[WOODLEMB.FTW] PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM, Fayette County, Iowa, 1891. ' JUDGE THOMAS WOODLE--- This volume would be incomplete without atleast a brief notice of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, whoseability, business capacity, benevolence and honesty made him a prominentcitizen, and honored member of society during the days of the earlyhistory of this county. He was born in Fayette County, PA, about 1818,and educated in the common schools of his native state. In 1839 he camewith his father's family to the West, locating in Green County,Wisconsin, which was then almost a trackless wilderness. Havingattained to mature years, he was there married and began the developmentof a farm which eleven years later, in 1850, he sold prior to coming tothis county. Accompanied by wife and children, he again started upon awestward journey and at what is now known as Dunham's Grove, near thegeographical center of Fayette County, made a location. He entered landand opened up a farm which he continued to cultivate until 1851, when hewas elected to the office of County Judge, and in the autumn of that yearremoved to West Union, the county seat of that county. The office ofCounty Judge, during the then existing code of laws, was a very importantand responsible position. All the probate business of the county, allthe duties now performed by the County Auditor as well as those of theBoard of Supervisors, were at that time a part of the duties of theCounty Judge. Mr. Woodle filled the office with credit and ability andcontinued to serve in that capacity until his death, which occurred in1854, at the early age of thirty-six years. With other leading andprominent interests of the county, our subject was also identified. Incompany with Rev. H. S. Brunson in the spring of 1852, he opened thesecond dry-goods store in West Union and continued business in that lineuntil his death. Any enterprise calculated to upbuild or benefit thecommunity received his hearty support and co-operation. He entertaineddeep religious convictions and was a consistent member of the BaptistChurch. He aided in the erection of the first house of worship of thatdenomination in this city and labored untiringly for the upbuilding ofthe cause. In politics, he was an anti-slavery Whig. Mr. Woodle was aman of fine personal appearance, being six feet and two inches in heightand well proportioned. He was possessed of more than ordinaryintellectual ability, was a good neighbor and citizen, a kind-hearted andbenevolent man and generous almost to a fault. He is lovinglyremembered by all who knew him, for his friends were many; his enemiesfew. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA, 1878. Excerpts from: 'Regular Baptist Church--- At a meeting of the Regular Baptist Brethrenresiding in West Union, at the house of Hon. Thomas WOODLE, on the 23rdday of October, A. D. 1852, Elder Thomas Ritchie of Stroudsburg, PA, andElder Calvin D. Farnsworth of Colesburg, Iowa, were requested to sit asan Advisory Council with them. The meeting was opened by prayer. ElderThomas Ritchie was called to the chair and Friend Dayton was electedClerk. The Council decided to recognize them as a Regular BaptistChurch of Christ. The next day, 24th, the Recognition Sermon wasdelivered by Rev. C. D. Farnsworth, the Charge by Rev. Mr. Ritchie, andRight Hand of Fellowship by Farns- worth. The original members wereLorenzo Dutton, Malinda Dutton, Francis Skelton, Martha Burdick, LivonaBurdick, Friend Dayton, Sarah Ann Dayton, Baltus Dayton, Reubon Dayton,Thomas WOODLE and Rachel WOODLE. November 15, 1852, the little churchagain assembled at the house of Thos. WOODLE. At this meeting, LorenzoDutton was Moderator, Francis Skelton was elected Church Clerk, andFriend Dayton, Deacon. March 18, 1853, Elder J. Arnold was engaged topreach one-fourth of the time for six months. Plans for building a smallhouse of worship were made, trustees elected, and another Pastor hiredfor one year for $100. Thomas WOODLE was authorized to negotiate a loanfrom the Mission -Board. Mr. WOODLE was the Superintendent of theSabbath School.' Page 314-- 'The post office of Gamble's Grove was established in 1850with Thomas WOODLE as Postmaster.' Page 338-- 'Thomas WOODLE entered part of Section 13, Township 93, Range9 on January 16, 1850.' Page 342-- 'Thomas WOODLE, Thomas Douglass, and Thomas Sturgis came andselected claims near the geographical center of the county, on or nearSection 13, Township 93, Range 9 in 1849 near Gamble's Grove and returnedfor permanent settlement in the Spring of 1850, when M. V. Burdick, PeterOsborn, John