Benjamin Woodward Family
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| Sarah Mendenhall born 8/30/1808 Jefferson Co, Tn died 3/1839 Morgan Co, In buried 3/11/1839 White Lick MM |
Benjamin Woodward born 6/17/1806 Jefferson Co, Tn died 10/7/1881 Morgan Co, In buried White Lick MM |
| Married: 10/6/1831 Jefferson County, Tennessee. Mordecai Elmore witness, Elihu Millikan, magistrate. Sarah condemned her marriage contrary to discipline on 4/28/1832 at Lost Creek Monthly Meeting.
Children: Nancy Jane Woodward born 8/20/1832, Indiana, married John C. Harper Mary Jane Woodward born 3/31/1834, Indiana, married William J. Morgan William M. Woodward born 7/20/1836 and died 8/1836, buried 8/20/1836 at White Lick MM, Morgan Co, Indiana Joseph Woodward born 7/20/1836, Indiana, married Elizabeth Craven 7/31/1856, Hendricks County, Indiana Daughter Woodward born and died 3/1838. Buried 3/29/1838 at White Lick MM, Morgan Co, Indiana Perry Woodward born 2/5/1839 and died 8/1839, buried 8/17/1839 White Lick MM, Morgan Co, Indiana We would like to thank Susan Martin Prinz, descendant of Riley Woodward, for additional birth and death information on the children. 8/2007 She has sent a photograph and some additional information. |
| Lydia Cook Dixon born 2/1/1822 Hendricks Co, In died 2/25/1861 Morgan Co, In |
| Married: : Married before 11/12/1851 in Morgan County, Indiana Lydia condemned her marriage out of unity on 11/12/1851 at White Creek Monthly Meeting. According to her son Riley she made satisfactory acknowledgment and was retained.
Children: Riley Dixon Woodward born 7/28/1851, Morgan County, Indiana, married (1)Mary Catherine Siler and (2)Sarah Jane Latta Woodward Ira Hinshaw Woodward born 7/28/1851, Morgan County, Indiana, married Laura Lewis (Susan Martin Prinz, descendant of Riley, sent us a photo of these two very handsome young men) Ezra Hinshaw Woodward born 1/29/1854, Morgan County, Indiana, married Amanda Maris Sarah Elizabeth Woodward, born 6/18/1858, Morgan County, Indiana, married Alford Moore sometime after 1880 Son Woodward born and died 2/1861 Susan Prinz sent us a 1920's photo of the adult children of Benjamin and Lydia: Back row (left to right) Sarah Elizabeth Woodward Moore, Laura Lewis Woodward (wife of Ira), Sarah Jane Latta Woodward Woodward (second wife of Riley), Amanda Maris Woodward (wife of Ezra). Front Row (l. to r.) Alfred/Alford Moore (husband of Sarah), Ira Hinshaw Woodward, Riley Dixon Woodward, and Ezra Hinshaw Woodward. |
Land in IndianaBenjamin Woodward bought land in Hendricks County, Indiana, on 3/3/1831: NW/4 Sec 17 Township 14N Range 1E. They were members of White Lick Monthly Meeting in Morgan County. A manuscript by son Riley (see notes at bottom of page) indicates his land was in Hendricks County, south of Cartersburg. After Sarah died he sold the farm and moved 2 1/2 miles west of Mooresville which then placed them in Morgan County. (see Indiana Map Page).Children of Benjamin and Sarah Mendenhall WoodwardWilliam and Mary Jane Woodward Morgan FamilyWilliam and Mary Jane Morgan are found in Liberty Township, Hendricks County, Indiana in 1880: William Morgan, farmer, age 47, born Tn, father born NC, mother born Tn; Mary J. Morgan, 46, born In, parents born Tn; Benjamin Morgan, 20, born In; Virgil H. Morgan, 17, In; Dora E. Morgan, 15, In; Pleasant P. Morgan, 8, In. Son Benjamin was Benjamin Franklin Woodward, mentioned as "brother Frank", brother of Dora in the articles below.M. D. Monk found an intriguing article in One Hundred Men, Legislative History of Morgan County, Indiana by Judge Noble H. Littel. It is a brief biographical sketch of Frank O. Sheets who married Dora E. Morgan, daughter of William and Mary Jane Woodward Morgan on March 1, 1893. It states that Dora was sister of Frank Morgan, who was the first victim of the criminal exploits of John Dillinger. Frank Sheets was a native of Mooresville, and was the 