David Woodcock (August 31, 1785 in Williamstown, Berkshire County, Massachusetts – September 18, 1835 in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

Tompkins County, New York Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

)The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 53
/ref> was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Woodcock attended the public schools, then studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced. In 1807, he married Mary I. Baker (ca. 1787-1860). He moved to

, and he was appointed postmaster on November 19, 1808. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Seneca Co.) in 1814-15. He was District Attorney of the Thirteenth District (comprising

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, Tompkins, Cortland and Broome counties) from 1817 to 1818; and of Tompkins County from 1818 to 1823. He was the first President of the Cayuga Steamboat Company when it was organized in 1819. Woodcock was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

17th United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...

, holding office from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. After leaving Congress Woodcock resumed the practice of law. He was President and Trustee of the Village of Ithaca in 1823, 1824, and 1826. He was again a member of the State Assembly (Tompkins Co.) in

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper '' Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island ...

. In 1826 Woodcock was elected to the

20th United States Congress The 20th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1827, ...

, holding office from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1829. He took a prominent part in the Anti-Masonic movement and was a delegate to the first Anti-Masonic Party State convention, which was held in Utica in August 1828. After leaving Congress the second time, he again resumed the practice of law. He died in 1835 and was buried at the City Cemetery in Ithaca. His daughter Mary was married to New York Attorney General Stephen B. Cushing.

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 71, 94, 190, 204, 317, 369, 383; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodcock, David 1785 births 1835 deaths New York (state) National Republicans People from Williamstown, Massachusetts People from Tompkins County, New York Members of the New York State Assembly County district attorneys in New York (state) New York (state) postmasters Anti-Masonic Party politicians from New York (state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians