The papers include a log, 1790; extracts from Woodriff's journal, 1794; copies and drafts of letters and memorials, 1805 to 1815; Woodriff's will, 1828, and that of his wife Sarah, 1846.

Administrative / biographical background
Woodriff became a lieutenant in 1782. In 1789 he commanded the troopship Endymion, which was wrecked in 1790 at Jamaica; he was honourably acquitted at the subsequent court-martial. On his return to England in 1794 he was appointed Principal Agent for Transports, and was involved in the evacuation of troops from the Low Countries. He became a commander in 1795. He was promoted to captain in 1802, the year he took command of the Calcutta. After survey work in the Bass Straits, the ship returned to Spithead, 1804, was converted into a warship for convoy duties and went to St. Helena. On the return journey the Calcutta was attacked by the French and captured. In 1808, a year after his release, Woodriff became Superintendent of Prisoners of War at Forton, near Gosport, until in 1814 he went to Jamaica as Resident Commissioner at Port Royal. Returning to England in 1822, he was offered, in 1837, either flag-rank or an appointment to Greenwich Hospital; he chose the latter.