“W” is Woodward, Henry [ca. 1646-ca. 1686]. Physician, Indian agent. Woodward was one of the earliest English settlers of South Carolina. In 1666 he was a part of Robert Sandford’s expedition that explored the Port Royal area. When Sandford left, Woodward remained among the tribes there, studying their cultures and languages. He was captured by the Spaniards and imprisoned in St. Augustine but escaped during an English privateer’s raid. In 1670, he returned to South Carolina where the proprietors valued him as a highly useful agent, Indian trader, and diplomat. He helped negotiate support from surrounding Indians against a possible conflict with the Spanish. Henry Woodward undertook a secret mission at the behest of Lord Ashley Cooper and Governor Sir John Yeamans to explore the frontier for precious metals and potential Indian trading partners.
“W” is Woodward, Henry
