| Home Page | Root Page | Census Records | GRO Records | Parish Records | Names Directory |
George William (1) Woodhurst was christened at Fairlight on May 8th 1836 of parents James (1) Woodhurst and Sarah (nee) Broadfoot [Parish Register]. This date is consistent with census data [UK Census 1841, US Census 1860]. A mistaken IGI ancestral file claims he was born in 1832.
The US 1860 Census finds him at age 24 living with his now-married sister Elizabeth (1) Woodhurst and her husband Stephen. He was unmarried and occupied as a bricklayer and plasterer. His future wife Isabelle ('Belle') Norrell was at that time living next door with Stephen's mother. Two months later, on September 27th 1860, he and Isabelle were married in Abbeville by Revd. Carlisle [Index Press, contemporary article].
Around 1861-62 he produced his only child George William (2).
Following the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted on March 15th 1862 into the same Company as his brother Andrew Jackson Woodhurst [Civil War Payroll]. It appears quite certain that he died later that year, although there are varying accounts of his death. The most detailed account is the following:
George W. Woodhurst - Private - Company G 1st SCVC - Age 26 - 7/18/1862
James Island, SC Died of Disease (Typhoid)
cited in BROKEN FORTUNES, South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors & Citizens who died in the service of their country and the state in the War for Southern Independence 1861-1865 by Randolph W. Kirkland [South Carolina Historical Society, 1995]. A descendant of Andrew Jackson currently possesses a copy of George William (1)'s military record which also cites the date as July 18th 1862 but describes the location as the 'horseshoe' on the site of today's College Hospital in Columbia. The connection, if any, between the two locations remains to be clarified.
The location of his grave is unknown.
The US 1870 Census finds his widow Isabelle living in Greenwood Township in Abbeville County. She was then an assistant teacher with real estate valued at $1000 and personal estate valued at $500. Living there also was her mother Mary - aged 60 and occupied as house-keeper - and her 8-year-old son. Nothing more is currently known of her.