Woody Family Roots

Woody Family Roots
The History and Genealogy of John Woody and his sons Henry, Thomas & William
and their Descendants
(including Wooddy, Woodie, Woddy, Woodey, Woode, de Woody, etc.)

            Using primary sources and direct evidence, a number of Woody descendants have traced their lineages back to Virginia in the late 18^thor early 19^th century. Because of several factors, the extension of these lineages by traditional research is almost impossible; however, results from the Woody DNA Project prove that nearly all participants with such lineages share a common ancestor. These results have encouraged us to extend our research beyond our direct ancestors, John and Henry Woody, to all the Woodys of old Virginia. Our goal is to use this research, in conjunction with the Woody DNA Project, to sort out the different branches of the Virginia Woody family tree and to extend these lineages back in time. Since many of these proven Woody lineages can be traced to the Blue Ridge region of Virginia, we used this area as a starting point for our research; however, our area of interest has been expanded to the Piedmont of central Virginia, the Virginia Northern Neck and the several of northernmost counties of North Carolina. In addition, yDNA results have shown that the Woodys found in late 18^th century Spartanburg County, South Carolina were very closely related to the Virginia Woodys. This startling discovery has prompted us to do significant research in the northwest South Carolina and southwest North Carolina areas.
            We now think it is highly likely that most of the Woody branches listed below, as well as, the The Woody Family of Old Virginia branches, have their American ancestral roots in New Kent and Hanover Counties, Virginia. Their single common ancestor may have also been from Virginia, but he was more likely from the British Isles. yDNA has proven that some of these branches are closely related; however, yDNA volunteers are needed from the other branches.
           The sections below describe most of the early Virginia Woody branches, as well as, several branches with proven roots in Virginia. These sections only provide an overview of these families: the family details and evidence citations are provided in the Database. Some of the overviews and evidence are complex and, at times, difficult to follow.
            The early lives of many of the Woodys that migrated to the Blue Ridge region of Virginia after about 1760 are very close to a complete mystery. Reconstructing the movements of Henry Woody, as he migrated from Goochland to Franklin, was accomplished mainly through the use of land records. Recent yDNA comparisons prove that Henry was closely related to some of these "mystery" Woodys. Although there were several notable exceptions, the vast majority of the these Woodys seemed to have been itinerant farmers that moved from place to place searching for the best return for their labor. For this reason, many of them did not own land, so there are very few recorded land transactions involving Woodys during this period. Besides the above mentioned Henry Woody of Franklin County, the early Woodys that left wills were: James of Pittsylvania County, David of Person County, North Carolina and Simon, Moor, John and Micajah of Hanover County. Woodys were seldom mentioned in other probate proceedings. Before about 1853, vital records are virtually nonexistent. Some of the material presented on this page overlaps with The Woody Family of Old Virginia, which focuses on the history and genealogy of the first Woody settlers of New Kent and Hanover Counties, Virginia.
            Many genealogy researchers, both amateur and some professionals, seem not to understand the close correlation of genealogy, geography, history and other factors. By far, the best online source to much of this essential information is the website of Charlie Grymes, adjunct instructor of "Geography of Virginia" at George Mason University: Virginia Places. Also, to understand the scant information that is available, a good understanding of Colonial Virginia county formation is essential. A very accurate depiction of this formation is available at the Map of US website. Henrico County, an original Virginia shire created in 1634, remained intact for over ninety years until Goochland County was created from western Henrico in 1728. New Kent County was formed in 1654 and remained unchanged until Hanover County was formed from western New Kent 1721. It is important to note that Goochland/Henrico were never part of Hanover/New Kent or visa versa. Equally important is a good understanding of the formation of Church of England parishes in Colonial Virginia. These parishes did not always share the same boundaries as the counties. So church records such as birth, death and marriage registers, as well as, processioning returns can be found in different parish Vestry books located in the same county. For instance, Hanover County which was entirely in St. Paul's Parish until 1726 when St. Martin's Parish was created in western Hanover. In 1742, Louisa County was created from western Hanover and Fredericksville Parish was created from St. Martin's to serve the new county. Freddie Spradlin has created the concise Parishes of Virginia which shows all the colonial parish formation dates and the counties they served. This page can help sort out some of the confusion that occurs when trying to correlate events related to parish formation and county formation.
            In contrast to the complete geographic separation of Goochland/Henrico and Hanover/New Kent described above, later Virginia county formation and boundary changes resulted in locations that were in two or three different counties in the space of a few years. During the latter half of the 18^th century, the population of the western frontier of Virginia was growing quickly. This growth necessitated the rather rapid formation of new counties. In 1744, Albemarle was formed from Goochland. In the central Blue Ridge region, Albemarle begat Amherst and Buckingham in 1761 and Fluvanna in 1777. Nelson was created from Amherst in 1808. A little further south, Lunenburg contributed Bedford in 1754 and Halifax in 1766. Pittsylvania came from Halifax in 1767 and Henry came from Pittsylvania in 1777. In 1786, Franklin was formed from Bedford and Henry. These boundary changes, coupled with the lack of records and the nomadic movements of the Woodys, make research very challenging.
            A good example of the effect of county formation on our research is the Byrd Creek home of John Woody. Captain William Bird/Byrd first patented the property in Henrico in 1656. This area became Goochland County in 1728, Albemarle County in 1744 and finally Fluvanna County in 1777.
            In general, decennial census records begin in 1790 and are helpful; however, the 1800 census of Virginia is not extant. Original census records are much more useful than alphabetized copies since they preserve the relative locations of those people enumerated. Pre-1850 censuses only give the name of the head-of-household with the rest of the inhabitants separated into age groups so, at best, they only provide a snapshoot every ten tears. However, post Revolutionary War personal property and land tax records for almost all of the Virginia counties are extant. These tax records start about 1782 and, since taxes were collected each year, the records are very constructive in tracking the movements of individuals from one location to another. Also, tax records usually denote the death of the taxpayer by the words "estate". Some deed records are also extant. As mentioned, only a few Woody deed records have been found, but these few have been very useful. However, the Woodys seemed to be quite adept at avoiding the census enumerators and tax collectors. We have not found a Woody Bible record for this period, but Woodys are mentioned in other Bible records. Marriage bonds and certificates usually provide more information than extracted marriage records. The pension and land warrant applications of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans are extremely informative, but very few Woodys lived long enough to apply for these benefits. Vital records for most counties start about 1853; however many people simply did not report births and deaths. From the standpoint of identifying early relationships, death records are especially helpful since the decedent's age, birthplace and parents names were usually, but not always, recorded. However, many years are missing from these records.
            More than any other state, Virginia has suffered the destructive effects of war in America. Burning courthouses was one of the favorite pastimes of invading armies in the American Revolution, the War or 1812 and the Civil War. However, in every sense, the Civil War created the most destruction to life and property and since many of the fiercest battles occurred in the area surrounding Richmond, the counties of Hanover, Henrico and New Kent were especially effected. The archivists at The Library of Virginia has categorized the " Lost Record Localities". The counties with "catastrophic loss" are Appomattox, Buchanan, Buckingham, Caroline, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Elizabeth, Fairfax, Gloucester, Hanover, James City County/Williamsburg, King and Queen, King William, Matthews, Nansemond, New Kent, Nottoway, Prince George, Richmond County, Stafford and Warwick. The counties and cities with "considerable loss" are Accomack, Albemarle, Bland, Botetourt, Brunswick, Craig, Culpepper, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King George, Mecklenburg, Northumberland, Richmond (City), Rockingham, Russell, Spotsylvania, Surry, Washington, Westmoreland and York. In our area of research interest, examples of courthouse fires that resulted in nearly complete destruction of earlier records are the Buckingham fire in 1869 and the Richmond fire in 1865.
            The common law statutes of primogeniture that existed in Colonial Virginia dictated that, after the widow's one-third dower, the real property of an individual that died intestate (without a will) went to his eldest son. If the eldest son was dead, the real property passed to that person's eldest son. Of course, a will could be used to distribute an estate, but many people of moderate means did not execute a will. By far, the most valuable asset that most individuals could own was real property (land) and for landowners, their second most valuable asset was their slaves. The specifics of most wills dealt with the division of these two assets. Almost all Woody landowners did execute wills; however, the vast majority of Woodys were not land or slave owners and these individuals did not write wills. Moreover, deeds and court records relating to land transfers form the major portion of the scanty records that have survived and are available to the researcher. Obviously, these types of records do not exist for landless Woodys. A few tithe records have survived, but these are very few and far between. Unfortunately, the primogeniture laws and the severe loss of records have created a situation whereby our knowledge of the Woodys in Colonial America is mainly based on those eldest sons that inherited land. The brothers and sisters of these eldest sons can be virtually invisible.
            The Woodys were not wealthy or famous and many of them were not land owners. Many were probably squatters that farmed land that was not being cultivated by the owner. Squatting was part of the common land tradition of both the English and Gaelic laboring people. Toby Terrar explains this situation in his enlightening article First in War: Laboring People and the American Revolution as an Agrarian Reform Movement in Amherst County, Virginia and Sumter County, South Carolina:

"As settlement edged toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, the formation of new counties beyond the fall line extended tidewater institutions into the west. The piedmont frontier was developed less by poor farmers in search of opportunity than by the colony's leading families, such as the Randolphs, Carters, Pages, and Nicholases, who acquired the best acreage along the rivers. The piedmont became an area of immense tobacco estates, some as large as thirteen thousand acres. Much of the colony's land was granted in huge parcels to speculators, such as Robert ("King") Carter, William Byrd II, and William Beverley, but non-Virginians, such as Jacob Stover, of Pennsylvania, and Benjamin Borden, of New Jersey, acquired extensive landholdings in the Valley of Virginia, that fertile region between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies explored in 1716 by Governor Alexander Spotswood and his Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. The Amherst landlords estimated they needed 50 acres for each field hand and at least twenty slaves before hiring an overseer. Slaves sold for £30, cost £6 yearly to maintain, and could net £14 in yearly profit in the 1760s and 1770s. Thus the smallest economic unit for capitalist agriculture complete with overseer and slaves was approximately 1,000 acres, considerably larger than the holdings of nearly all Amherst residents in the eighteenth century. Squatter occupancy was one of the reasons that half of Virginia's white population in the 1770s had no recorded land. Even working people who bought or rented, boycotted the magnate-dominated county courts."

