Representative George Catlin Woodruff

George Catlin Woodruff (December 1, 1805 – November 21, 1885) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 4th congressional district from 1861 to 1863 and a long-serving public official in his native state. Over the course of his career he held numerous local and state offices, including service in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1851, 1866, and 1874, and terms as court clerk, justice of the peace, grand juror, probate judge, postmaster, town treasurer, town clerk, president and director of a bank, and colonel in the militia.

Woodruff was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on December 1, 1805. He was the son of Major General Morris Woodruff, a prominent figure in the state militia, and Candace Catlin, from whom he derived his middle name. Growing up in Litchfield, a town that was an important legal and educational center in early nineteenth-century Connecticut, he was exposed early to public life and the legal profession, influences that shaped his later career in law and politics.

Woodruff pursued higher education at Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1825. Following his undergraduate studies, he returned to his hometown to study law at the Litchfield Law School, one of the leading legal institutions in the United States at the time. He was admitted to the bar in 1827 and commenced the practice of law in Litchfield, establishing himself as an attorney while also beginning a long record of civic and governmental service.

In addition to his legal practice, Woodruff quickly became involved in local administration and judicial responsibilities. He served terms as a court clerk, justice of the peace, grand juror, and probate judge, roles that reflected both his legal training and the trust placed in him by his community. He also held a commission as a colonel in the militia, continuing the family tradition of military service established by his father. In the sphere of local government and finance, he served as town treasurer and town clerk, and he was president and director of a bank, positions that underscored his prominence in Litchfield’s civic and economic life.

Woodruff’s federal service began with his appointment as Postmaster of Litchfield. He first held that office from January 4, 1832, to January 27, 1842, and, after a brief interruption, again from September 2, 1842, to September 28, 1846. His work as postmaster placed him at the center of communications in the community and provided additional administrative experience. At the state level, he entered legislative service as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, serving in that body in 1851, and returning for additional terms in 1866 and 1874. These repeated elections reflected his standing within the Democratic Party and his continuing engagement with state policy and local concerns.

Woodruff was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh Congress, representing Connecticut’s 4th congressional district from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. His single term in the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with the opening years of the American Civil War, a significant and turbulent period in national history. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Connecticut, he contributed to the legislative process during this critical time, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents while the Union confronted secession and war. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1862 to the Thirty-eighth Congress, after which he returned to private life.

Following his congressional service, Woodruff resumed the practice of law in Litchfield and continued to be active in local and state affairs. His subsequent term in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1866 placed him in the midst of Reconstruction-era issues at the state level, and his final legislative service in 1874 capped a long career in public office. Throughout these years he maintained his various legal, judicial, and civic responsibilities, remaining a prominent figure in the community where he had been born and had spent his professional life.

Woodruff continued his legal practice until his death in Litchfield, Connecticut, on November 21, 1885. He was interred in East Cemetery in Litchfield. His career, spanning law, local administration, state legislation, and national office, reflected the broad range of responsibilities often undertaken by nineteenth-century American public servants and left a lasting imprint on the civic life of his hometown and state.