John E. Woodward was born around 1840 in York, Maine, to George W. Woodward and Tamara Dennison. His father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate and $328 of personal property in 1860. Woodward grew up and attended school in York, and by 1860, he was working as a blind maker in York. He married a woman named Mary sometime in the 1860s. His mother died in June 1863, and his father followed in January 1870. By 1870, Woodward was working as a farmer, and he owned $3,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property. His sisters Priscilla, Elizabeth, and Ellen were all living in his household. He died in York on May 23, 1874.