            As discussed above, many Virginia counties have suffered a massive loss of genealogical related records. Although many Woodys did not own land, some did and their land transaction records somewhat offset the absence of other records. When available, we make significant use of land records, especially the images of original documents available at the Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys database online at the Library of Virginia. To encourage settlement of America, the English government awarded land grants to ship captains and others who were responsible for the transportation of immigrants from Europe. These rewards were termed "headrights". Many of the names of the immigrants claimed as headrights are noted in early Virginia land grants. The names of the people transported (headrights) are usually named at the bottom of the grant. We also use published deed transcriptions and microfilms of original deeds. In addition to the location of the property, these land transaction records usually mention the names of nearby property owners. Since neighbors tended to migrate together, this information can be used to identify and separate Woodys with the same given names. This information greatly assists in sorting out the Woody lines and their westward movements. However, as mentioned above, a very good understanding of the formation of new Virginia counties in the 18^th century is essential maximizing the usefulness of the land transaction data. We use both old and modern maps to try and pinpoint the locations mentioned in the patents, grants and deeds. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) search capability at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) web site is very useful, since the landmarks mentioned in land transactions usually can be be identified and plotted on a modern Google map.
            Fortunately, the Woodys did associate with a few of relatively well known people of the time. The family histories of most of these people have been documented and some of the evidence presented below comes from this documentation. This evidence is complex and, at times, difficult to follow.
            We are able to get some source material from the Library of Virginia via the Interlibrary Loan System (ILL) and we also have rented many filmed records from the LDS Family History Catalog.
            We are obsessive about details. Many isolated facts concerning the Woodys have been published by the various Virginia genealogical and historical societies. These publications are available in these societies headquarters and in local libraries. When combined with other information, seemingly insignificant small details can be the keys to solving very complex genealogical puzzles. If you have the opportunity to search any of these publications, please pass along your findings.
            `We have attempted to memorialize our research in a Chronology of Selected Woody Events in Early Virginia. With regard to the hypothetical lineage, this page analyzes some of the significant factual records that we have discovered, discusses the assumptions we have made and explains the rational we have used in developing our view of the family connections of the very early Colonial American Woodys. Also included is a listing of all the microfilms that we have ordered and analyzed from LDS FamilySearch and the Library of Virginia. We hope this page will aid other researchers.

            When the Virginia Company was abolished in 1624, the administration of land patents (land grants) became the responsibility of the King of England and his administrators; the Virginia governor and the office of the Virginia Secretary of the Colony. To encourage settlement of America, the Colonial government awarded "headright" certificates to ship captains and other individuals who were responsible for the transportation of immigrants from Europe. Almost any transported person could be and were claimed as a headright. This included indentured servants, slaves and children. Even those who died during the ocean crossing could be claimed. These certificates could then be used to acquire land grants from the Virginia government. In addition, these certificates could be bartered, traded and resold to others. Because of loose regulation, lack of oversight and fraud, the headright system led to massive abuses. So, in general, the person that was awarded a headright patent (land grand) might have provided the means for the immigrants transportation to America; however, the headrights can almost never cannot be connected with the land patentee, nor does the location of the grant necessarily have any connection to the location of the patentee or the headright. A Library of Virginia Headright Note states "The presence of a name as a headright in a land patent establishes that a person of a certain name had entered Virginia prior to the date of the patent, but it does not prove when the person immigrated or who was initially entitled to the headright.... Headrights were not always claimed immediately after immigration, There are instances in which several years elapsed between a person's entry into Virginia and the acquisition of a headright and sometimes even longer between then and the patenting of a tract of land." However, many of the names of the immigrants claimed as headrights are noted in early Virginia land grants which have been preserved, imaged, transcribed and published. Because of the extreme lack of other extant records for this region, these headright land grant images and transcriptions have been used by many researchers in the search from their ancestors. Some of these researchers transcriptions differ with the transcriptions of professionals and sometimes the amateurs may be correct.
            The names of the people transported (headrights) are usually named at the bottom of the grant. George Cabell Greer transcribed these names from the originals and published them in 1912 as Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666; however, it should be noted that shortly after publication, a scathing book review of the Greer work was published in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. This review described many omissions and faulty transcriptions. Several decades later, Nell Marion Nugent, the Custodian of the Virginia Land Archives transcribed these same original land grants and, in 1934, published the highly acclaimed first volume of a three volume set entitled Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1800; however, only the years from 1623 to 1666 are generally be viewed online. Dennis Ray Hudgins has edited an additional four volumes which have been published under the same title. These additional volumes cover the period 1733-1774. Other reference editors have copied from these early transcriptions and individuals have transcribed those names with grants in a particular location or those names in which they had a special interest. For example, Early Virginia Families Along the James River, compiled, transcribed and abstracted in three volumes by Louise Pledge Heath Foley, contains transcribed and abstracted patents from the subject counties from 1624 to 1732. The headrights are also indexed.
            So, it is very possible to find several differing transcriptions of any particular land grant; therefore, we have found that nothing replaces viewing images of the original documents. All of these documents were recorded in the script and custom of the time and some can be very difficult to decipher. Most professional transcribers have experience in reading old handwriting and they strive for accuracy; however, they do not have the deep interest in particular names that the researchers of these particular names have. The professional will not linger long in transcribing a particular name and compare it with other names as a researcher should. On the other hand, the amateur will sometimes let his or her hopes and wishes get in the way of an objective and accurate transcription. The importance of these records and transcriptions cannot be overstated because they comprise the bulk of the extant records pertaining to 17th century Virginia. Fortunately for the serious researcher, images of these old documents are viewable at the Library of Virginia collection of Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys. We have used these images to confirm, reject and question the land grant transcriptions found in many reference books. Very few of the authors of the reference books actually transcribed from the originals, instead they just copied from other books.
            Among others, the following Woodys have been alleged and published by amateur and professional transcribers: Anthony in 1648, Symon in 1652, Robert in 1656, John in 1674, Henry in 1681 and John in 1701. We have very carefully examined the images containing these names and we can positively confirm two; Robert and John, 1701. John, 1674, is a maybe. Anthony was Waddy, Symon was Wady and Henry was most likely Moody. To illustrate the difficulty in transcribing these documents, we have included images of portions of several of the original grants that contain the name that has been transcribed as Woody.
            The image below, on the left is a favorite of ours. One reason for our favoritism is that the transcription has not been published in many well known reference, yet is easily found in the Library of Virginia Archive. How it was missed is unknown, but we have seen complete

pages omitted by transcribers. People make mistakes. The second reason it is a favorite is that it is one of the first records of our ancestor found in Virginia. This image is from the 16 Apr 1653, Lower Norfolk County land grant of Robert Woody for two hundred acres on Daniel Tanner's Creek. This headright patent (land grant) was awarded for the transportation of Robert Woody, Anna Minch, Mary Stanton and Art. Watson. Our second favorite image is the 21 October 1684 New Kent County land grant of John Baughan. James Woody is named as an adjacent landowner three times: first as Mr. James Woody, again as James Woody and again as s'd (said) Woody. Since the images are very clear, the transcription of the name is very easy and difficult to quibble about. The three images are shown below.

This James Woody was transcribed as being processioned adjacent to a John Baughn in the 1689 St. Peter's Parish Vestry Book. St. Peter's Parish was in New Kent County. The straight line distance between New Kent and Norfolk is about 60 miles. In our experience, the close correlation of these two records with the Robert Woody record, direct above, is a very unusual event.
Another favorite image is show is shown directly below. The image shows the three headrights associated with a 1681 Surry County land grant made to Arthur Jordan. The transcription of this land grant has transcribed and published as Henry Woody in Early Virginia Families Along the James River, Vo

l. 3: James City County - Surry County and several other well known reference books. The transcription has been used by many people to justify their assumption that Henry Woody was the progenitor of the Virginia Woodys and is the basis for an alleged Woody lineage that has been widely copied by many participants of online collaborative constructed lineage web sites, such as Ancestry Member Trees, WkiiTree, Family Heritage, etc. Because of the ink smearing, this name is more difficult to ascertain. We think it is Henry Moody and not Henry Woody. Compare the questionable script W/M in the top line to the obvious M in the name on the right that looks like it might be Maundy and has been transcribed as Maundy by the same transcriber. Then compare the questionable W/M to the script W in the word Whereas below and to the left. It seems to us that the letter in question has some similarities with both of the suggested letters, but we think it is very much more like the M. This image is one of our favorites because of the date of this event and the dates to the two events described directly above it. The very legible name of Robert Woody was recorded in receiving a land grant in 1653. The extremely legible name of James Woody was recorded as an adjacent land owner in a 1684 land grant. The very questionable name of Henry Moody/Woody was recorded as a headright in 1681. We think these image examples speak for themselves.
The next image on the right is from the list of some 100 headrights associated with the 20 September 1674 Accomack

County land grant issued to Charles Scarburgh. It may be Wody or Woody, but both Wooly and Wolley are recognized surnames. The backwards curvature of the suspect "d" is a very characteristic example of the "d" script formation of the time. Compare it burgh with the "d"s above and below. The script letter "l" of the time had no such backward curvature. So we think it is a definite maybe that cannot be completely discounted.
The next image below and right is from headright list associated with the 25 April 1701 Henrico County land grant issued to John Pleasants. This is an example of a very clear entry for John Woody and is probably one of the clearest examples we have found. In addition, the name John Woody is found in other documents of the time.This transcription is confirmed by Early

Virginia Families Along the James River, Vol. 1: Henrico - Goochland, the reference mentioned above. John Pleasants II (1671-1714) was the son John Pleasants (1645-1698), the progenitor of a very wealthy and prominent Henrico Co., Virginia Quaker family that imported large numbers of headrights over many years. The same Pleasants family is mentioned many times in the St. Paul's Vestry Book and the Quaker Henrico Monthly Meeting records discussed below. We do not recognize any of the other headright names nor do we have any clue as to the age of John, so we assume that he was at least 16 or older. So, he would have been born about 1685 or earlier. This record would seem to be very helpful in our research; however, this record creates a rather difficult research situation. As discussed above, headrights were sometimes used as justification for land grants some time after the headright arrived in America; however, we do not know of any way to determine this often very important time lapse. John Woody of Goochland was first recorded as a vestry road surveyor in 1738 and he seems to have lived until at least 1776. Using these facts and others, we have estimated his birth date to be about 1702, so it seems quite unlikely, but not impossible, that the headright John Woody was the same person as John Woody of Goochland. On the other hand, we have not found another suitable candidate in the records for headright John, nor have we been able to positively connect John of Goochland with the Woodys of Hanover County. So, no matter mow much we would like positively correlate the headright record with the John Woody we know a little more about, we haven't been be able to make a reasonable connection. That is a disappointment that somewhat detracts from the success we enjoyed with the correlation of the records of Robert and James Woody, described above. Maybe, someone will figure it all out. The Pleasants family has been very well researched and much of this work has been published. It is a very long shot, but research in this area might pay off.
The next image below and left is the the headright list associated with a 1652 Gloucester County grant to Capt. Francis Morgan and Ralph Green and the name has been transcribed by a few researchers as Symon Woody. We think the name is Symon Wady and

