Birthplace of Wilford Woodruff

Birthplace of Wilford Woodruff. 1 March 1807- 2 September 1898. , Wilford Woodruff, fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born 1 March 1807 in a section of Farmington, Connecticut, known as Northington (now Avon). He and his parents, Aphek and Beulah Thompson Woodruff, lived in a modest home approximately three-fourths of a mile west of this site on the north side of Old Farms Road on Avon Old Farms School property. Their farm of about 40-acres had a saw and grist mill and a kiln for drying corn., Well-educated and well-read for his time, Woodruff attended school until he was eighteen, including four years at the prestigious Farmington Academy. Inquisitive, industrious, and with a love of learning, he was also a serious student of the Bible and religion who searched for light and truth. , He was baptized into the Church on 31 December 1833 after accepting the message of Latter-day Saint missionaries. Woodruff’s contributions to his church and country were numerous, and the impact of his vision and leadership were far-reaching. , He was a man of many talents, much energy and compassion. He served missions for the Church in the United States, Canada, and the British Isles, personally baptizing more than 1,800 people. Wilford Woodruff was ordained an Apostle in 1839. He also served as a Church historian for more than 30 years before becoming President of the Church in 1889. In 1890, he issued the Church manifesto discontinuing the practice of plural marriage. In 1893, He dedicated the Salt Lake Temple. , His understanding of compromise and of when to stand firm in the principles of his beliefs made him a valued member of church and community. He served in Nauvoo, Illinois, City Council in 1841, joined Brigham Young’s pioneer company to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, sat in the lower house (1851) and in 20 sessions of the upper house of the Utah territorial legislature, and helped Utah become the forty-fifth state of the nation in 1896. , Woodruff served as president of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Association; organized the General Church Board of Education to direct Church schools, academies, and colleges; and in 1894 incorporated the Genealogical Society of Utah, which would become the largest repository of family research in the world. , Of all his many accomplishments and personal characteristics, he was, most of all, a humble man of God.