WATSON S. WOODRUFF.

  Watson S. Woodruff, a well known business man of Orange, Connecticut, was born in the borough in which he still resides April 8, 1869. He is a son of Stiles Denison Woodruff and is descended from early and prominent settlers of New England, his ancestors including Governor Robert Treat, Governor Pond and Rev. Peter Prudden. In 1640 Matthew and Hannah Woodruff removed from Hartford to Farmington and their son Matthew was born in the latter place six years later. He married Mary Plum and became the father of John, who was born February 1, 1673, and married Mary Platt. Their son Joseph, who was born February 18, 1705, was married in 1729 to Phebe Newton. Among their children was Joseph, whose birth occurred in April, 1732, and who was captain of the first militia company in Milford. In 1756 he was ordered to secure a quota of men, properly equipped, for the French and Indian war and report with them at Lake George. Nehemiah Woodruff, a son of Joseph Woodruff, was born in 1774 in Milford, but removed to Orange in his youth. He was there married to 1797 to Hannah Jones and they became the parents ten children, including Jeremiah Woodruff, who was born in Orange, June 26, 1811. He engaged in farming and became quite wealthy according to the standards of his day. He married Charlotte E. Nettleton and to them were born five children, of whom Stiles Denison was the eldest, his birth occurring in Orange, November 27, 1837. He married Miss Elizabeth M. Clark, also a native of Orange, and they have become the parents of four children, as follows. Frank C[.] is a graduate of Yale College and is in business with his father. He married Julia Alling and had five children, of whom three survive, Alling, Ruth H. and Harriet B. Watson S., the subject of this review, is the second in order of birth. Robert J., who received the A. B. degree from Yale in 1896 and graduated from the law school in 1899, is a well known lawyer of New Haven and has served as tax collector, as prosecuting attorney of the court of common pleas and as a member of the legislature. He is also a prominent Mason and has served as second lieutenant in a cavalry regiment of the Connecticut National Guard. Mary R., the only daughter, is a graduate of Wellesley College. Stiles Denison Woodruff has taken quite a prominent part in public affairs and in 1880 was a member of the first legislature which met in the new capitol. For twenty years he has been a clerk and treasurer of the Orange Congregational church and since 1900 has been deacon.

  Watson S. Woodruff received his education in the public schools and was graduated from Hillhouse high school of New Haven in 1889. Since 1892 he has been a member of the firm of S. D. Woodruff & Sons, the other partners being his father and his brother, Frank C. Like his father before him,  he has preferred farm life and owns three hundred acres of land in the town of Orange. Many years ago he began to grow seeds on a small scale but has since increased the acreage devoted to the production of garden seed and is now one of the most extensive dealers in that line in the east. He is still the head of the business that is conducted under the name of S. D. Woodruff & Sons and the firm has a large business, selling both at wholesale and retail. They have steadily adhered to high standards and the firm name has become synonymous with high quality in seeds. Their trade has constantly increased and both their wholesale and retail departments do a large business and yield gratifying profits. They have not only grown the standard varieties of garden vegetables under the most favorable conditions possible to obtain but have also done considerable experimenting and have originated and introduced several varieties which have at once gained popularity, including the Country Gentleman sweet corn, Early Food Hook tomatoes and the Ensign Bagley and Admiral Foote potatoes.

  Mr. Watson was married January 4, 1893, to Miss Harriet Hotchkiss, of Derby, a daughter of Merritt and Ellen (Smith) Hotchkiss, the former a manufacturer of corset steels. He was also active in public affairs and was one of the leading citizens of Derby. To Mr. and Mrs. Watson have been born five children, Catherine, Stiles D., Julia and Jane, twins, and Watson S., Jr.

  Mr. Watson is recognized as a republican leader in his district. he is a member of the republican town committee of his town and he was chosen to represent Orange in the state legislature in 1907. He is a member of the American Seed Trade Association, of which at one time he was the president. He has figured in financial circles as the president of the Orange Bank & Trust Company, which position he has filled since its organization, and he is also a director of the American Bank & Trust Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He belongs to the Union League and since 1906 has been clerk of the Orange Congregational church and has given much of his time and attention to the furthering of its work. He is chairman of the exemption board for the draft of the selective army in the town of Orange, district No. 7, comprising the towns of Orange and Milford. He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of his community, in which he has spent his entire life, and his genuine worth is indicated by the high esteem in which he is held by all who have come into close contact with him.

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