1925 member of the lower house of the General Assembly from Morgan County. He was born March 29, 1861, a son of John and Cynthia Ann Harrison Sheets. Frank's grandfather, George Sheets, was born in Baden, Germany, and served fifteen years as a soldier, fighting under Napoleon. Frank Sheets served on the Mooresville Town Counil and was appointed Postmaster under Theodore Roosevelt. He was a farmer and also operated a saw mill. As a youth he lost his right arm in a saw mill accident. His will mentions nieces of his wife, Dora Morgan Sheets: Mary Hadley and Anna J. Morgan. M. D. Monk followed up on the John Dillinger mention above and found the following [Dillinger, Cromie and Pinstoy, McGraw-Hill, 1962]:"Mooresville was a tight conservative little community consisting a good part of Quakers who minded their own business and had respect for their neighbors. In addition to the Friends Church, the village of 1,000 supported three others: Lutheran, Methodist, and Christian, which the elder Dillinger [John's father] attended; he had been a deacon of the Hillside Christian Church in Indianapolis. ...So far as is known, their [John Dillinger and Edgar Singleton] first criminal venture was their last, but it rearranged the private world of John Dillinger in such fashion that it became easier for him to go bad than to make good. How the plans were laid, and why Frank Morgan, a sixty-five-year-old Mooresville grocer, was chosen as the victim, has never been set forth. The only ones who could clear up the points are dead. What is known, however, occurred on a Saturday night, September 6, 1924, between ten and eleven o'clock. While Morgan was walking home from uptown, John Dillinger was hiding in a recess next to the side steps of the Mooresville Christion Church,. and Singleton waited in Broad Alley behind the church in a parked car. As Morgan passed the church steps, Dillinger leaped out and struck without warning, swinging a heavy bolt wrapped in a handkerchief which hit the grocer on the head. Dillinger swung again and Morgan went down. He was old, but a man of courage, and promptly got up. Dillinger showed a revolver, which Morgan knocked from his hand. The gun was discharged, and the sound of a shot in the quiet residential street, added to the Masonic distress signal, which Morgan began to give, frightened Dillinger, who took to his heels. Singleton-it is believed-had already started the car and left without his bungling accomplice. Lights began flashing on and neighbors rushed to the aid of Morgan...Dillinger was heard whistling on his way home. ...On Monday Deputy Sheriff John Hayworth went to the Dillinger home and picked up John. He was taken to face Morgan, whose head had required eleven stitches. Morgan was reluctant to believe that Dillinger, a frequent visitor to his store, was his assailant. "Why, John, you wouldn't hurt me, would you?" he asked. "No, Mr. Morgan," said Dillinger." Dillinger later confessed to the crime, was convicted and sentenced, and his disorderly behavior kept adding to his sentence. We were able to verify that Benjamin Franklin Morgan was indeed the grocer, Frank Morgan, of Mooresville: 1920 Mooresville, Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana: 157 Benjamin F. Morgan, own, age 60, born In, father Tn, mother In; merchant, grocery; Laura, 58, born In, father Oh, mother In. Frank is found in 1910 in Morresville, but he was at that time a laborer in a flour mill. He had been married at that time to his first wife Alice Hadley for 27 years. Alice was deceased by 1920 and Benjamin had married Laura Robbins. Benjamin and Alice had two children who survived: Lura, born Oct 1883 in Indiana, and Mary, born Jan 1889, in Indiana. John C. and Nancy A. Woodward Harper FamilyJohn C. Harper apparently died before 1880. Nancy A. Harper and children are found in Monroe Township, Morgan County, Indiana in 1880: Nancy A. Harper, keeping