it is possible that it is Symon Wody; however, it certainly is not Symon Woody. Also, it is transcribed in the Cavaliers and Pioneers reference discussed above as Symon Wady. Additionally, there are several Waddy/Waddey names noted in the Vestry Books of St. Peter's and St. Paul's Parishes. We think this a good example of a very wishful transcription.
The image below and right is from a 1688 land grant to Charles Fleming. The name is not a headright, but is noted in the description of the property boundaries and adjacent landowners. It has been transcribed and published as Samuel Woddy and Samuel Woody. To us, it clearly looks like Samuell Woddy. It is quite interesting because the location of this grant was "in the

branches of Mattedequin & Totopotomoy Creeks" which is the exact location that later Hanover County Woodys lived. It is a very good example of evidence evaluation of evidence made more difficult by conflicting information. While reviewing the transcription of the Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, we noticed that the index contains over a dozen entries for the name of a Samuel Waddy/Waddey and sometimes these entries are in the same processing precinct as a Charles Fleming. In addition, we have never seen the name Woddy used as a confirmed variation of Woody. The name of name Samuel Woody, etc. is mentioned over a dozen times in the Vestry Book, but only between 1745 and 1784. Since the vestry book is a transcription, we have somewhat conflicting evidence; however, we think the examination of all the relevant evidence strongly indicates that the name was very likely intended to be Waddy and is an example of a "lazy" script letter a. On this one, we reluctantly come down on the side of Samuel Waddy.
Even though the latest "upgrade" to the Library of Virginia "Search" function has made this resource difficult to find and even more difficult to use, every serious early Virginia family historian should investigate the Library of Virginia collection of Virginia Land Office Grants and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys and try transcribing a few that are of interest. Give it a try. Instead of just copying another person's hasty transcription, do the research and make your own decisions.

       From 1682-1786, the "processioning" records found in the Vestry Books of St. Peter's Parish and St. Paul's Parish mention a succession of Woody landowners in New Kent and Hanover Counties. Property lines where determined by an ancient and time honored surveying procedure called "metes and bounds". The system of metes and bounds used physical features, such as trees, creeks, rocks, roadways, etc. to describe property boundaries. Because these features tended to change over time, it was necessary for adjoining landowners to meet regularly to resurvey and agree on new defining features. This process was termed processioning and was typically preformed every four years under the direction of the Parish officials. This was an important event in the lives of most Colonial landowners. The first New Kent Parish processioning record to survive is the 1689 record for James Woody. Next was the 1709 record which included James, John and Simon. The 1711 record also included James Jr.; however, many of the records that are very important to Woody/Wooddy research have not survived. In particular, the entire 1723 record is missing. Most of the 1727 record is missing including the parishes where the Woodys/Wooddys were usually recorded. The next processioning was 1731 and it and all the following processionings seem to be complete. In addition to processioning records, a very few Hanover and New Kent County property deeds and grants have survived from this period. Images of most of the grants can be viewed at the Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys found on the Library of Virginia web site. The wills of two Woodys from this period have survived: Simon and his only son Moor. However, Moor Woody left no male descendants.
        The Colonial Quakers were prodigious record keepers and many of their records have survived and have been transcribed by William Hinshaw and others. The minutes of the Henrico Monthly Meeting record the only two Woody Quakers mentioned in Virginia. In 1722, James Woody provided funds to help build a Meeting House. Micajah Woody of Hanover County and several of his daughters are noted from 1739 to 1759. Although it is possible that his ancestors may have been Quakers, there is no evidence at all to suggest that Henry Woody, of Goochland and Franklin Counties, was a Quaker. The name Henry Woody does not occur at all in the Quaker records. Also, most Quakers were strict pacifists and Henry was a Revolutionary War veteran.
        In the records described above and in the court records of Goochland, Henrico, Hanover and New Kent Counties, the given names of John, Martha, Micajah, Simon, James, Henry, and Samuel appear quite frequently; however, determining the relationships of these people is extremely difficult or impossible. Birth and marriage records are virtually non-existent for this period, so it is left to the family historian to first obtain and then subjectively interpret the meaning of the existing documents.

        A little knowledge of Virginia county formation, boundary changes and Civil War record destruction is necessary to reach any reasonable conclusions based on the meager evidence available.
        Henrico County, an original Virginia shire created in 1634, remained intact for over one hundred years until Goochland County was created from western Henrico in 1728. Conversely, Hanover County was formed from western New Kent County in 1721. New Kent was formed from York County in 1654 and, in 1642, York was formed from Charles River County, an original shire. So Goochland/Henrico were never part of Hanover/New Kent or visa versa; however, Woody families with the same given names seemed to have lived in both places at the same time.
        In contrast to the complete geographic separation of Goochland/Henrico and Hanover/New Kent described above, later Virginia county formation and boundary changes resulted in locations that were in two or three different counties in the space of a few years. A very accurate depiction of of Virginia county formation is available at the Map of US website. In the early 1740s, John Woody lived in western Goochland on Byrd Creek, a tributary of the James River. In 1744, the Byrd Creek location became part of Albemarle County when it was formed from western Goochland and thus some post-1744 records for this location are found in Albemarle. A further complication occurred in 1778 when Fluvanna County was formed from eastern Albemarle and the Byrd Creek location became part of Fluvanna. So in about thirty-five years, the Woody property was in three different counties and the records (if any) associated with this location and its residents are spread over these three counties. Although the records of the Woodys are found in many Virginia counties, the families did not always move from one county to another. As new counties were formed, the boundary changes give the impression of migration when none occurred.
        More than any other state, Virginia has suffered the destructive effects of war in America. Burning court houses was one of the favorite pastimes of invading armies in the American Revolution, the War or 1812 and the Civil War. However, in every sense, the Civil War created the most destruction to life and property and since many of the fiercest battles occurred in the area surrounding Richmond, the counties of Henrico, Hanover, New Kent, and Goochland were especially effected.
        The statutes of primogeniture that existed in Colonial America dictated that, after the widow's one-third dower, the estate of a intestate deceased went to his oldest surviving son. Of course, a will could be used to distribute an estate, but many people of moderate means did not execute a will. The Woodys were mostly people of moderate means and the bulk of their estates consisted of real property (land). Deeds and court records relating to land transfers form the major portion of the records that have survived and are available to the researcher. A few tithe records have survived, but these are very few and far between. Thus, our knowledge of the Woodys in Colonial America is mainly based on those eldest sons that inherited land. Their brothers and sisters can be virtually invisible.
        The Woodys were not wealthy or famous and many of them did not seem to be land owners. Most were probably squatters that farmed land that was not being cultivated by the owner. Squatting was part of the common land tradition of both the English and Gaelic laboring people and "squatter occupancy was one of the reasons that half of Virginia's white population in the 1770s had no recorded land." Fortunately, they did associate with a number of relatively well known people of the time. The family histories of most of these people have been documented and some of the evidence presented below comes from this documentation. This evidence is complex and, at times, difficult to follow.
        We have seen a lengthy mostly undocumented lineage published and recopied many times on the internet that extends the Henry Woody line back to the 1600s. Although males named Woody are indeed found in the isolated sources provided with the lineage, none of these sources give the relationships of the people, nor do they give any of the birth dates alleged for these people. Indeed, most of these sources refer to the headright records discussed above. Woody records for this period are very rare; however, many more exist than are cited in this lineage. These additional records contain information that is not mentioned in the lineage and suggest other relationships and lineages. Because the frequent use of the given names of Henry and John during the 1700s, it is very difficult to sort out the relationships. The most perplexing of these additional records are probably the The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia 1706 - 1786, The Vestry Book of Henrico Parish, Virginia 1730 - 1773 and St. James Northam Parish Vestry Book, Goochland County, Virginia 1744 - 1850. Although there are numerous mentions of Woodys in the St. Paul's Vestry Book, there is not one mention of a Henry Woody. Henry was one of the most popular Woody given names and the lineage in question includes three early Henry Woodys. At least as perplexing is the complete absence of the Woody name in the Henrico and St. James Northam Vestry Books. In an effort aimed at substantiating as much of this lineage as possible, we have made an detailed study of the three vestry books. The processioning records in the St. Paul's Vestry Book were analyzed and compared with other available records of that time period. The introductory remarks of the compiler, Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne, were very useful in this research and one very obvious reason for the absence of Henry Woody in the record became apparent. The other two vestry books do not contain one Woody record; however, the Woodys neighbors are known from extant land records, so the neighbor's names were the focus of the examination of the processioning records in these books. This examination revealed some very large differences in the way processioning results were recorded in the three parishes. These differences may account for the absence of the Woody name in the Henrico and St. James Northam Vestry Books. Vestry Books of St. Paul's, St. Peter's, Fredericksville, Henrico and St. James Northam Parishes is a discussion of this research.

The Reverend William Douglas became pastor of Dover Church, St. James Northam Parish in Goochland County, Virginia on October 12, 1750 and served until 1777, when he resigned because of his Tory political views. As many ministers were, Rev. Douglas was also a tutor and when Thomas Jefferson was nine he began five years of schooling at Dover Church under Douglas. The Douglas Register, the record of Rev. Douglas' ministry, is one of the few documents that have survived in Virginia's "Black Hole" of genealogy. The vast majority of the records of this area were destroyed during the Civil War. Images of the 1928 W. Mac. Jones transcription of this very important document are online at the Ancestry.com Stories, Memories and Histories section. The Reverend William Douglas recorded the following marriages and baptisms.

