Early Years - A Brief History of Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull was born on September 23rd, 1838, in the rural town of Homer, Ohio—
The Woodhull family was very poor — her mother was illiterate and her father was a petty criminal. She was the seventh of ten children and did not start elementary school until she was eight years old— in addition, she only attended school, on-and-off, for three years before dropping out at age eleven. (NPS, 2021)
She married Dr. Canning Woodhull, 28-year-old, when she was only 15. She would give birth to her first child, Byron, a mentally handicapped son, just one year after her marriage. Dr. Canning Woodhull turned out to be a hopeless drunk that spent all his free time in brothels and taverns. His freewheeling ways forced Woodhull to have to work outside the home to finacially support their family. (Greenspan for History.com, 2018)
Woodhull held a number of jobs over the next several years— including work as a cigar store clerk, seamstress, stage actress, and spiritual medium. (NPS, 2021)