts of the town. This he managed with profit for many years. Real estate operations proved successful and made secure his acquisitions, which at the appraisal of his property in July, 1833, a few months after his death, were found to be $179,675 in city real estate, $28,088.15 in person- alty. There were also tracts of land of considerable value outside the city, which swelled the aggregate value to about $230,000, a fortune acquired in his forty-two years of residence in Cincinnati. The humble 10g house first built upon Woodwardts farm, which included most of the land between Woodward and Liberty Streets, Main and Broadway, was re- placed by a commodious, substantial brick house, constructed under his direction and with much of his personal labor in 1816, on the corner of Main and Webster Streets. This old home is still standing, but all its surroundings have been changed, so that it is not easy to picture the neighborhood as the heavily timbered wilderness it once was. Mr. Woodward was a man of plain, simple ways. He was industrious, economical, frugal, exact in his habits which he inherited from his Puritan ancestors. It was his custom to retire at nine o'clock at night and to rise at four otclock in the morn- ing, and he always read a chapter of the Bible before retiring. He was very fond of music, especially of vocal music, and late in life attended a singing-school taught by the choir-master of the First Church. As early as 1819, Mr. Woodward gave expression to his desire of founding an educational institution. A contribution for Lane Seminary was asked of him. He named the sum that he would give, and the solicitor intimated that it was small. Mr. Woodward replied that he had another plan for assisting in education, and that he would not increase his donation. Another plan was the providing of facilities for education of children whose parents could not afford the expense of a private Nine