William Howell Woodmancy was born June 24, 1826, in New York state possibly in or near Syracuse. His immediate origins are still unknown. Possible clues have come to light in Seneca county, New York, where the first record of our ancestor appears.

An Amelia Woodmancy, age 58, was buried in Waterloo, in Maple Grove Cemetery, Lot 388, on September 24, 1865. William's mother is named as Amelia Howell on his death certificate, and his eldest child was named Amelia. A family of Woodmansees of New Jersey origin appears in Varick township, Seneca County, before 1804. The eldest son of this family, John, was buried in the same cemetery lot in Maple Grove Cemetery as the Amelia who died in 1865. With further research, William might be connected with this family.