Hanna and Phineas F. Sturgis settled near them.' Page 352-- 'Thomas WOODLE was appointed viewer of a road. Before thecourts were organized the citizens developed a society for protectionagainst horse thieves and petty larceny. Thomas WOODLE attended ameeting for such an organization on June 7, 1851.' Page 356-- ' Block 18, Lot 10 - $8.25 - Thomas WOODLE bought the lotJuly 28, 1851, when the sale of lots in West Union was held. Lots hadbeen given to the county to be resold to raise money for countybuilding.') Page 357-- 'On the first Monday in August (1851), Thomas WOODLE waselected County Judge; J. W. Rogers, Clerk of the District Court; GeorgeW. Neff, Sheriff; G. A. Cook, Recorder and Treasurer. Presumably asurveyor was elected, but there are no records to give his name.' THE COUNTY JUDGE SYSTEM ' By Chapter 15 of the Code of Iowa, approvedFebruary 5, 1851, County Commissioners' Courts were abolished, and theoffice of County Judge created. By this law, the County Judge wasinvested 'with the usual power and jurisdiction of County Commissionersand Judge of Probate, and to be elected at the first election held inAugust after the statutes had been in force thirty days.' THE COUNTY COURT 'The first term of the County Court, Judge ThomasWOODLE presiding, was held September 1, 1851, but adjourned withouttransacting business. The first act of Judge Woodle, recorded October4, 1851, was to make the following order: Ordered, that letters ofadministration be granted to Harrison Butler, on the estate of ThomasScott, deceased, and that David Wattrous and Thomas Douglass be appointedappraisers of the property. This was the first probate businessrecorded in the County. On October 7, 1951, the Judge ordered that aroad be viewed. County marriage records were lost in an 1872 courthousefire.' Page 359-- 'People of West Union decided to be the Board of MedicalExaminers. A patient of one doctor died. Each doctor was called toexplain his credentials. (Much talk but no charge.) Judge WOODLEpresided.' Page 360-- 'July 21, 1852, Judge WOODLE ordered that taxes be levied asfollows: For state revenue, one and one-half mill on the dollar; forcounty revenue, six mills; for road purposes, one mill; and a road tax of$2 to every person liable to a poll tax.' Page 363-- 'On the 31st of May 1853 Judge WOODLE ordered the payment offourteen dollars to Beckford, and on the 2nd of June, twenty-four dollarseach to Sawyer and Mahoney for their services as County SeatCommissioners.' (They chose a place about a mile from geographical centerfor county seat. Site lost in August election.) March 7, 1853, JudgeWOODLE was absent, and Martin V. Burdick, the Prosecuting Attorney of thecounty, was acting Judge, and P. L. Hinkley, Esq., was appointed 'toselect swampland in this county.' Page 366-367-- ' COURT HOUSE TAX After the decisive vote in August1853 rejected the proposition to remove the County Seat, the people ofWest Union and other points interested in the matter, began to agitatethe question of building a county building on the public square in thetown of West Union. Some town lots had been sold, and Judge WOODLE wasurged to proceed at once by those who thought the building of a CourtHouse at the County Seat would prevent any further effort for theremoval; while those who still hoped to locate the seat of justicefurther south, were opposed to appropriating the money received from thesale of lots given to the county by the founders of West Union to build aCourt House at that place. Judge WOODLE was not a bold man, and,weakened by disease, sought to adopt a policy that should be satisfactoryto all parties. The records of the County Court are absolutely silent inrelation to the matter, and yet it is evident that some action was taken.There is no record of an order submitting to the people the questionwhether or not a tax for the erection of a Court House should be leviedby the County Court; nor is there any official record of such anelection. Yet the files of the first volume of the FAYETTE COUNTY PIONEERshow that such an election must have been ordered to take place on thefirst Monday in April 1854, as the vote of the county on the question onthat day was: ' for Court House tax, 140; again Court House tax, 356.Judge WOODLE undoubtedly ordered the election to relieve himself of theresponsibility of levying a tax, but he felt sure that the people wouldvote the tax. It is probable that, with the idea strongly impressedupon his mind that the tax would be ordered by a popular vote, JudgeWOODLE entered into some preliminary negotiations with contractors, whichwere broken off abruptly by the adverse result of the election. ' THE FIRST CONTRACT-- However this may be, about the 22nd or 23rd ofApril 1854, during Judge WOODLE'S absence at St. Louis, M. V. Burdick,acting County Judge, entered into a contract with Amos Hutchinson tobuild a Court House in West Union for the sum of $3,500, or rather put upthe walls and enclose according to specifications. 