house, 47, born In, parents born Tn; Samuel C. Harper, son, works on farm, 22, born Indiana, father born NC, mother born In; Horace F. Siler, son-in-law, works on farm, age 22, born In, parents birthplace not given; Ida B. [Harper] Siler, daughter, 18, born In. There were probably more children.Joseph and Elizabeth Craven WoodwardJoseph M. Woodward married Elizabeth Craven 31 July 1856 Hendricks County, Indiana. We do not know her parents for sure. She was staying with a William Craven family in Monroe Township, Morgan County, Indiana in 1850. She may also have been related to Lovey Craven who was daughter of Ira and Mary Craven and married Joseph M. Woodward�s cousin, John Smith Woodward. Joseph and Elizabeth are found in Liberty Township in Hendricks County, Indiana in the 1860 census just two doors from John S. and Lovey Craven Woodward. 1860: Joseph M. Woodward, 23, farmer, born In; Elizabeth, 27, born In; John W. Woodward, 2, born Indiana.Lydia Cook Dixon Woodward (with notes on the Dixon family)Lydia Cook was daughter of Jesse & Hannah Marshall Cook and was born 2/1/1822 in Hendricks County, Indiana. Lydia Cook married first to Nathan Dixon, son of Eli and Mary Newlin Dixon, 9/21/1842 at White Lick Monthly Meeting in Morgan County, Indiana.Nathan & Lydia Cook Dixon had children: Jesse Dixon, born 8/13/1843 Hendricks County, died 3/1/1864 in East Tennessee in the Union army; Albert Dixon, born 8/23/1845 in Hendricks County, Indiana. He went to teach colored children in a Quaker school near Helena Arkansas, and ultimately went to San Francisco, California; he was visiting or living with his step-father, Benjamin Woodward, in the 1880 census in Morgan County, Indiana. Mary Jane Dixon born 11/17/1847, in Hendricks County, married Elihu Morgan who served in the Union Army. Nathan Dixon died 11/9/1847, shortly before the birth of Mary Jane, and was buried at White Lick Monthly Meeting Burying Ground. In the 1850 census Lydia Dixonand children were living next door to Benjamin Woodward's brother William in Hendricks County. Benjamin and Lydia were married in 1851, as Lydia condemned her marriage out of unity on 11/12/1851 at White Lick Monthly Meeting. Lydia made a satisfactory acknowledgment for her fault and was retained as a member of White Lick Monthly Meeting. It is interesting (but not uncommon) that Lydia honored her first husband by naming her son Riley Dixon Woodward after him. Lydia died 2/25/1861 and is buried at White Lick Monthly Meeting Burying Ground and Benjamin was once again left with a family of small children. Lydia's brother, William Cook, his wife, and six children all died of the spotted fever in 1865, and are buried near Lydia at White Lick. More on Children of Benjamin & Lydia Cook Dixon WoodwardRiley and Mary Siler Woodward FamilyRiley Dixon Woodward was born 7/28/1851 in Indiana, and married Mary Catherine Siler 10/1/1874 over Lewis's Store at Ridge Farm, Illinois. It was a double wedding with twin Ira, and the store was owned by Caleb Lewis, father of Ira's bride Laura. Riley and Mary are found in Liberty Township, Hendricks County, Indiana in 1880: Riley D. Woodard, farmer, age 28, born In, parents born Tn; Mary C. Woodard, 25, born In, father born Tn, mother born Il; Claudius Woodard, 4, born In; Curtis Woodard, 3, born In; Evert Woodard, 1, born In. Riley transferred on a certificate from White Lick Monthly Meeting 7/15/1885 to Liberty Monthly Meeting in Edwards County, Kansas, but later converted to Methodism. Susan Prinz tells us the story about conversion to Methodism is not correct and that he remained a lifelong Quaker and was one of the founders of Haviland, Kiowa County, Kansas. (photo of Riley and Mary courtesy Susan Prinz). Mary Siler was a sister of the Horace F. Siler who married Ida Harper, daughter of Nancy A. Woodward Harper (above). Susan descends from Curtis Woodward, son of Riley and Mary. She kindly sent