Early Colonial Virginia records that contain the Woody/Wooddy/Woode surname or any other variation are extremely rare; however, as more of these records are digitized and published online, a clearer picture of the very early Virginia Woodys begins to emerge. The first mention of a Woody/Wooddy in Virginia is the Lower Norfolk County, Virginia Court Records: Book "A" 1637-1646 & Book "B" 1646-1651/2 . The transcriptions of these two books were made from films of the originals Journals by Alice Granbery Walter and were published in 1994 and 1978. The author's preface makes it clear that transcribing Book A was incredibly difficult and tedious because of "Holes in the paper, water damage, and various other causes making a lot of the script impossible to read". She does not make an estimate of the amount of mutilated and/or missing material, but a casual examination reveals that it was considerable; however, considering that the similar records of New Kent and Hanover were virtually completely destroyed, we are very fortunate to have this transcription. The record is the short 31 October, 1649 court filling by Jasper Hoskins against the estate of Robert

Woody. This record implies that this Robert died about this time; however, his probable son, Robert, is recorded soon after his father's apparent death. A small portion of this record can be found online in Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Vo. 31; Lower Norfolk County 1651-1654 by Beverley Fleet; however, the complete transcription of interest can be found online in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume III, published in 1896 by the Virginia Historical Society. It is in the "Notes and Queries" section and concerns the Dutch vessel Leopoldus which was confiscated by the English government on June 6, 1652 as it was anchored in the James River near Newport News. At this time, England and Holland were at war. As shown on the image on the left, Robert Wooddy, age about thirty-two (bc 1621), testified in court about this incident on August 15, 1653. We have not seen an image of the actual record; however, we have seen and copied an image of the actual April 16, 1653, Lower Norfolk County patent that granted Robert Woody 200 acres on Daniel Tanner's Creek. Lower Norfolk County was situated on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay in the heart of the famous Virginia Tidewater region. It is alleged that Tanner's Creek is now the Lafayette River. The Lafayette River is a six mile long tidal estuary on the east side of the Elizabeth River at the southern end of the U. S. Naval Station. The image resolution

of the grant at the Library of Virginia online archive is not the greatest; however, his name is quite clear as shown on the right and in the discussion of headrights above. This grant was a "headright" award that named himself, Anne Minch, Mary Stanton and Art. Watson as the people he had been responsible for transporting to America. So we are confident that the transcribed record describing seaman Robert Woody's testimony is reasonably correct. Another important transcription is that of the 16 July 1652 Lower Norfolk County will of John Sibsey. The image is shown below left and mentions that the residence of Robert Woody was located at Craney Point. Craney Point is now in Portsmouth, Virginia on the west side of the

Elizabeth River and directly across the river from Tanner's Creek. In 1664, Robert and Mary Wooddy witnessed the Tanner's Creek land sale of Edward Wilder to John Minnikin. Likewise, in 1674 Robert Woody witnessed the Tanner's Creek will of Thomas Blanch and in 1680, the widow of Thomas mentioned the adjacent land of Robert Woody in her will. In 1691 Norfolk County was created from Lower Norfolk and in 1704/05, the Norfolk County Court ordered Robert Woody, a law suit defendant, to pay the plaintiff, George Lawson, 50 pounds of tobacco. Since Robert Woody, the seaman, would have been about 83 at this time, the defendant of this suit could have been one of his sons. This possibility seems to be confirmed by the Norfolk County, 16 April 1732 will of Jacob Talbutt of Tanner's Creek witnessed by a Robert Woody. Since this witness could not have been the Robert Woody born about 1621, we are positing that he was Robert Woody III. We are not sure if the location of Tanner's Creek has been misplaced over the years or if Robert Woody lived on Craney Point and/or Tanner's Creek, but since the two locations are within a mile or two of each other, it seems a minor point. We have not yet found a later record for that mentions a Robert Woody after 1732, however, the 1689 St. Peter's Vestry processioning record for James Wooddy fits very well with the above Robert Woody records. Based primarily on the 1689 date, we have posited that James was born about 1654. On the right below is a small section of the 1751 Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia. Norfolk is lower right on the Elizabeth River and near the mouth of the James River and the Chesapeake Bay. Richmond is upper left on the north side of the James River. The straight line distance between Norfolk and Richmond is about sixty miles. So, a Robert Woody would seem to be an excellent candidate for the father of James Wo

ody of New Kent County, Virginia; however, we have only found fairly strong circumstantial evidence to support this supposition. After 1732, Robert's name seems to have disappeared and, more importantly to us, the given name of "Robert" was used very infrequently by later Woodys and not until several generations after James Woody of New Kent. This seems rather odd since the early Virginia Woodys consistently repeated the parents given names when naming their children; however, since early Virginia records are vary rare, more than a few Woody/Wooddys could have gone unrecorded, especially if they were not land owners. It also seems odd that Robert is the only person found the with the Woody/Wooddy surname in about 100 years of Lower Norfolk and Norfolk records. Most importantly, we have not found any connection between the Woodys of New Kent and the Woodys of Norfolk; however, based on the the rarity of their surname in Colonial America and the substantial correlation of dates, we are positing that Robert Woody Jr. was the father of James Woody of New Kent. We also posit that Robert Woody III was the brother of James and probably inherited most of the estate of his father. The statutes of primogeniture would likely have been the reason for this inheritance. So, after 1732, we have not found another Virginia record that mentions the Woody/Wooddy surname, except in New Kent and Hanover. Since virtually all of the early New Kent civil records were destroyed, it is very doubtful that another will be found there; however, there are a few Lower Norfolk and Norfolk records that we have not examined and they might contain more clues. Also, the records of the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Surry, Charles City and James City should be examined since they border the James River between New Kent and Norfolk. The records of the parishes associated with these counties should also be examined. We are leaving that research to other interested individuals. Good luck.

            In her excellent 1992 book, Tuckahoo and Cohee: The Settlers and Cultures of Amherst and Nelson Counties 1606 -1807, Catherine C. H. Seaman describes how the cultures of the so-called "Tuckahoe" peoples of the Tide Water and Piedmont regions of Colonial Virginia intertwined with those of the relatively recent "Cohee" immigrants that had settled in the western Virginia Shenandoah Valley. Whereas the typical Tuckahoe farm was a least several thousand acres, the Cohee farms were much smaller, seldom more an a few hundred acres. In the early 1700s, Goochland County extended to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Across the Blue Ridge Range was Augusta County, where the creation of the Beverly Manor and the Borden Tract had attracted many recent Scot-Irish and German immigrants that travelled down The Great Wagon Road from their temporary southeastern Pennsylvania homes. In extreme western old Goochland, close by the Blue Ridge, was and is the Rockfish River and Valley. Later on, many other counties were formed from both Goochland and Augusta. Even though the Blue Ridge Range was a formidable challenge for the Cohee people of Augusta, many found their way into Rockfish Valley by way of the Rockfish Gap. This is evident because of the numerous deeds that describe farm tracts between 50 and 600 acres. The Rockfish Valley was the area that the Henry Woody, his sons and their families and many of their neighbors moved to after they had left their Byrd Creek homes in Goochland County. A 1751 map of the area is shown here. So it seems that Henry and his friends were probably heavily influenced by the Cohee culture before the Revolutionary War. Although the only Woody in mentioned in the book is George, the nephew of Henry and a Revolutionary soldier, many of their neighbors and acquaintances are discussed.
            On February 23, 1770, two separate 53 acre tracts were surveyed for Henry Woody and William Martin in the branches of Davis Creek, Amherst County. Henry Woody obtained a land grant for this property on August 1, 1772 and William's grant is dated June 20, 1772. William Martin was very likely the brother of Henry's wife, Susannah. Henry Woody's grant mentions Angus Forbus as a neighbor. Angus had moved to Davis Creek before 1762. Davis Creek is a tributary of the Rockfish River and is now in Nelson County, about five miles north of the county seat of Lovingston. Lovingston was named for James Loving, another Woody neighbor. Twenty miles to the east is Scottsville, the county seat of Albemarle County before 1761. Davis Creek, Lovingston and Scottsville were near the Rockfish Gap and the Three Notch'd Road which connected Staunton, in Augusta County, and Richmond on the James River. Scottsville was also was the final home of and burial place of Dr. Arthur Hopkins, mentioned above. In August 1782, a suit initiated by the above mentioned Angus Forbus against Henry Woody was abated because Angus had died and, latter that year, Henry then moved to Bedford County where he paid personal property taxes through 1792. Another Amherst neighbor of the Woodys and Martins was William Wright Sr. and his large extended family. On March 23, 1772, Thomas Woody was a witness to the sale of land from Samuel Shannon to Rev. Wm Irvin. This property was in the branches of the Rockfish River, near the Blue Mountains in Amherst County. Thomas Woody was enumerated as the head of a household containing five people in the 1783 Amherst census; however, on June 7, 1784, the estate of Thomas Woody was probated in Amherst and Mary Woody and Wm Wright Jr. were bonded as administrators. So it seems that Thomas Woody died intestate at a relatively young age. The next year, George and Mary Woody were enumerated in the Amherst census living adjacent to William Wright and Col. John Hopkins (husband of Mary Martin Hopkins), a son of Dr. Arthur Hopkins. However, we have not found out how Henry Woody disposed of his property and, much more importantly, the land tax records of Amherst County do not record any Woodys in Amherst County between 1782 and 1805. This evidence supports our assumption that Henry was the heir-at-law of the estate of John Woody. These events demonstrate the close association that existed between the Woodys, Martins, Banks, Lovings, Hopkins, Howards and Wrights. In the early 1800s, granddaughters of William Wright married sons of the abovementioned George Woody and these families soon moved to northern Alabama and were the progenitors of the many Woodys/Wooddys still living in the Madison County (Huntsville & Decatur) area. The Woody and Hopkins connection continued until at least 1850 when Thomas and Mary Woody were enumerated in Nelson County living beside Dr. Arthur Hopkins, the grandson of Dr. James and Ann Sparks Martin Hopkins and the great grandson of the above mention Dr. Arthur Hopkins. This Thomas Woody was born about 1775 and in 1801 he married Molly Loving Bradshaw, the sister of the James Loving mentioned above and the widow of John Bradshaw. Thomas lived to be at least eighty-six and was likely the son of the Thomas Woody that died in 1784; however Thomas Jr. did not seem to have any sons that survived to adulthood. We now believe that Henry, Thomas Sr. and William Banks Woody were the sons of John Woody and that George Woody was the son of Thomas.
            Ninety-seven Woodys were enumerated in the 1930 Nelson County, Virginia census. In addition, some 130 other Woodys were enumerated in Albemarle, Amherst, Bedford, Fluvanna, Franklin, Goochland and Henry counties. Many of these folks were undoubtedly related the Woodys that migrated from Goochland and Henrico counties to the Blue Ridge region of Western Virginia. Male descendants of these 1930 western Virginia Woodys should seriously consider participating in the Woody DNA Project discussed below. Both male and female Woody descendants with any surname can aid in their family history research by having their atDNA tested and evaluated. This participation could help extend this Woody line and add to the Woody heritage.

