Show ContentsWoodhull History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Woodhull family

The surname Woodhull was first found in North Yorkshire at Woodale, a hamlet in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales. The place name dates back to 1223 where it was listed as Wulvedale and literally meant "valley frequented by wolves." [1] Early Yorkshire records show Jordan de la Wodehalle recorded there c. 1265. In nearby Cumberland, John del Wodhall was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1332. [2]

Alternatively, the family could have originated in Woodhall, a parish, in the union of Horncastle, S. division of the wapentake of Gartree, parts of Lindsey in Lincolnshire. Woodhall is also a hamlet in the parish of Harthill, union of Worksop, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire. [3]

Of this branch, Peter de Wudehale was the first recorded. He was listed in the Lincolnshire Pipe Rolls for 1193. [2]

Another source underlines this latter entry noting the name denotes "one who came from Woodale (wolves's valley), in Yorkshire; dweller at the hall by the wood. " [4]

As far as other early entries in various rolls is concerned, The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Adam de Wodhall and the Howdenshire (now in the East Riding of Yorkshire) Poll Tax Rolls listed Matilda atte Wodhall there in 1379. [5]

Another early record of the family was found in Surrey where Alice atte Wodehalle was recorded in 1332. [2]

Early History of the Woodhull family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woodhull research. Another 44 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1556, 1591, 1599, 1627, 1628, 1633, 1641 and 1643 are included under the topic Early Woodhull History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodhull Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Woodall, Woodhall, Woodhull and others.

Early Notables of the Woodhull family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Woodall (1556?-1643), English surgeon, born about 1556, the son of Richard Woodall of Warwick and his wife Mary. "He began life as a military surgeon in Lord Willoughby's regiment in 1591, and afterwards lived abroad at Stoad in Germany, and, knowing German well, acted as interpreter to an embassy sent thither by Queen Elizabeth. He remained eight years in Germany, travelling also in France and in Poland, where he practised the cure of the plague. In 1599 he was admitted to...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Woodhull Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Woodhull migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodhull Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Richard Woodhull, who settled in Long Island in 1631
Woodhull Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Woodhull, who arrived in New York, NY in 1844 [6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Woodhull (post 1700) +

  • Maxwell Van Zandt Woodhull (1843-1921), American Union brevet brigadier general during the period of the American Civil War
  • Caleb Smith Woodhull (1792-1866), American politician, 70th Mayor of New York City from 1849 to 1851
  • Abraham Woodhull (1750-1826), American member of the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution
  • General Nathaniel Woodhull (1722-1776), American brigadier-general of the New York Militia during the American Revolution
  • Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927), American leader of the woman's suffrage movement, the first female candidate for President of the United States in 1872
  • Alfred Alexander Woodhull (1837-1921), US Army surgeon, recipient of the gold medal of the Military Service Institution in 1885 and the Seaman essay prize in 1907


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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