us much information on her family and on Benjamin's families as well as the photo of the Woodward twins and the photo of Benjamin linked above.Susan gave us the hint that Riley had a second wife, Sarah Jane Latta Woodward, widow of Millican Woodward, son of Jesse and Rhoda Woodward. Sarah J. Latta married Milican Woodward 7 June 1893 in Morgan County, Indiana. Millican died 24 March 1914 in Hendricks County, Indiana, and his widow Sarah Jane married Riley 23 September 1918 in Hendricks County, as Mary Siler Woodward had also died in March 1914. Sarah Jane Latta was daughter of James C. and Mary Latta of North Carolina. They were near neighbors of Benjamin and son Ezra in Monroe, Morgan County, Indiana in 1880, so the families had known each other for some time. 11/2008 Susan sent us some photos from a Kansas book which we cannot post due to copyright but if any descendants are interested let Nadine know on the About Us page and we will make a copy and send to you. The first item is about the founding fathers of Haviland, Kansas and includes the Woodward Brothers store owned and run by Curtis and Claudius Woodward. The second item includes photos and stores written by Katherine J. Woodward Rinkel. Ira Hinshaw and Laura Lewis Woodward FamilyIra Hinshaw Woodward, twin brother of Riley, married Laura Lewis 10/1/1874 in a double ceremony with his brother. They were married in the Lewis home over the general store in Ridge Farm, Vermilion County, Illinois. Her parents were Caleb and Esther Lewis.Ira and Laura are found in the 1880 census in Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana: Ira Woodward, 28, born In; Laura, 25, born Il; Maud, 3, born In; Addie, 2 mo, In.Ira & Laura also transferred on 7/15/1885 to Liberty Monthly Meeting in Edwards County, Kansas. They are found in 1900 in Wellsford, Kiowa County, Kansas: #78 Ira H. Woodward, born Aug 1851, 48, married 25 yr, born In, father Tn, mother NC; Laura, born July 1855, 44, five children born, 4 living, born Il, father In, mother Il; Madge, Apr 1880, 20, born In; Zora, Oct 1881, born In; Ada, born Mar 1888, Ks.; Walter Hadley, nephew, born Aug 1883, 16, Il, Ia, Il. (we are not sure who Walter's parents were.) We are much indebted to Rosann Settles who provided a copy of a manuscript As Told by Ira H. Woodward: Twin Brother of Riley D. Woodward. Much of the family information above comes from that manuscript. Ira tells of Riley and himself being so much alike that their parents tied a string on the finger of one of them so they could tell them apart. Eventually Riley was kicked in the face by a colt and marked and then they could be told apart. This manuscript tells of Benjamin & his brother Jesse Woodward going to Indiana from Tennessee and then returning to Tennessee to marry and then taking their young brides to Indiana in a wagon drawn by three horses. Benjamin rented a cabin west of Mooresville until he could erect a log house before returning to Tennessee for his bride. Sarah received a certificate from Lost Creek Monthly Meeting on 10/27/1832 for the move to White Lick Monthly Meeting in Morgan County, Indiana. White Lick also served Hendricks County. Benjamin's place was in Hendricks County south of Cartersburg. After the death of Sarah he sold the farm and moved 2 1/2 miles west of Mooresville. There are many fine stories of the family life in this manuscript and we have put it up on the Ira Riley Manuscript page. Updates: 9/28/2008 Susan Prinz reminded us that the Frank Morgan in the Dillinger article above was actually Benjamin Franklin Morgan, son of William and Mary Jane Woodward Morgan. We clarified the information above. 8/9/2007 Added information on Riley Woodward and added a photo of Benjamin and Lydia's adult children courtesy Susan Prinz 11/27/2008 Added an offer to send copies of some articles about descendants of Riley and Ira Woodward under Riley Woodward section above. |
