Abraham Woodhull, Culper Spy Ring

1750 - 1826  (75 years)

• Name	Abraham Woodhull
  Suffix	Culper Spy Ring
  Nickname	Samuel Culper
  Birth	7 Oct 1750	Setauket, Suffolk, New York Colony, British Colonial America
  Gender	Male
  Name	Samuel Culper
  	Abraham Woodhull (October 7, 1750 – January 23, 1826) was a leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in New York City and Setauket, New York, ... ‎Austin Roe · ‎Setauket, New York · ‎Setauket Presbyterian Church
  Burial	Jan 1826	Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States
  Death	23 Jan 1826	Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York, United States
  Person ID	I21663	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Hon. Richard Woodhull, IV,   b. 1712, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 13 Oct 1788, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States (Age 76 years)
  Mother	Margaret Smith,   b. 1714, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 1 Oct 1803, Setauket, Suffolk County, New York, Colonial USA (Age 89 years)
  Marriage	1738
  Family ID	F7725	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Mary Smith,   b. 16 Mar 1759, Smithtown, Suffolk, New York, British Colonial America d. 9 Jul 1806, Smithtown, Suffolk, New York, United States (Age 47 years)
  Marriage	24 Nov 1781	New York County, New York, United States
  Children	1. Elizabeth Woodhull,   b. 30 Sep 1785, Smithtown, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 19 Jul 1856, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States (Age 70 years)   2. Mary Woodhull,   b. 12 Jan 1794   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Jesse Smith Woodhull,   b. 5 Feb 1796, Smithtown, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 30 Mar 1844, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States (Age 48 years)
  Family ID	F3920	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Lydia Terry,   b. 20 Jun 1791, Riverhead, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 13 Jan 1864, Setauket, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York, United States (Age 72 years)
  Family ID	F8869	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Mar 2026

  
  

• Notes

  In December 1778, General George Washington's chief of intelligence—and Culper Ring spymaster Major Benjamin Tallmadge—recruited Jonas Hawkins as a clandestine courier to bring messages to Setauket from New York City, where the group's leader, Abraham Woodhull was gathering information. From there, the coded correspondence could be relatively easily forwarded to Tallmadge.[3] At first, the ring employed just Hawkins in the role, but by early summer, Roe had joined the group as an alternate rider, who would take messages the 55 miles (89 km) between the group's two major centers of operation, Setauket, New York, and New York City.[1] At the time, both cities were occupied by the British.Work as spy [edit] Roe and Hawkins passed the messages from New York City to operative Caleb Brewster on Long Island.[3] Brewster would take them across the Sound to Tallmadge at Fairfield, Connecticut. From there, Tallmadge forwarded the messages to Washington.[4] Roe served the Culper spy ring as a courier by secretly relaying its messages beginning in early 1779. He claimed to be conducting business as a merchant in order to avoid suspicion and pass through the British checkpoints.[3] Roe became the sole dispatch carrier for the ring after July 1779, when Tallmadge gave Roe–but not Hawkins–a code number in his code index.[3] Hawkins increasing paranoia had led him to abandon the mission at that time.[3]In historical records