'The contract wasdrawn and signed, but not acknowledged or sealed.' Hutchinson,supposing that it was right, contracted with E. Eggleston for thebrick--120,000-- and moved into town to begin work. But leading citizensexpressed their opposition to any plans for building a Court House thatdid not provide for its certain and immediate completion. They wereopposed to building the walls of a building and then leave it to standunfinished. They wanted to take no such chances. The people had justvoted 'no tax', and having so voted, they said let the Court House passfor the present, for 'it is neither policy nor justice to use donationsto less than half build a building, in which condition it will have noeffect to secure the object for which donations were made,' viz., theretention of the seat of justice at West Union. Acting Judge Burdick,and presumably the other county officers, thought that if a buildingcould be commenced, the people would submit to taxation rather than haveit stand unfinished. In other words, they thought it would be a goodthing to commence a Court House and take the chances for raising money tofinish it at some future time. But the opposition was so marked thatBurdick became timid. He did not wish to jeopardize his future politicalprospects by persisting in the course he had marked out, and he refusedto acknowledge the contract made with Hutchinson. When Judge WOODLEreturned, he refused to ratify the contract, and, it is said, was soundlyabused by Hutchinson and his friends in consequence. Judge WOODLEdied of typhoid fever May 12, 1854. Burdick was acting Judge until theAugust election, and probably Court House Contract No. I ended there.' Page 368-- ' Judge WOODLE died in May 1854, and the following orderindicates that Joseph WOODLE was appointed administrator, but thefollowing is the only record made in the settlement of the estate.The early probate records of Fayette County are not complete: 176ordered, that Josef WOODLE, administrator of the estate of Thomas WOODLEof Fayette County, late deceased, be allowed the sum of one dollar andtwenty-five cents on book account October 2, 1854. Page 446-- List of County Judges--(first) Thomas WOODLE, 1851, died inoffice May 12, 1854. County Judge system changed in 1860 to CountySupervisors. Page 450-- List of Post Offices and Postmasters-- Gamble's Grove (CenterTownship) Thomas WOODLE, Sept. 23, 1851; discontinued May 29, 1852.' Page 458- 'In 1849 Thomas Woodle and Thomas B. Douglas settled at thegeographical center of the county. In 1850 the county was organized fromClayton County. First county judge was Thomas Woodle. Judge Woodle heldhis first term of court Oct. 7, 1851.' Page 488-- 'List of early settlers in West Union-- William McClintock,Henry C. Lacy, Phineas F. Sturgis, Thomas WOODLE, Joseph H. Stafford,David Stafford, Edwin Smith, Porter L. Hinkley, in the Spring of 1851.' Page 492-- ' In the fall of 1852, Judge WOODLE, Rev. H. S. Brunson, andRev. John Webb opened a store on Vine Street, and employed Phineas H.Sturgis as accountant and salesman. Their store was known to the earlysettlers as 'The Arcade.' The Arcade was on the west side of VineStreet, a small wooden building still standing (1875), a short distancenorth of the bank building, over the door of which may yet be seen theold sign of 'WOODLE AND Brunson'. Page 505-- ' I.O.O.F Round Grove Lodge of I.O.O.F. organized July 26,1852. The following gentlemen were admitted at the first meeting: M. V.Burdick, H. S. Brunson, Thos. WOODLE, George A. Cook, John Cook, and P.L. Hinkey.' Page 531-- 'Town of Eldorado, Dover Township 95, Range 8. November 5,1852, the town was laid out. Eli Elrod, Rachel Elrod, James Anderson,Marinda Anderson, Thomas WOODLE, and Rachel WOODLE were proprietors. Theplat was filed for record Jan. 6, 1853.' Pages 552, 553-- 'Center Township-- The first settlement of Township 93,Range 9, dates from 1850. Thomas WOODLE selected a location nearGamble's Grove in 1849, soon after the Indians were removed. Heaccompanied by Thomas Douglas and Thomas B. Sturges, who located nearhim. WOODLE entered his land on Section 13, January 13, 1850, andsettled on it the following spring. In 1852 Thomas WOODLE sold hisplace to Frederick Dunham. (The Grove later became known as 'Dunham'sGrove'. There is a cemetery by that name.