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ROLLIN SIMMONS WOODRUFF, Connecticut's 45th governor, was born in Rochester, New York, on July 14, 1854. He received a rudimentary education in Rochester's public school system. Woodruff became a successful businessman who had interests in the Connecticut Computing Machine Company, and the C.S. Mersick Company, one of the largest iron and steel wholesale dealers. He served as director to several other corporations, and was president of New Haven's Chamber of Commerce from 1905 to 1907. Woodruff entered politics in 1903, as a member and president of the Connecticut State Senate, a position he held until 1905. He also served as Connecticut's lieutenant governor from 1905 to 1907. Woodruff won the 1906 Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor of Connecticut. During his tenure, he was a proponent of conventional Republican issues. He vetoed several acts of the legislature when the state financial system or budget needed his protection. Woodruff left office on January 6, 1909, and retired from public service, but he stayed active in his business interests. He also served as a member of the Union League Club and the New Haven Young Men's Republican Club. Governor Rollin S. Woodruff died on June 30, 1925, and is buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Ancestry.com

Political Graveyard