Unlike his brothers, Thomas Woody did not seem to leave a will. Neither did his son, George Woody Sr.: however, George is documented as a soldier of the Revolution This was probably because both men died at a relatively young age. We do know that the estate of Thomas was probated in 1784 and that his widow Mary married widower James Edmunds July 16, 1791 in Amherst. Andrew Wright, the son of the abovementioned William Wright provided surety. The Edmunds moved to Barren County, Kentucky where Mary died August 20, 1824. Mary's tombstone indicates that she was born in 1749, so she was not likely the mother of George Woody. The will of James Edmund mentions his step-daughter Lucy Woody; however, we can find nothing more concerning Lucy. George Woody, apparently the son of Thomas and an unknown first wife was first mentioned in the 1783 Amherst census. In 1790, George Wooddy provided part of the Amherst County bond for the marriage of Claiborne Howard and Salley Martin, daughter of James. Will Loving Jr. was a witness to th

is bond. This was almost surely the George Woody those estate was taxed in 1798 in Amherst County. So, like his father, George died intestate at a relatively young age. Nelson County was formed from the northern portion of Amherst in 1807 and it was here that two of the grand daughters of William Wright, Hannah and Matilda, married George Woody Jr. and Robert Woody, sons of George Woody Sr. When Hannah's father, Andrew Wright, mentioned directly above, died in 1816, she and her husband, George Woody Jr., inherited and sold 260 acres on Davis Creek. Another son of George Sr., William W. Woody, married Eliza Wright, a great granddaughter of William Wright. These three families moved to Madison County, Alabama by 1840 and William W. Woody and his family later moved on to Mississippi. The 1850 Monroe County, Mississippi census enumerates a Mary Woody, age 76, born Virginia, in the home of William W. and Eliza Woody. The image on the right is from the March 5, 1851 Monroe (Aberdeen, Mississippi) Democrat and records the untimely death of Reuben Thomas Wooddy, son of W. W. and Eliza Wooddy. Mary is assumed to be the mother of William W. and Robert Woody. George Woody Jr. was probably the son of the first wife (name unknown) of George Woody Sr.

In 1784 and 1785, Henry Woody purchased a total 233 acres on Camp Branch in Bedford County from the 16,000 acre inheritance of Robert and Thomas Pleasants. Henry and Susanna sold this property to Benjamin Bird in 1791 and, on June 20, 1792, Henry paid £200 to Edward Choat, Sr. for the Franklin County property that would be his final home. This 517 acre farm was in the branches of Doe Run and on, January 9, 1797, Henry Woody added to his holdings with a 127 acre land grant. Henry Woody was enumerated in the Franklin County Personal Tax Lists from 1793 through 1807. Henry's sons, Martin and John, preceded Henry to Franklin since they were first taxed there in 1787.
This small section of the 1786-1886 Franklin County settlement map shows the farm of Hen Henry Woody on Franklin Settlement Map

ry Woody, which was located about two miles southeast of Rocky Mount. The map was created by cartographer J. R. Hildebrand for the Franklin County Historical Society in conjunction with the Roanoke Valley Historical Society. Historical researchers for the map were Gertrude C. Mann and George A. Keglay. Copies of the settlement map may still be available from the Franklin County Historical Society. The graves of Henry, Susannah and Martin are maintained by the present owners of the property.
The will of Henry Woody was dated November 11, 1807 and proved on December 7, 1807. His estate was inventoried on December 28, 1807. In his will, Henry names his wife Susannah and the following children:

                 • Martin Woody, b. Mar 31, 1762, Goochland Co., Virginia, d. Dec 6, 1846, Franklin Co., Virginia, m. Oct 27, 1785, Henry Co., Virginia, Susannah Robertson, b. ca. 1771, Virginia, d. Jul 15, 1852, Franklin Co., Virginia,

                 • John Woody, b. Mar 12, 1764, Goochland Co., Virginia, d. 1844, Gasconade Co, Missouri, m. ca. 1793, Prudence ?,

                  • Randolph Woody, b. ca. 1770, Virginia, d. Nov 23, 1845, Franklin Co., Virginia, m. Nov 23, 1792, Bedford Co., Virginia, Patience Morgan, b. ca. 1775, Bedford Co., Virginia, d. Aug 2, 1854,

                  • Wyatt Woody, b. 1774, Virginia, d. ca. 1850, Yancey Co., North Carolina, m. Aug 22, 1799, Franklin Co., Virginia, Mary Emily Roberson, b. 1780, Virginia, d. 1850, North Carolina,

                  • Judy (Judith) Davis, b. Virginia, m. Dec 19, 1796, Franklin Co., Virginia, William Davis

                  • Susannah Robertson, b. 1780, Virginia d. 1867, Yancey Co., North Carolina, m. Nov, 1798, Franklin Co., Virginia, George Robertson, b. 1776, Jamestown, Virginia, d. July 7, 1856, Yancey Co., North Carolina,

                  • Rebecca Whitworth, b. ca. 1782 Virginia, m. Feb 4, 1801, Franklin Co., Virginia, Philmer/Philemon Whitworth, b. Feb 17, 1778,

                  • Polly (Mary) Bozzel), b. ca. 1782 Virginia, d. ca. 1860, Appanoose Co., Iowa, m. Dec 10, 1803, Stokes Co., NC, Thomas Bozzel, b. ca. 1785, d. 1843, Mason Co., Virginia and

                  • Henry Woody, b. ca. 1784, Bedford Co., Virginia, d. Apr, 1876 Franklin Co., Virginia, m. Nov 6, 1806, Franklin Co., Virginia, Judith Webb, b. ca. 1786, d. a. 1860.

About

1805, Wyatt Woody and Susannah Woody Robertson moved to western North Carolina with their father-in-law John Robertson. Unfortunately, the will of Wyatt Woody names only his wife; however, four of his sons have been positively identified: John, Henry, Edward and Josiah. Also, we have proven to our satisfaction that a fifth son, Wyatt Jr. died before 1850. When he was sixty-eight, John Sparrell and Prudence Woody migrated to Gasconade County, Missouri in about 1832. Accompanying them were their sons and their families, including Henry V., his wife Catherine Hughes and their oldest son Sparrell Walter Woody. To the right is a photo of Henry V. Woody (1802-1878). We know of no earlier photo of a descendant of Henry Woody and Susannah Woody. Our thanks go to Inez Louisa Carver, Hannah L. Biggs Smith, Dorothy Van Orman and Cheri Van Orman for providing this wonderful photo. In 1849, Dr. Sparrell Woody and his brother Tazewell Woody were probably the first descendants of Henry Sr. to reach the West Coast. Martin, Randolph and Henry Jr. remained in Franklin County as did many of their descendants, but as family farming became increasing unprofitable, some migrated to the coal fields of western Virginia and West Virginia. About the time of the Civil War, Texas attracted Woodys from Virginia and Missouri. The Woody name is still common in Franklin and Henry Counties in Virginia and very common in Yancey and Mitchell Counties in North Carolina.

Adjacent to Franklin County, the home of Henry Woody, is Henry County and it is here that William Woody was enumerated on the Personal Property Tax Lists from 1782 through 1789. Patrick County was formed from part of Henry in 1790 and on September 14, 1793, William Woody deeded property in Patrick to Hugh Anes. On December 16, 1783, William married Jane Small in Henry and, in 1786, two of William and Lucy Barnet Woody's daughters were also married in Henry: Biddy Woody to James Huff and Sarah Woody to Edward Hilton. Before these marriages, on March 7, 1761, Matthew Small, the father of Jane purchased land in the branches of the Rockfish River, the location Henry Woody's property in 1770. We have long thought that William and Biddy were the same people found in Goochland County in 1765 but, until recently, we were never able to locate them again. Volume IV of the 1981 Boone County (Arkansas) Historian contains an extensive article, authored by Roger V. Logan, Jr., entitled "John Wooddy, Veteran, Battle of New Orleans". This well written article relates that John was the son of William and Jane Wooddy of Virginia and Lincoln Co., Tennessee. Roger acknowledged the assistance of T. J. White, Marilyn Metz, Joyce Lindsey, William C. Capps, Jewell Patrick, Ron Patrick, Ottis Green, Vernon Jones and Lee Flood Jones. In his research, Roger found the July 16, 1814 will of William Woody and included a transcription in his article; however, if Tara Painter had not included this transcription on her website, we might never have found it. The work of Roger and Tara helped us find Jeri Davis Lipov's excellent and well documented history and genealogy of some of William Woody's descendants. Many of the source documents that Jeri used were provided by Marilyn Rose, Norene Woody Burden, Lena Woody Hampton, J. T. Davis and Anna Bull.
Soon after selling his land in Patrick County, William Woody and his family appear to have moved first to Kentucky about 1794, then continued on to the area near Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee about 1803. The State of Tennessee was created in 1796 from the "Territory of the U.S. South of the River Ohio", a vast area ceded by North Carolina to the United States government at the end of the Revolutionary War. Beginning in 1783, Bounty Land Warrants were issued by North Carolina and Congress as compensation for military service and other reasons. These warrants were transferable and this attribute attracted land speculators and created land frauds on a enormous scale. Bounty land also fueled a mass migration to Tennessee. Fayetteville and Lincoln County were formally founded in 1809 in an area that had been the "Cherokee Indian Lands". The murky events and bribery that lead to this land grab are related in "How the Cherokee Lost the Elk River" on the outstanding Tennessee GenWeb site. Located on the Alabama border, Lincoln County was named in honor of General Benjamin Lincoln, the officer that accepted General Cornwallis' sword of surrender at Yorktown. Fayetteville, the county seat of Lincoln County, was named for Fayetteville, North Carolina which was named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, one of General Washington's closet aides.

In addition to his wife Jane, William Woody's will named the following children:

                • William Banks Woody, b. ca. 1799, Kentucky, d. aft 1860, mc. 1820, Elizabeth Orick, bc. 1799, South Carolina, d. aft 1850.

                • Jane Woody, b. ?, d.?

                • Sarah Hilton, b. ca. 1766, Virginia, d. ? m. 1786, Henry Co., Virginia, Edward Hilton/Helton, b. May 14, 1761, Albemarle Co., VA, d. Aug 1849, White Co., TN.

                • Biddy Huff, b. Jan 21, 1765, Goochland Co., Virginia, d. bet. 1850-1860, m. 1786, Henry Co., Virginia, James Huff, b. ca. 1765, Virginia, d. aft. 1860, Harlan Co., Kentucky. The interesting story concerning a widely copied erroneous assertion about the wife of James Huff is here.

                • Betsey (Elizabeth) Buchanan, b. Oct 21, 1784, Virginia, d. Dec 2, 1861, Washington Co., Arkansas, m. May 25, 1805, Logan Co., Kentucky, James Buchanan, b. Oct 15, 1779, Washington Co., Virginia, d. Dec 4, 1848, Washington Co., Arkansas.

                • John Woody, August 29, 1792, Virginia, d. Aug 21, 1881, Boone Co., Arkansas, m. Jun 22, 1810, Massy Beaver, b. Jan 16, 1791, North Carolina, d. Mar 11, 1870, Arkansas.

                • Nancy Fulington (Fullerton), b. Oct 28, 1785, Virginia, d. 21 Dec 1865, Monroe Co., Indiana, m. Thomas Humphrey Fullerton, b. May 31, 1785, Chester Co., South Carolina, d. Apr 17, 1865, Monroe Co., Indiana.