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- FAYETTE COUNTY IN THE 50'S by T. D. Peterman (Taken from The Argonewspaper published at West Union, Iowa May 7, 1902) 'The subject of this sketch was known to but few of the people who nowreside in this county. Even the name is not at all a familiar one to therising and younger generation. But ask any old Pioneer of this countywho Thomas Woodle was and he will at once stop and tell you that he wasthe first Judge Fayette County ever had. They will also tell you that hewas a very fine man. Of Scotch descent, standing six feet, two incheshigh, and being fairly well proportioned, he was a fine specimen of atrue Westerner. His hair was prematurely grey and this gave him areserved and dignified appearance. Judge Woodle was born inPennsylvania in 1816. There he grew to manhood, and when about of agehe came, with his father's family to Green County, Wisconsin. In thespring of 1838 he made a trip to Pennsylvania, and on the return trip hebecame acquainted with Rachel Palmer. The next year they were marriedand settled down to live on a farm on the Sugar River in Green County,Wisconsin. Here they for about ten years when they concluded to lookfurther west. With a number of friends, he came to Fayette County in1849. At that time he selected some land but made no entry until in1850, when he entered the southeast quarter of Section 4 in WestfieldTownship, but just prior to this entry he also entered the east half ofSection 13 in Center Township. The entry in Section 4 was one of thebest quarters of timber in the township. His entries on Section 13 weremade on account of its being in the center of the county. On the halfsection there was also some fine young timber and the land was easy toclear. Besides it had what every settler was looking for, a fine springof water. This spring is still running and is now and has most of thetime- since then been owned by the Odekirks. We think that Mr.Woodle was also interested in the land where Eldorado now stands, and wasone of those who signed its original plat. He was, no doubt, alsointerested in some other lands. He built at the Odekirk place, and wasalso about this time interested in one of the pioneer stores at WestUnion, in connection with Elder Brunson. When the county was fullyorganized, Mr. Woodle was elected its first Judge, and this position hecontinued to occupy during the remainder of his life. The fact that Mr.Woodle was judge gave him great prominence in the county, and it alsogave him great opportunities to despoil the people and to suddenly gainriches at their expense. But it is no where recorded that Judge Woodleever made a single dollar, unless it was in a strictly fair andlegitimate manner. Mr. Woodle was not an educated man so far as depthof book learning was concerned, but he was a man of good hard commonsense, and by experience he had become pretty well posted in thepractical affairs of life. One of the old settlers who was wellacquainted with him says, 'The Judge was a large-hearted man, liberal andgenerous to a fault.' When he moved to Iowa he had six children,and there were born children in Iowa, one daughter who died at an earlyage, and a son who is still living in the state of Oregon. This son was amere babe when his father died. After the death of Mr. Woodle, hiswife returned to Wisconsin, their former home, where she afterwardmarried her deceased husband's brother, and to them was born one son,whom, we believe is still living. Mrs. Woodle finally went to Oregon,where she died in 1885. When the Judge was living at his home whereOdekirks now live, he became well acquainted with Mr. Whiteley's people,who were then living at the Spring near Bear Grove. One day he and hisfamily were down to the grove visiting the Whiteley's and along with themwent their big dog, a Newfoundland or some other famous breed. It seemsthat Mr. Chancy Brooks was the owner of a very inferior looking bobtaileddog, that was a mixture of mongrel and greyhound, and supposed to be asworthless as he was 'ornery' in looks. This hound was in the habit ofcoming around Mr. Whiteley's premises, very much to the dislike of Mr.Whiteley, who had no love for that kind of a dog. It so happened thatwhile Woodle was there the obnoxious hound came into sight,and Mr.Whiteley said he would like very much to do something that would driveoff and keep the dog away from his premises. 'Is that so?' said Woodle,'We can soon fix him.' He at once spoke to his dog, who was ofmonstrous size and full of grit, and ointing towards the trespasser said,'Now take him, Tige.' His dog was ready for the fray and in a momentwas chewing the life out of the poor hound. But, when he had carriedmatters about far enough, the hound evidently thought that it was timefor him to make a little effort in the line of self-preservation, and hepulled himself together in such a manner that he surprised the other dogand the onlookers, and in a few seconds he was on top with his adversaryat his mercy Mr. Whiteley said that if that mangy hound could kill hisdog, let me do so. However, Mr. Whiteley finally parted thedogs, and in order to resurrect Woodle's it was found necessary to givehim a bath in one of the springs near by. Woodle was disgusted to thinkthat the dog fight should have taken such a sudden and unfavorable turn,lost all respect for his dog and never after boasted of his fightingqualities. In 1851 when Woodle was elected judge of the county, he wasjust in the prime of life and his prospects were good, so far as could beseen, for great early prosperity and a long lease of life. At that timethe Judge made the levy of taxes, and had almost unlimited power andjurisdiction over all county matters. Many a man would have becomesuddenly rich at the county's expense, but in looking over the publicrecords it will be seen that Judge Woodle considered a public office apublic trust and not the means whereby the people were to be robbed.We have heretofore spoken of the high integrity of the pioneer officeholders of Fayette County, and among those whose honesty remainsunquestioned, we are pleased to mention that of Thomas Woodle. Early in the season of 1854 he and P. F. Sturgis, and others of WestUnion, went to St. Louis on a business trip connected with the mercantilefirm of Woodle & Co. On the return trip the driver got lost on the roadbetween McGregor and West Union. The party remained out overnight, andas the weather was inclement, it came near causing the death of themall. After reaching home, Judge Woodle was taken sick, and from thissickness he never recovered, dying on the 12th of May 1854, mourned byall who knew him. At that time the only paper in the county was thePioneer, and in speaking of the death of the Judge, that paper said: Hedied of typhoid pneumonia on the 12th inst., at 9:00 A.M. He had been toSt. Louis on business connected with the mercantile firm of T. Woodle &Co., and was taken sick soon after his return. A congestive chillsucceeded and his disease finally assumed a typhoid type. The physicianswere unable to arrest the progress of the fever, and it finallyterminated in death. His mother and brothers reside in Wisconsin andwill probably have not heard of his illness before receiving the shockingintelligence of his death. This will be to them a melancholy stroke.They will feel it the more keenly on account of its being entirelyunexpected. They have the sympathy of his numerous friends in thiscounty. Judge Woodle had been a resident of this county nearly fouryears, and was one of our best and most worthy citizens. He was, ofcourse, liable to err for 'to err is human', but we are confident heerred in judgement and not in intention. As a citizen he was alwaysready to discharge the citizen's duty. As a judge, he presided withdignity and firmness. As a friend, he was frank and open-hearted. As ahusband, he was kind and affectionate. As a father, he was indulgent butrequired strict obedience. In the discharge of the laborious dutiespertaining to the office which he held, he not infrequently had to decidequestions adverse to the interest of some of his fellow citizens.This occasionally engendered unpleasant feelings but from the indicationsmanifested from his last illness, we are led to the conclusion that afterthe excitement of the moment had passed away, his motives were dulyappreciated. As soon as it was announced that he was dangerously ill, ageneral consternation appeared to pervade the minds of the people. Theprogress of the disease was watched with intense anxiety, and when itbecame apparent that death was approaching, but few hearts were so stoutas not to melt over the affliction. We have spoken of him as a citizen,as an officer, as a friend, as a husband and father; and we come now tospeak of him as a Christian. We are unable to give the date of hisreligious experience, but this we know, that in all our intercourse withhim, he pursued a consistent Christian course. He belonged not to thatnumber who make a great display in religious matters, but was rather of ameek, retiring disposition, choosing to evince his piety by works insteadof words. As a member of the Baptist church in this place, he made greatpecuniary sacrifices to promote