Wilford Woodruff was born in 1807 at Northington (now Avon), Connecticut. He spent his childhood in that area. Woodruff was quite well-educated by the standards of that time. Moreover, he was continually concerned with his standing before God and quest for salvation. He spent considerable time reading the Bible.
By 1833, he was living in Richland, Oswego County, New York, with his brother, Azmon, and sister-in-law, Elizabeth. At one point, Woodruff took note that there were Mormon missionaries in the area and wondered what doctrines they might teach. After learning those doctrines from Zera Pulsipher and Elijah Cheney, Woodruff was baptized on Dec. 31, 1833, several days after meeting the two missionaries. He was baptized in Grindstone Creek near the site where it flows under present-day CR 28 in Oswego County.
President Woodruff began leading The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1887 following the death of President John Taylor. President Woodruff passed away in 1898.