The will of William Woody was probated May 5, 1817 and some of William's children soon moved to Indiana and Arkansas. In 1819, the children of Thomas and Nancy Woody Fullerton were baptized in the Hephzibah Presbyterian Church, near Fayetteville, Lincoln County and, by 1820, this family had moved to Indiana which had achieved statehood in 1816. The Fullertons named two of their children William Banks Fullerton and Robert Small Fullerton. We believe that these names eliminate the possibility that William Woody of Tennessee was the son of William Woody of Goochland or that Jane Small was the widow of a Banks. The Fullertons were accompanied to Indiana by William Banks Woody Jr. and, probably, John Woody and James and Elizabeth Woody Buchanan; however, by about 1825, the Woodys and Buchanans had moved on to that part of the Louisiana Purchase that had become Arkansas Territory in 1819. They are considered to be among the founders of Fayetteville, Arkansas which was named for Fayetteville, Tennessee. Another link to Tennessee was the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Cane Hill, Arkansas which was founded in 1827 and James Buchanan has been mentioned as one of the first members. Also, Reuben Burrow Woody, the son of John, was very likely the namesake of Reuben Burrow (1798-1868), an early circuit and camp meeting preacher in Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. Reuben Woody became the first of this family branch to reach the West Coast when he moved to Oregon in 1852.

Although the War of 1812 was officially ended by the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, news of this event did not reach the combatants in America until well after the Battle of New Orleans had ended on January 8, 1815. By then the British had suffered some 4000 casualties and the Americans 333. This belated victory was one of the very few American successes in the War of 1812 and somewhat mollified the public humiliation associated with the August 24, 1814 burning of the Congress buildings, the White House and the Library of Congress. Andrew Jackson, the little known commander of the American forces, was later propelled to the presidency by his new found fame.
John Wooddy, the son of William and Jane Small Wooddy, first joined the army of General Andrew Jackson in the fall of 1812 for three months. On September 28, 1814, he reenlisted in Fayetteville, Tennessee and was assigned as a 3rd Lieutenant in Captain John Doke's Company of 2nd Tennessee Mounted Gunman. This outfit of frontiersmen made their way to New Orleans and were positioned on the left flank of Jackson's line of defense for the city. A series of mostly futile British attacks began on December 14, 1814 and lasted until the death of General Edward Pakenham, the British commander. John Wooddy stayed in New Orleans until March 1, 1815 but, by April 27, 1815, he had made his way home to Fayetteville where he was discharged. In 1851 and 1855, after moving to Arkansas, John filled documents to obtain bounty land warrants granted by the September 28, 1850 Act of Congress as partial compensation for military service in the War of 1812.

Some of the descendants of Wyatt Woody of western North Carolina have been well known chair makers for at least five generations (See the four links below). This craft was surely brought to the region by Wyatt himself when he moved from Franklin County, Virginia. We have no evidence that his father, Henry, was a chair maker, but there is a chair making connection between the Woodys of western North Carolina and the Woodys of northwest Arkansas. Silas Claiborne Turnbo (1844-1925) spent most of his life collecting and recording the stories of the old timers of the Ozarks. One of of these stories came from William A. Eoff and is entitled "A Few Names of the Pioneer Settlers on the Left Prong of Crooked Creek and Vicinity". Mr. Eoff mentioned that among the earliest residents of the Crooked Creek, Boone County, Arkansas area were "Henry Woody and Katie, his wife" and "John Woody who was a chair maker. This man had a son named John whose wife was named Katie". This chair maker was John Woody, veteran of the War of 1812 and son of the shoemaker, William Banks Woody, of Henry County, Virginia and Lincoln County, Tennessee. His son, John, married Catherine Eoff. The two chair makers, John and Wyatt Woody, were most likely 1st cousins.

yDNA analysis has established that Henry, Thomas and William Banks Woody were close relatives. We have concluded that William and Thomas Woody was very likely the younger brothers of Henry Woody and that their father was almost surely John Woody of Goochland and Albemarle Counties. Henry had the means to purchase several tracts of property which leads us to assume that he was the oldest living son at his father's death. Almost of the evidence is indirect and circumstantial, but it is based on many primary and secondary records. The fact that Henry and William had children baptized at Dover Church by Rev. William Douglas on exactly the same day (Aug 28, 1765) provides significant evidence. The documented close association of the Woodys with the Martins, Hopkins, Wrights, Howards and Banks correlates well with the use of two of these surnames as Woody given names (i.e Martin & Banks). From circumstantial evidence, we also surmise that the wife of John Woody was a Banks, probably the sister of William Banks and the daughter of Thomas Bankes. References to Thomas and William are somewhat rare; however, we believe that they was named for Thomas Bankes, the posited father of the assumed wife of John Woody. Thomas Woody died in Amherst in the summer of 1784. His widow, Mary, later married James Edmonds in 1791. We have not found much to estimate the birth date of Thomas, but the records suggest that he was about the same age as Henry. So it is possible that he could have been a younger brother of John. One descendant of William Banks Woody has suggested that Thomas was the father of William, but that descendant did not seem to know about the Woody baptismal connection in Goochland. Also, the name Thomas was hardly ever used by the descendants of William Banks Woody or any other Woody line for that matter. There were other Henry and William Woodys that lived in the same general area as the subjects of this page, but we believe we have accounted for them. In any event, we believe that making these lineage assumptions based mainly on circumstantial evidence and then comparing the atDNA of the lineages descendants provides a way to perhaps prove or disprove the assumptions.
We have constructed a "Chronology of Selected Woody Events in Early Virginia" which is an analysis of possible, but unproven, early Woody family connections. The focus of this discussion is mainly on the early Woodys of New Kent and Hanover Counties, Virginia and vicinity. This large related group of people is detailed in The Woody Family of Old Virginia and much of the detail predates the discovery of John Woody of Goochland County, Virginia; however, since virtually all of these Woodys are related, much of the information is relevant.

The results of the Woody yDNA Project have encouraged us to open a new traditional research project. Since yDNA analysis has shown that nearly all Woody descendants with roots in Colonial Virginia are related, The Woody Family of Old Virginia is focused on the large number of related Virginia Woody branches that have not yet been connected to their common ancestor. The project will use tradition research methods to accumulate every available scrap of information concerning these people and attempt to integrate this data with the yDNA and atDNA results. The ambitious goal is to extend the lineages of each branch and create an all inclusive family tree. A database with citations, sources and attributions is included.

        The Woody DNA Project was initiated in May of 2007 as a yDNA project and the yDNA results for the first participant were posted at the end of June. yDNA is passed from father to son forever, so yDNA is the basis for all surname projects; however, since the Woody DNA Project was initiated, autosomal DNA (atDNA) testing and analysis techniques have been improved considerably and the price of these products has decreased sharply. Also, since atDNA is inherited about equally from both male and female ancestors, these tests can be utilized by both females and males. The results of an atDNA test includes about 700,000 discrete data points, so there is no way to display these results the way we display the results of yDNA tests; however, we will post a simple lineage chart for atDNA participants that join the Woody DNA Project. Also, we will discuss any "success stories" that are attributed to the analysis of atDNA results. We invite anyone with a close Woody connection to join the Woody DNA Project and order their atDNA (Family Finder) test using the link at the bottom of the page. As part of the project, we have included an extensive page describing DNA, yDNA, mtDNA, atDNA and xDNA, as well as, the procedures used to analyze the results derived from each type of DNA test. Since most people only have a very vague understanding of how atDNA results analysis is accomplished, we have included a very detailed description of this process. To see this page, click here.
        However, make no mistake about this aspect: An autosomal test does not replace a yDNA test for most people. A yDNA test always provides valuable genealogical information, even if the information is not pleasing to the participant. If the yDNA test is a match for an existing surname line, no other research is necessary to prove this relationship. Conversely and for several reasons, many autosomal tests provide no useful genealogical information at all to the participant. To see a very simple recent case study that proves this assertion, click here.
        Some of the project goals are:
            To determine if the early Woody lines were related.
            To help determine the common ancestors of separate, but related, Woody lines.
            To help extend Woody lines that have reached a "dead end" utilizing conventional research.
         The project progress has been better than many DNA project start-ups and we have posted the results of over forty participants. Comparison of these yDNA submissions has already extended several dead-end lineages, proved the close relationship of many early Virginia Woodys and shown that there were at least four completely unrelated Woody lines in Colonial America. The genealogical benefits of DNA testing are explained in detail at Family Tree DNA; however, we have included an overview of yDNA testing/benefits/results/concerns here.

Please browse the Woody DNA Project to view the current yDNA results and the Woody lineages that have been posted. For much more information about DNA testing, visit Family Tree DNA Projects, where you may also view some very successful surname DNA projects. These projects are successful because lots of people were willing to invest in their heritage. We are totally committed to this project, but we need your help in making the Woody DNA Project as successful as other DNA projects. If you are a female, please strongly encourage a male relative to join the yDNA project. To find relatives that might help in solving nearer term family history situations, both male and female Woodys, as well as, close relatives of Woodys can utilize an atDNA test. If successful DNA projects can be developed for other surnames, the Woody's can do no less.
We understand that the expense involved may be a problem for some folks, so here is a suggestion that may work for you. Treat the testing fees like the group expenses of a family reunion. Divide the testing fees between all the relatives of one male. Make it a family project. In addition, most testing fees are substantially discounted when they are ordered at the project home page.

