Melancthon Taylor Woolsey was born near Plattsburg, New York, in 1782. He joined the Navy as a Midshipman in April 1800, during the Quasi-War with France, making a cruise in the frigate Adams during that year and the next. In 1805 he participated in operations late in the war with Tripoli, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1807. After developing a signal code for the Navy, in 1808 Lt. Woolsey was assigned to supervise the building of the brig Oneida for service on Lake Ontario, and commanded her from the time of commissioning in 1810 through the first year of the War of 1812. Promoted to Master Commandant in 1813, Woolsey continued his important work on Lake Ontario, taking part in several actions ashore and afloat. When the conflict ended early in 1815, he remained on the lake station for nearly another decade, with the rank of Captain from 1816 onward.

Captain Woolsey was at sea as Commanding Officer of the frigate Constellation during 1824-1827, and was Commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida from late 1827 into 1831. With the courtesy title of Commodore, he commanded the Brazilian Station in 1832-1834. His final active service was supervising survey work on the Chesapeake Bay in 1836-1837. His health was by then failing, and Commodore Woolsey died at Utica, New York, on 18 May 1838.

The U.S. Navy has named two destroyers in honor of Commodore Melancthon Taylor Woolsey: USS Woolsey (Destroyer # 77, later DD-77), 1918-1921; and USS Woolsey (DD-437), 1941-1974.