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Woolsey-Rockwell
William Andrew Woolsey and Emily Amanda Rockwell
Compiled by, Wilford Whitaker, 2006
William Andrew Woolsey (1 Jan 1833– 8 Dec 1893) was born in Randolph County, [Fayette County], joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Mormon] and journeyed west in 1848, his mother Abigail Schaeffer Woolsey dying along the trail, and she is buried at “the Last or Ninth Crossing of the Sweetwater”, just before they started up Rocky Ridge to South Pass.
William Andrew Woolsey went to California from Salt Lake via the “southern route” with the Pomeroy Train”, through Los Vegas to Los Angeles, with his brother-in-law George Washington Hickerson, husband of Sarah Woolsey, a sister of William Andrew Woolsey. They were in California early enough to be known as “49ers”, starting out working in the “Mariposey” mines and panning their way northward.
William Andrew Woolsey seems to have remained in California while George W. Hickerson returned to his family in Salt Lake City. William Andrew Woolsey gave up his “bachelor ways” on 18 Jan 1857, probably in Alameda County, California, when he married Emily Brazer [Emily Amanda Rockwell Gates Brizzee Tyrrell], daughter of the well-known and eccentric frontiersman Orrin Porter Rockwell (1813-1878) and Luana Bebee.
William Andrew Woolsey and Emily Amanda Rockwell had two children, William Richard Woolsey (29 Jun 1857– 15 Jan 1937); and Lulu B. (or Lucy B.) Woolsey (18 May 1860-27 Mar 1899). They were all living together (with two Brizzee children of Emily’s) in the 1860 census of Alameda County, California. Before 1865, they split up, Emily taking the children, and William Andrew Woolsey taking up his “bachelor” life style.
William Andrew Woolsey returned to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake where he met and married about 1871 to Ann Jones Erdley, and English girl who had remained in Salt Lake City when her first husband John Erdley, had moved to southern Utah. William Andrew Woolsey and Ann Jones Erdley had a son named George H. Woolsey (1872-19 Mar 1893) who is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
William Andrew Woolsey continued in mining and stock raising ventures for the rest of his life, always anticipating the next big strike or a raise in cattle prices, etc. His health began to deteriorate and he died 8 Dec 1893 and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
William Andrew Woolsey is the youngest son of Joseph Woolsey (1771-1839) [of Ulster County, New York, to Washington County, Virginia, to Lincoln County, and Jessamine County, Kentucky, to Fayette County, Illinois], and Abigail Schaeffer (13 Sep 1786-2 Sep 1848) [of Maryland, Kentucky, to Fayette County, Illinois], daughter of John Schaeffer and Nancy Hopkins. Joseph and Abigail had a large family of twelve children, eight of whom joined the Mormon Church and came to Utah. Two daughters, Agatha Ann Rachel Andora Woolsey married the hard-working and hard-driving Mormon, John D. Lee, “scapegoat” of the Mountain Meadows Massacre infamy.
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This Woolsey family was right in the middle of the early history and migration of the Mormons. The eldest son of Joseph and Abigail was Thomas Woolsey, who was in the Mormon Battalion, detached off to Pueblo, Colorado, then an amazing trek through unmapped territory and sub-zero weather to Winter Quarters (Nebraska) to the headquarters to the Mormon Church and then one of the original “Pioneers” to Utah in 1847. Each of them has an interesting story to tell.
Joseph Woolsey is a son of the Revolutionary War Soldier, Richard Woolsey (1747-1825) [of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, to Marlborough, Ulster County, New York, to Washington County, Virginia, to Jessamine County, Kentucky], and Nancy Plumbstead (abt 1750-aft 1823) [of New York and Kentucky]. Richard Woolsey joined Washington’s Army in New York and participated in the battles of Long Island and White Plains, New York. He then stated he was later in “militia duty” which may have included service in Washington County, Virginia, where he joined his father’s family, who had arrived some years earlier. Richard Woolsey and Nancy Plumbstead had a family of eleven or twelve children, many of whom were in central and southern Illinois.
Richard Woolsey is the son of the noted Baptist minister, Rev. Thomas Woolsey (1719-1794) [of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, to Washington County, Virginia (about 1771)[and Sarah ______ [Pierce?] (about 1721-aft 1794] [of New York and Virginia]. Rev. Thomas Woolsey was one of the first Baptist preachers on the frontier of Virginia and www has a list of over 120 couples married by him (but no Woolseys!). He owned quite a bit of land between the Middle Fork and South Fork of the Holstein River in frontier Virginia, and preached at “Sinclair’s Bottoms” [St. Clair’s Bottoms] on the South fork of the Holstein. He left a short will, but only mentioned on son Zepaniah Woolsey. This will was witnessed by his son Richard Woolsey and Richard’s wife Ann [Nancy Plumstead]. Rev. Thomas Woolsey has a monument in Smyth County, Virginia.
Rev. Thomas Woolsey is the son of Richard Woolsey (1687-1782) [of Jamaica, Queens County, Long Island, New York and Ulster County, New York], daughter of William Fowler and Mary Thorn. Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler have a very large posterity in New York and then all over the United States.
Richard Woolsey is the son of Thomas Woolsey (10 Apr 1655-1742) [of Hempstead, Long Island, New Netherland, Jamaica, Queens, Long Island, New York, and of Beford, Westchester, New York], and Ruth Baylis (1660-1739) [of Jamaica and Bedford].
Thomas Woolsey is the son of our Immigrant Ancestors George ‘Joris’ Woolsey (15 May 1616-17 Aug 1698) [of St. Nicholas Parish, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, to Rotterdam, Holland, and then to New Amsterdam, New Netherland (Manhattan, New York) to Jamaica, Queens, Long Island, New York], and Rebecca Cornell “3rd daughter” (31 Jan 1629/1630-5 Feb 1712/1713) [of St. Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden, Essex, England], daughter of Mr. Thomas Cornell (abt 1593-8 Feb 1655/1656) and Rebecca_________ [Briggs]. |