David Woodcock

David Woodcock (August 31, 1785, in Williamstown, Massachusetts – September 18, 1835, in Ithaca, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Born in the Berkshire County town of Williamstown, he attended the local public schools before pursuing legal studies. After reading law in the customary manner of the period, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice. In 1807, he married Mary I. Baker (ca. 1787–1860), with whom he would have a family that became closely connected to New York’s legal and political circles.

Woodcock moved early in his career to Ithaca, in what would become Tompkins County, New York, a growing community in the state’s interior. There he established his law practice and quickly became involved in public service. On November 19, 1808, he was appointed postmaster of Ithaca, an important federal position in a developing village that served as a hub for communication and commerce in the region. His legal acumen and growing local prominence laid the groundwork for his subsequent entry into state and national politics.

Woodcock’s formal political career began in the New York State Assembly, where he represented Seneca County during the sessions of 1814 and 1815. He also built a substantial record as a public prosecutor. He served as District Attorney of the Thirteenth District of New York, which then comprised Seneca, Tompkins, Cortland, and Broome counties, from 1817 to 1818, and subsequently as District Attorney of Tompkins County from 1818 to 1823. In addition to his legal and political work, he was active in regional economic development; in 1819 he became the first president of the Cayuga Steamboat Company, organized to promote steamboat navigation on Cayuga Lake and to enhance transportation links in central New York.

At the national level, Woodcock was first elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Seventeenth Congress, serving from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. As a member of the Adams Party representing New York, David Woodcock contributed to the legislative process during this term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history marked by the transition from the Era of Good Feelings to more sharply defined party alignments. His service in Congress occurred as debates intensified over internal improvements, economic policy, and the evolving role of the federal government, and he aligned with the faction that supported the policies associated with John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay.

After his first term in Congress, Woodcock returned to Ithaca and resumed the practice of law while remaining active in local and state affairs. He served as president and trustee of the Village of Ithaca in 1823, 1824, and 1826, reflecting the confidence placed in him by the community’s residents during a period of rapid local growth. In 1826, he again sat in the New York State Assembly, this time representing Tompkins County, continuing his involvement in state legislation and regional issues.

That same year, in 1826, Woodcock was elected to the Twentieth Congress, serving his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1829. During this later phase of his congressional career, he remained associated with the Adams Party tendency in New York politics. He also took a prominent part in the emerging Anti-Masonic movement, which arose in response to public concern over the influence and secrecy of Freemasonry. In August 1828, he served as a delegate to the first Anti-Masonic Party state convention, held in Utica, New York, helping to shape the platform of what became one of the earliest third-party movements in American political history.

Following the conclusion of his second term in Congress, Woodcock again returned to private legal practice in Ithaca. He continued to be regarded as a leading figure in the village and the surrounding region until his death. He died in Ithaca on September 18, 1835, and was buried in the City Cemetery there. His family maintained its prominence in New York public life; his daughter Mary married Stephen B. Cushing, who later served as Attorney General of New York, extending Woodcock’s legacy within the state’s legal and political institutions.