Albemarle County, Virginia Land Tax Lists 1782-1798, Library of Virginia County Microfilm Records, Reel #6
American Memory Collection, Early Virginia Religious Petitions, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
American Memory Collection, George Washington Papers, 1741-1799: Series 4, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Amherst County, Virginia Land Tax Lists 1782-1805, Library of Virginia County Microfilm Records, Reel #17
Beck, Sara. Franklin County Deeds, Franklin County, Virginia Bicentennial, Rocky Mount, Virginia
Bedford County, Virginia General Indexes to Real Estate Conveyances, Grantees, Surnames U-Z, 1754-1929, LDS Family History Library, Film #1941016
Bedford County, Virginia General Indexes to Real Estate Conveyances, Grantors, Surnames T-Z, 1754-1929, LDS Family History Library, Film #1941021
Bedford County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists 1782-1805, LDS Family History Library, Film #2024472
Binns Virginia County Tax & Tithe Lists
Brock, R. A. The Vestry Book of Henrico Parish Parish, Virginia 1730-1773, Richmond, Virginia, 1874; Reprint: Southern Historical Press, Greenville, South Carolina, 1995
Carver, Inez Louisa & Smith, Hannah L. Biggs. Life and Genealogy of Henry Woody, self published, Berkeley, California, 1927
Chamberlayne, Churchill Gibson. The Vestry Book and Register of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia, 1684-1786, The Library Board, Richmond, 1937
Chamberlayne, Churchill Gibson. The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia, 1706-1786, The Library Board, Richmond, 1940
Cook, Gerald Wilson. The Descendants of Claiborne Howard; Soldier of the American Revolution, 1960
Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776, Southern Book Company, Baltimore, 1954
DAR Patriot Index, Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington DC, 1994
Davis Rev., Bailey Fulton. The Deeds of Amherst Co., Virginia 1761- 1807 and Albemarle Co., Virginia 1748-1763, Southern Historical Press, Easley, South Carolina, 1985
Davis Rev., Bailey Fulton. The Wills of Amherst Co., Virginia 1761-1865, Southern Historical Press, Easley, South Carolina, 1985
Douglas Rev., William. The Douglas Register, transcribed & edited by W. Mac. Jones, Genealogy Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1977
Fleet, Beverley, "Lower Norfolk County 1651-1654", Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Vol. III, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988
Fluvanna County, Virginia Deeds 1777-1783, TLC Genealogy, Miami, 1991
Franklin County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists 1786-1803, LDS Family History Library, Film #2024540
Franklin County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists 1804-1821, LDS Family History Library, Film #2024541
GenealogyBank.com
Goochland County, Virginia Court Order Books Vol. 1-4, 1728-1741, LDS Family History Library, Film #31671
Goochland County, Virginia Court Order Books Vol. 5-6, 1741-1749, LDS Family History Library, Film #31672
Greer, George Cabell. Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666, W. C. Hall Printing Co., Richmond, Virginia, 1912
Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790 - Records of the State Enumerations: 1782-1785, Virginia, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1908
Henry County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists 1782-1830, LDS Family History Library, Film #2024587
Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy - Virginia, Vol. VI, GPC, Baltimore, 1993
Historical Sketch of Bedford County, Virginia 1753 - 1907, J. P. Bell Co., Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia 1907
Hopkins, Walter Lee. Hopkins of Virginia and Related Families, J. W. Fergusson & Sons, Richmond, Virginia, 1931
Hopkins, William Lindsay. St. James Northam Parish Vestry Book, 1744-1850, Goochland County, Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1987
Lipov, Jeri Davis. Chips from the Woody Block - The Woody Family Descending from William Woody (1760-1817), Columbia, Maryland, November, 1996
Logan, Roger V. Jr. "John Woody - Veteran, Battle of New Orleans" Boone County Historian, Vol., IV, No. IV, 1981
Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 44, No. 1; February, 2006, Virginia Genealogical Society
"Martin Woody Pension Record", Publication M804, National Archives, Chicago Branch
McDonnold, B. W., D.D., LL.D. History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Board of Publication of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1899
Moore, J. Staunton and Hollowak, Thomas l.. The Annals and History of Henrico Parish, Diocese of Virginia : and St. John's P.E. Church, GPC, Baltimore, 1979
Morgan, Ruth. "Hephzibah Reform Presbyterian Church of America", Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, March 1978
Nugent, Nell Marion & Hudgins, Dennis Ray. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1800, Vol. 1-7, Library of Virginia & Virginia Genealogical Society, 1934-1999
Painter, T. K. Capps Family Page
Pawlett, Nathaniel Mason & Newlon, Howard H. The Route of the Three Notch'd Road: A Preliminary Report, Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council, 1976
Pawlett, Nathanial Mason. Goochland County Virginia Road Orders 1728-1744, Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council, 1975
Pawlett, Nathaniel Mason. Albemarle County Roads 1725-1816, Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council, 1981
"Presbyterian Church Migration from Fayetteville, Tennessee to Fayette County, Indiana in 1832" The Hoosier Genealogist, Vol. 40, No. 2, June 2000
Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia through Four Centuries, University of Oklahoma Press, 1990
Seaman, Catherine H.C. Tuckahoes and Cohees: the settlers and cultures of Amherst and Nelson Counties, 1607-1807, Sweet Briar College Printing Press, 1992
Smith, Eldon Coles. New Dictionary of American Family Names, Harper Row, N.Y., c1973
Sparacio, Ruth & Sam. Albemarle County Virginia Deed Book 2, 9 Feb 1759 - 12 Mar 1761, The Antient Press, McLean, Virginia, 1988
Sparacio, Ruth & Sam. Albemarle County Virginia Deed Book 3, 12 Mar 1761 - 9 Aug 1764, The Antient Press, McLean, Virginia, 1988
Sparacio, Ruth & Sam. Albemarle County Virginia Wills & Deeds 1748 - 1752, The Antient Press, McLean, Virginia, 1990
Sparacio, Ruth & Sam. Albemarle County Virginia Wills & Deeds 1752-1785, The Antient Press, McLean, Virginia, 2000
Speed, John Gilmer & Minor, Louisa H. A. The Gilmers in America, printed for private distribution, New York, 1897
"The Old Settlers of Monroe County, Indiana", Monroe County, Indiana GenWeb
Turnbo, Silas Claiborne. The Turnbo Manuscripts, Vol. 19, Springfield-Greene County (Missouri) Library, transcribed from Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1912), Review: Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666
Ozarks, 1904 and Fireside Stories of the Early Days in the Ozarks, Part II, 1907
United States Federal Census Records, Ancestry.com
Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys, The Library of Virginia
Virginia Marriages 1740 - 1850, Ancestry.com
Watts, Dorothy Chambers. The Tyree Tree: With Angle, Byrd, Cook, Dillion and Woody Branches, self published, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1978
Weisiger, Benjamin B. Goochland County Virginia Wills & Deeds 1736 - 1742, Richmond, 1984
Wingfield, Marshall. Marriage Bonds of Franklin County, Virginia 1786-1858, Clearfield Co., 1939

The original focus of my research was on the descendants of Henry and Susannah Martin Woody of Franklin Co., Virginia; however, this focus has been expanded to include the descendants of Thomas and Mary Woody of Amherst County, Virginia and William and Lucy Barnet/Jane Small Woody of Henry County, Virginia. We invite other researchers share information and images pertaining to the descendants of the children of Henry and William Woody. We will gladly acknowledge your contributions and/or provide links to your online data. While most of the work on the descendants of Henry and Judith Woody is my own, We have borrowed extensively from published records, online records and individuals for the genealogies of the other children of Henry, Thomas and William Woody. Except where the data pertains to our direct line, we do not always attempt to verify the contributions of other researchers. In creating Woody Family Roots and the associated online database, one of my objectives was to provide a comprehensive, documented resource for those doing research on the descendants of Henry, Thomas and William Woody. Hopefully, this approach will provide a base that other researchers of this line will enhance with their contributions. For much of this information, we are indebted to the following individuals, institutions and organizations:

Chrissy Adkins, Gerald & Theresa Affeldt, Mary Aishele, Kendrea Aldridge, Robert Allen, Jim Allred, Yvonne Lominac Amico, Nikki Amundson, Lee Anderson, William P. Anderson, Richard Andre, Henry Angle, Marty Appel, Janis Kerr Arnold, Shelly Arrington, Jack Ahble, Gordon Aronhime, Jeannette Holland Austin, Nancy Avis, Kirsten Ayers, Don Ayres, Bernard Joseph Bade, Lloyd Richard Bailey, Roy Bailey, Herman C. Baldwin, Wallace R. Baldwin, Victoria Ballantine, Melissa Banks, Ray Banks, Patrick Barrett, William Barrett, Barbara C. Baughan, W. H. Beaber, Marie Cooke Beckman, Arthur L. Belcher, Kathy Belcher, Robert Bellew, Thomas Kidd Bernard, William Coffee Berry, Lori Shaw Bessemer, Roy Bessire, Stan Bevers, John Biddix, Steve & Yvonne Binns, Maty Bittick, Arzella Blackburn, Charles Blanchard, Teresa L. Blattner, Gwen Bodford, Richard Wade Boggs, Linda Booram, June Baldwin Bork, Jim Boruff, Marie Bost, Howard Boswell, Mrs. Bottoms, Scott Brady, Stanley Branch, Michael Brasfield, David Bridge, Thomas K. Brigham, Melody Brooks, Alexander Brown, J. C. Brown, Dee Dee Bryans, Robin D. Bryson, Paul Dennion Buchanan, Sandra Bucher, Maurice L. Burd, Gwendolyn Woody Burgess, Michael Burleson, Matt Burnett, Todd Burton, Ronald Campbell, Michael Dean Canary, Jason Cannon, William C. Capps, Louis Harvey Carney, Ray Carney, Linda Carpenter, Glen Carter, Louise Carter, Inez Louisa Carver, Nora Jane Carver, Carol Cassidy, Bev Cavender, Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne, James Chandley, Marian Dodson Chiarito, Anthony Chitwood, E. Joyce Christiansen, Diana P. Churchman, Jack Ciaccia, John A. Ciaccia, David Clark, Loren Charles Clark, Ray Clarkson, Juathina Claspill, Goldie Lee Cleek, Wayne Coffey, Payne Coleman, Michael L. Collins, Randy Collins, Lori Compton, Chris Conley, Bonnie Morris Conrad, Lonna Jean Conroy, Gerald Wilson Cook, Joseph Cook, John Cornell, Ray Cossart, Peggy Lee Cox, Mary Crabtree, W. B. Cridlin, Bruce Cramer, Glenda May Crawford, James Cross, Kay Cross, Barbara Cunningham, William G. Cutler, James Michael Dale, Janet H. David, Tonye Davie, Bailey Fulton Davis, David Davis, Frieda Patrick Davison, Javan Michael De Loach, Rick Dent, Sidney Dent, Gloria Dettleff, Trent Deyton, Woody Deyton, Florence Dietz, Danny Dillon, Jordan A. Dodd, Virginia Anderson Dodd, Marjorie Woody D'Olivo, S. Donaldson, Kelly Steinweden Dossett, Judith Ann Douglas, Nancy Dow, Margaret Downey, Joe Downing, Marty DuBoce, William N. Dumar, Louisa St. John Durkin, Ed Duvall, Bob Edens, Twyla Edwards, Pam Elliott, Rebecca Ellis, Jack English, Lewis M. Epperson, D. Estes, Mary Evans, Linda E. Everhart, Dorothy Falk, Rebecca Falzarano, Donald L. Feazell, Marie Ruth Bagley Fellers, Sandra Allen Fender, Golden Combs Ferguson, Sylvia C. Fuson Ferguson, Judy P. Fisher, Lavonne Fisher-Radloff, Beverley Fleet, Rhoda Fone, Lavinia Ford, Annete Foster, Earl James Frankenfield, Jeremy Tyler Franklin, Mary Jo Freeman, Judy French, Beth Fridley, Shelly Fritz, Randy Funderburk, Ben Gantt, S. Garrison, Mary Traynor Gates, Ryan Gavin, Bill Gawthrop, Johnny Geist, Laretta Geren, J. Germann, Thom Gibby, Maryvaughan Gibson, Beverly Giles-Loffler, Tracy Glatz, Heather L. Gomes, Sandi Goren, Pam Haymes Graham, Sylvia Grand, Marty Grant, Michele Lee Grant, Robert N. Grant, Otis Green, Bill Grimm, Karen Grubaugh, John H. Gwathmey, Nell Hailey, Jerrold T. Haldiman, Ruth G. Hale, Donna Hall, Sharon Hackworth, Emory L. Hamilton, C. Hammitts, Pauline Hammond, Virginia L. Harris, April Davis Harvey, Maria Harvey, Woody Ernce Harvey, Frank Hatton, Gloria Pauley Haun, Jason Hauser, Gary Hawley, Susan Haynes, Dave Heathcott, Ken Hedgpeth, Margaret Heinek, Samuel K. Helm, Terry B. Hendrix, Lil Herrin, Julie Chapman & Sherman Gene Hesson, Tom Hester, Ken Hinds, Rachel Hiott, Jim Hobbs, Shelly Hobdy, Nadine Hodges, Dale Holdren, Gail Holman, Jamie Hopson, Michele Hosp-Laboray, Marsha Lloyd Howell, Mary Jo Hubbard, Barbara Wine Hudson, Allan S. Humphreys, Desiree R. Huskins, Lisa Jackson-Jimenez, Wesley Jacobs, Linda Jenkins-Wensel, James W. Jessee, Carolyn Johnson, Chuck Johnson, Eric & Kathy Johnson, Paul Johnson, Hurshel E. Johnson, David R. Jones, Elizabeth Hargar Jones, Emily Jones, Lee Flood Jones, Randt Jones, Vernon Jones, W. Mac. Jones, Weymouth T. Jordan, Michael Justice, Ruby Kansler, Richard Keefer, Tami Kelly, Ronald N. Kemp, Janet King, Carol Kinney, Angela Kirklin, Julia Williams Kodak, Patricia Barry Krueger, Dennis Labahn, Larry LaBruyere, Kenneth Lakey, Deb Landauer, Susan Lane, Pamela Shelton Langevin, Janice Michele LaRocca-Byrne, Michaeel B. Lawing, Jesse Macon Lawrence, Mark Lawson, Clara Lechtenberger-Falk, Peggy Jean Ledbetter, Terry D. Lee, Wally Lee, Mary K. Leitner, Lyn Lennon, Ruth Lessley, Robert Libby, Sandra Woody Lichtenberger, Brian Liedtke, Joyce Lindsey, Albia Linthicum, Jeri Davis Lipov, Jennie Livingston, Bruce W. Locke, Roger V. Logan, Susan Woody Logan, Anita Murphy Lotts, Jane Snidow Lloyd, Dennis Lubahn, Eric von der Luft, Juanita Lowrence, Julian Lumpkin, Darrin Lythgoe, Maria Nourse Lyle, Lou Mace, Elizabeth Stone Maddox, Alice Magness, James Daniel Mahar, Sam Maner, Gertrude Mann, Robin Manning, Ray E. Markland, Monroe Marlowe, Helen C. & Timonthy R. Marsh, Joe L. Martin, John C. Martin, Paul Martin, Dianna Hale Mattingly, C. H. Mattoon, Susie May, William Mayfield, John McCartney, Tim McClellan, Margaret Maye McClure, Omar McCourry, Jesse McCoy, Steve McDonald, Kim McEuen, John McGhee, Pamala Jane McLain, Marie Wormington McMahan, Oscar Meadows, Tena Melton, Deane Merrill, Marilyn Metz, JoAnn Miller, Martha Miller, Vicki Miller, Jean Moncier, Merideth L. Monserud, Marla Moore, Vera Y. Jaynes Moritz, Mary Spradley Morken, Melvin Morris, Terry Morris, D. Gail Dunagan Morrison, Linda Moser, Lou Murray, Robert A. Murray, Frank D. Myers, Rich Nallenweg, William Navey, Richard Neal, Stacy Neece, Shari Nees, Don Nickell, Paige Norman, Kari Northup, Nell Marion Nugent, Laura Phillips Nygaard, Deborah Woody Oberst, Joyce Critchfield Oberst, Doyle Ollis, James O'Reilly, Darlene Garner O'Steen, Lea Kate Quesenberry Ott, Sharon Oxley, Steven Page, T. K. Painter, J. Palmer, Ray Parcell, George Parker, Jewell Patrick, Ron Patrick, Helen Patrikus, Daniel W. Patterson, Janet Patton, Nathaniel Mason Pawlett, Tony King Payne, Virginia G. Pedigo, Cleda Perry, Steve Peters, Sharon Petersen, Jim D. Philpott, Betty Pilson, H. R. Pinckard, Kay Pinkston, Robert Powell, Robert Prater, Lesie R. Prey, Chris Price, Warren H. Prichard, Velma Rabon, Maggie Rail, Peter Allen Ramsey, Thomas F. Ramsey, Scott Randolph, Marvin Raney, Becky Rasmussen, Sheila Ratliff, Erwin Record, Charles & Glenda R. Rees, Vera Reeves, Phyllis Reichenbach, Sandra Reid, Marian E. Repice, Joan M. Resk, Sylvia Reynolds, Becky Rhea, Jennifer Richie, David Richards, Allen Richmond, Dorothy Ricker, Angie Riehn, Betty Robertson Riley, Marsha Hoffman Rising, Jennifer Ritchie, James Ritter, Robbie Roberson, Linda Roberts, Harold "Lat" Robinson, Kay Robinson, Ellen Stanley Rogers, John D. Roher, Barbara Rooks, Theodore Roosevelt, Nancy Rosamond, Dianne Rosenfield, Carol Ross, Robin Rowand, Anne Ruddle, Shirley Runnels, Chris Hawley Ruppel, Jane F. Russell, Carol Ryan-Spenande, Lena Yates Sang, Bob Saunders, Fredric Z. Saunders, Will Woody Saylor, Dorothy Schell, Pauline Harris Schwarz, Leslie M. Scott, Shirley Scott, Steve Scott, Candi Seaton, Richard Seaton, Peggy Seidler, Christie Setser, Edward Seufferlein, Ruth Shaff, Bonnie Jean Woody Shannon, Patricia Sowder Shoptaw, Janice Shelton, Muriel Earley Sheppard, Rick Jay Short, Tom M. Short, James D. Silver, Gene Simpson, Richard Slatten, Herk Slutter, Sally Small, Edith Smith, Hannah L. Biggs Smith, Harley G. Smith, Cynthia Smithdeal, Sylvia Smitherman, Gallano & Rhonda J. Snider, Billie Snyder, Harold Solomon, Brandie Sowder, Wilson T. Sowder, Ruth & Sam Sparacio, Gaw Sparks, Sandy Spradling, Jordan Sprechman, Debbie Springer, Gail Staton, Diane R. Stepp, Ronnie Stone, Roy D. Stone, Lydell Story, Clarissa Stuart, James F. Sutherland, Philip Sutton, Justin Swanstrom, Suzie Swatzell, T. F. Swinehart, Steve W. Sykes, Sharon Tabor, Debbie Taff, Jerry A. Taylor, Marla Taylor, Janis Tebow, Sue Terhune, Leslie Thomas, Pam Thomas-Cantrell, Louise Thomas-Miller, Marianne C. Thompson, Nancy Thompson, Ted Thompson, Loftur Altice Thorsteinson, Sally L. Thurber, Dennis B. von Ting, S. Tittrington, Clayton Torrence, Virginia G. Turnbull, Nancy Turner, Sue Twitchel, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Robert F. Tyree, Velma Vabon, Cheryl & Dorothy Van Orman, Janis Duncan Vaughn, Robert W. Vernon, Elaine Via, Charlene L. Viereck, Mrs. John Vineland, Denise E. Vise, Jinny Wallerstedt, Anita Wages,Terri Walker, James Palmer Ward, Leslie Ward, Dorothy Chambers Watts, Jeffrey Craig Weaver, Laura Weekley, Benjamin B. Weisiger, Betty Ann Wells, Francis Woody Werking, Gene Wheeler, Michelle Wheeler, T. J. White, Jason Whitt, Joida Whitter, Leon Wilde, Donna Wilkes, M. M. Wilkinson, Delores Willey, Doris F. Williams, Doris Keefer-Williams, Elaine Humphrey Williams, Howard McKnight Wilson, Kevin A. Wilson, Lorraine Wilson, Randy Winch, Virginia Stone Windle, M. Wolf, Sudie Rucker Wood, Mark W. Wooddy, Audrey Lee Wagner Woodruff, Bobby Eugene Woody, Carolyn M. Woody-Fuller, Charles Woody, Clayton Edwin Woody, Craig Woody, Cynthia Woody, Cynthia Lynne Woody, Donna Woody, Gail Arthur Woody, Homer Woody, John N. Woody, Joseph Blair Woody, Lee Hardin Woody, Leroy William Woody, Lisa Winkle Woody, Louise McCaffrey Woody, Margaret Fischler Woody, Mark Woody, Mary Ellen Gilliland Woody, Mildred Motley Woody, Mitchell M. Woody, Nicki Woody-Ivey, Ronald J. Woody, Steve Woody, Wayne Monroe Woody, Bayard Wootten, Wendy Pace Wygle, Dennis Yancey, Robert Wayne Yeatts, Brian York, K. W. Young, Perry Deane Young, Peggy Young, Todd Young, Ron Zell, the staff of the LDS Family History Centers in Decatur Alabama, Grand Rapids Michigan, Fort Myers Florida, Green Tree Pennsylvania, Knoxville Tennessee and Naperville Illinois, the staff of the Chicago Branch of the National Archives, the staff of the Newberry Library of Chicago, the staff of the Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana, the staff of the Wheaton Library Genealogy Desk, Wheaton, Illinois, the staff of the New Bern - Craven Co. Library Genealogy Desk, New Bern, North Carolina, the Franklin County Historical Society, the Boone County Historical and Genealogical Society, the Indiana Historical Society, the Roanoke Valley Historical Society, the staff of Franklin County Library, Rocky Mount, Virginia, the staff of the Ft. Myers and Lee Co. Library, Ft. Myers, Florida, the staff of the Mid-County Regional Library, Port Charlotte, Florida, the staff of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knoxville, Tennessee, the staff of the Knox County Public Library System, Knoxville, Tennessee, the staff of the Library of Virginia Interlibrary Loan Desk, Richmond, Virginia and the staff of Bassett Library, Bassett, Virginia. Any omissions are unintentional.

We are especially grateful to the transcribers of old documents. This is a very difficult task and every serious researcher should try their hand at transcription. Copies of original census records are a good place to start. Most of the authors of the transcriptions that we have used are included in the above list.

1990 U.S. Census: Surname - Population Frequency - Frequency Rank
Smith - 1.006% - 1
Woody - .007% - 1664
Woodie - .001% - 15008
deWoody - .001% - 15538
Woode - less than .001% - 53340
Woodey - less than .001% - greater than 88799
Wooddy - less than .001% - greater than 88799