Andrew Wodrow

Andrew Wodrow (1752–1814) was a prominent Scottish American merchant, militia officer, clerk of court, lawyer, and landowner in the colony (and later U.S. state) of Virginia.

Wodrow was born in Scotland in 1752 and immigrated to Virginia in 1768. In Fredericksburg, he engaged in a thriving import business. Following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Wodrow placed his entire inventory up for public auction and contributed the profits to the American Revolutionary patriot cause. During the war, Wodrow served as a lieutenant colonel in command of cavalry in the Continental Army.

Wodrow was the first resident clerk of court for Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia), a position in which he served for a tenure lasting 32 years (1782–1814). There, Wodrow served in the position of major in the Hampshire County militia. In addition, he represented Hampshire County at the Virginia Ratifying Convention, held to ratify the United States Constitution in 1788. He was appointed by the Virginia General Assembly as a trustee of the towns of Romney and Watson Town (present-day Capon Springs). Wodrow amassed numerous properties which included landholdings along the Cacapon River and the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House in Romney, and became a prosperous landholder in Hampshire County.

Early life and education Andrew Wodrow was born in Scotland, possibly in Glasgow, in 1752. He was descended from a family of scholars and professors. Following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he abandoned his business rather than import and sell goods from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Wodrow became affiliated with the King George Association of 1770, which called on "every freeholder" in King George County, Virginia, to carry the revolution through to its fullest extent.

Political career

American Revolutionary War posts Following the cessation of his import business, Wodrow was appointed to serve in the political post of clerk for the Revolutionary Committee for King George County on May 6, 1775. During the American Revolutionary War in 1779, Wodrow joined the Virginia militia where he was commissioned an officer with the rank of major and served under the Continental Army. He then served as a lieutenant colonel in command of cavalry until 1781 after which he became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of Virginia. In 1781, Wodrow was promoted to the military rank of colonel in command of the Hampshire County militia. Wodrow was the first clerk of court to reside in Hampshire County while serving in the post. Later, in March 1788, Wodrow, along with Ralph Humphreys, was elected to represent Hampshire County at the Virginia Ratifying Convention held to ratify the United States Constitution. The Virginia Ratifying Convention convened in Richmond in June 1788, with Wodrow and Humphreys both voting "aye" in favor of ratification.

During the lead up to the War of 1812, Wodrow chaired an anti-war meeting in Hampshire County at which those assembled objected to a heedless rush to war with the British, which was in line with contemporary Federalist principles. According to historian Stuart L. Butler, Wodrow and the meeting's attendees felt that: to involve [the United States] in an expensive and uncertain war, for purposes not absolutely necessary, and entail taxes and misery on ourselves and our posterity, when we might enjoy the blessings of peace and plenty and a good price for our produce on terms as honorable at least as those for the last fifteen years past, would appear to them the extreme of folly, little short of madness. Wodrow and the committee believed that within two years of the war's beginning, it would become unpopular because of the need for increased taxation and prolonged military service. Wodrow and the committee stated, "the nation would rise in its constitutional strength, and say to those who brought about such an unpropitious state of things, 'depart from ye wicked.'" West Virginia historian Wilmer L. Kerns said of Wodrow in Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1754–2004 (2004) that he "was a prominent and scholarly man, successful in his business, and a good politician." Wodrow sought permission from the Virginia General Assembly to sell the remainder of Alexander Wodrow's landholdings in Frederick, Hampshire, and Stafford counties, which he was granted. On December 4, 1789, Wodrow was appointed by an act of the Virginia General Assembly as a trustee of the town of Romney. He served as a trustee alongside Isaac Miller, Isaac Parsons, Stephen Colvin, Jonathan Purcell, Nicholas Casey, William McGuire, Perez Drew, and James Murphy. On October 4, 1808, Wodrow and fellow trustee Henry Beattie conveyed Lot No. 2 in Watson Town to Lawrence Augustine Washington a nephew of then former President George Washington. The location of Watson Town is the present-day site of Capon Springs Resort. During the 1770s and 1780s, Wodrow's residence was located on what was then the "main street" in Romney, presently known as Gravel Lane. During his tenure as clerk of court, Wodrow constructed a two-and-one-half story office building adjacent to this residence and its kitchen, all three of which are extant and contribute to the structure presently known as the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House at 51 West Gravel Lane. Wodrow's executor, James Dailey, deeded the two land lots on April 1, 1816, to Mount Bethel Congregation trustees James Beach, William Inskeep, Adam Hare, and John Lawson for these purposes. Wodrow and his wife Mary Ann had at least five children: Matilda Wodrow McDowell, married to John McDowell; an unnamed daughter, married to Samuel McGuire; Craig Wodrow; Emily Jean Wodrow Kercheval, married to lawyer Samuel Kercheval, Jr., son of Virginia historian Samuel Kercheval; and Elizabeth Wodrow Dailey, married to James Dailey. Wodrow's son, Craig Wodrow, was a scholar, but due to his chronic poor health, he was unable to pursue active roles in business or politics. Craig Wodrow was also interred in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Romney.