Deacon Greenleaf H. Woodman

     Deacon Greenleaf H. Woodman was born on 25 August 1808 in Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine.^1,3,2 He was the son of Jacob Woodman and Hannah Hatch.^1,2 On 30 December 1830 in Minot, Androscoggin County, Maine, Greenleaf married Dorothy E. Dunham, daughter of Johnson Dunham and Hannah Moss.⁴ Or Deacon Greenleaf H. Woodman married Dorothy E. Dunham, daughter of Johnson Dunham and Hannah Moss, on 8 February 1831.^1,3,2 Deacon Greenleaf H. Woodman was a farmer, whose land was valued at $1,500 according to the 1850 Census. in Auburn.⁵ Greenleaf was listed in the 1870 Census as a farmer whose real estate was valued at $4,000 and his personal estate at $1,000. His age was 61 years while his wife's was 60.⁶ He died on Sunday, 14 March 1880 in Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine, at age 71 years, 6 months and 18 days.^7,8,3,2 The following comes from his funeral sermon: "On Friday, having taken his bed, he thought he could get up, though he was only able to sit up a little while. I [the Rev. Edward Ufford] called on him Saturday, and found him very ill; but I was not aware of his condition, and we all thought the evil day was afar off. He seemed so patient, I felt I was not in a sick room; he was ready to go or stay, 'Just as it pleases the Lord.' After a season of prayer, I returned to the parsonage; it was the last time I saw him alive. Sunday the doctor called, and left some encouragement, but brother Woodman knew apparently that his time was near. At about four o'clock he sank into a dormant state, and did not speak again. At nine in the evening of the Lord's day, he fell asleep in Jesus.⁹" He was buried on 17 March 1880 in Davis Cemetery, Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine, His gravestone gives his age at death as 71 years, 6 months and 18 days.^8,9 The following was written by the Rev. A. A. Ford, former pastor of the East Auburn Baptist Church, four days after Deacon Greenleaf Woodman's death, "The Church at East Auburn has sustained a terrible loss. I would extend to its pastor, and all its members, my heartfelt sympathy. Dea. Woodman was a devotedly pious man. His piety was warm, free, and spontaneous as the flowing of a brook. He walked with God. I have never been led to cherish deeper affection for any man whom I have come in contact, in my pastoral relations. True charity shone in him resplendently. How he longed for the prosperity of the church in E. Auburn. This lay nearer his heart than anything else in the world. The chapel is a monument to his zeal and activity.²" The following was also said at his funeral, "Many are the neighbors and friends who shared its [his farm] fruits, for he was always giving something to us. Well do I recollect one morning when he came to the parsonage with a good piece of meat, and said he thought the minister needed this as well as the deacon.⁹"