William Woods

WILLIAM WOODS.

No farmer in Nodaway county carries on his work in all its diversified lines with more careful discrimination and foresight that tends to definite success, than the gentleman whose name appears above, who has developed a fine farm in Green township. Mr. Woods is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born at Newark, Ohio, on the 3d day of June. 1841. He is a son of Jesse and Martha (Spencer) Woods, both of whom also were natives of Ohio, where for many years the father success fully carried on agricultural pursuits. In 1855 he brought his family to Illinois, where he followed similar lines until 1874, when he came to Nodaway county, Missouri, and located on a farm west of Burlington Junction. He there carried on farming operations for a number of years and then retired, his death occur ring at Burlington Junction. He was a stanch Democrat in his political faith and an earnest and consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He possessed many splendid qualities of character and commanded universal respect in the several communities where he had lived. To him and his wife were born ten children, of which number seven grew to years of maturity.

The subject’s maternal grandfather, Gen. John Spencer, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, and served in the war of 1812, attaining the rank of general. Mr. Woods has in his possession a letter written by General Spencer to his brother William, dated April 23. 1815. General Spencer married Elizabeth Moore, of Pennsylvania, and they had the following children: William, John, David, Charles. Mary Elizabeth, and Martha and Catherine (twins), Martha having been the mother of Mrs. Woods. On April 30, 1827, General Spencer was drowned three miles north of Newark, Ohio, having settled in 1805 on a farm north of that city and residing there at the time of his death, his remains now resting there. His wife died on February 19, 1830, and her remains were laid beside those of her husband. Religiously, they were both members of the Presbyterian church.

William Woods was reared on the paternal farmstead and is indebted to the public schools for his educational discipline, this having been liberally supplemented during the subsequent years by extensive reading and habits of close observation. He accompanied the family on their removal from Ohio to Illinois, and in the latter state he devoted himself to the tilling of the soil until 1871, when he came to Nodaway county, Missouri, locating in Green township, where, the year before, he had bought eighty acres of land, all of which was practically unimproved. He at once put up the necessary farm buildings and when he had things in presentable shape sent back to Illinois for his wife, whom he had recently married. They resided on this farm until 1908, and in the meantime brought the place up to the highest standard of excellence. Other lands were added to the original farm from time to time, the farm eventually comprising about five hundred acres and ranking with the best farms in Nodaway county. Mr. Woods erected a comfortable and attractive residence in Burlington Junction, in the midst of a twenty-acre tract and there he is now living, having in some measure relinquished the active toil which characterized his years on the farm. He gave his attention to a general line of farming, including the raising of livestock, principally hogs and cattle, and in all his operations he met with a gratifying measure of success. He has other business interests aside from farming and is a director in the County Mutual Insurance Company.

On January 26, 1871, Mr. Woods was united in marriage with Sallie Paine, the union being blessed with three offspring, Mary E., Rosa Belle and J. Grace. Mary E. became the wife of James E. Hagev. Rosa B., who died on July 21, 1904, was the wife of Jeral Boyer.

Politically, Mr. Woods is a Republican and has taken an active part in the campaigns of his party. He was honored by election as county judge, and at the expiration of his first term was re-elected, thus serving two terms, to the eminent satisfaction of the voters of the county. His religious faith is embraced in the creed of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, to which he belongs. Fraternally, he is a member of the time-honored order of Ancient

Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has taken many degrees. He belongs to the blue lodge of Master Masons, the chapter of Royal Arch Masons and the commandery of Knights Tempiar in the York rite, while in the Scottish rite he has taken all the degrees up to and including the thirty-second, having been the fifth person in Nodaway county to take this exalted degree. He is also a Shriner and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

This sketch should not be closed without reference to the military service of the subject. On August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served continuously until August, 1865, a period of three years. He proved a valiant and courageous soldier and took part in a number of the most hotly con tested battles of that great conflict.

As printed in Past and present of Nodaway County, Missouri (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.