its interest. He was emphatically apillar in the church. He lived to see his object attained--a Baptistchurch organized in West Union, a meeting house erected, and pastorsettled--and then slept the wakeless sleep of death. The night previousto his death, he called his family around his bedside to bid them a long,last farewell. Being too weak to do it himself, he requested his friendand former partner in business, Rev. H. S. Brunson, to address them inhis behalf. The scene is said to have been meltingly affecting. Heearnestly requested that his remains should be carried to Wisconsin anddeposited beside his departed father. On account of the unfavorableseason of the year, it was thought best to bury hum here until winterwhen he will be disinterred and the request complied with. The funeralwas largely attended on last Sabbath at the M.E. Church. 'Thy Will BeDone' was the foundation of a very affecting sermon delivered by Rev.George Scott. How little man can see or know of the future. H. S.Brunson, Thomas Woodle, and P. F. Sturgis came to the county whencomparatively young men. The county was not yet organized and was in itsfirst stages of development. These men early became closely identifiedwith the interest of the county. All of them enjoyed the confidence ofthe early settlers, and all were honored with high offices at the hand ofthe voters of the county. These three men were all connected with themercantile firm of which we have spoken. All had a large amount ofcommon sense and a goodly degree of perseverance. All had familiesgrowing up around them in which they took special pride. Mr. Sturgis isstill living, a respectable citizen of the county, but his wife is dead,and none of his family is with him. He has seen some of the fondesthopes of his life realized, others dashed to the ground, and the sweetremembrance of the past is the most precious legacy of which he can nowboast. Thomas Woodle, who seemed possessed of a strong constitution, infour short years after coming to the county sickened and died, leavinghis family to battle as best they could with the cold realities of whatat times seems a heartless world. Elder Brunson, who was a trifle olderthan the Judge, but always his bosom friend, was called on to administerto the distressed family and give such little consolation as could begiven at his death bed. Nearly a half century has passed away and yetthe elder still lives. He has seen his family grow up and go forth tobattle for themselves in life. But he has not escaped the afflictionsthat come to try the souls of men. In looking over the lives of thesethree men we can readily see that it is not all gain to live, nor allloss to die. While life is supposed to be sweet and previous, there aretimes when its troubles are so utterly overwhelming that it wouldseemingly be glad relief were death to quickly fold us in its fondembrace and relieve us of early troubles. Whether it is better to bearthe ills we have or fly to others we know not of, is an old query thatstill remains unsettled and puzzles us all.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ History of Fillmore County, MN, 1912, p.671 'Judge Thomas Woodle and Rachael Palmer, his wife, parents of LeonidasWoodle, were natives of Pennsylvania. They came west to Green County,Wisconsin, in an early day, and there followed agricultural pursuitsuntil 1851, when they removed to Fayette County, Iowa, where Mr. Woodlewas elected county judge, and there conducted a store until the time ofhis death, which occurred in the spring of 1854. He left a family ofeight children: Leonidas, of Canton village, Minnesota; Mrs. MarthaDauchey of Oregon; Mrs. Ellizabeth Keenan of McDonald County, Missouri;Mrs. Cornelia Franklin of Canton, Minn.; Mary Frances, deceased; ThomasP., of Blue Earth City, Minn.; Isaac M. of Portland, Ore.; and Rachaelwho died in infancy. After the death of Mr. Woodle, Mrs. Woodle, withher children, moved to Green County, Wisconsin, and there, in the winterof 1855, married Joseph Woodle, a brother of her first husband, and bythis marriage was born one child, Joseph, of Oregon, with whom the motherlived until her death several years ago.'
More About Thomas Woodle: Burial: Unknown, Mt. Vernon Cemetery, WI.1986, 1987, 1988 Census: 1842, WI.1989, 1990, 1991 Record Change: June 01, 20031991
More About Thomas Woodle and <Unnamed>: Marriage: June 01, 1839, Green Co., WIs.1992, 1993, 1994
Children of Thomas Woodle are:
Elizabeth Woodle, b. July 17, 1844, Green Co., WI1995, d. March 10, 1922, Tiff City, McDonald Co., MO1995.
Thomas Woodle (b. September 02, 1816, d. May 12, 1854)
Notes for Thomas Woodle: