Woodlawn.-A beautiful and inviting suburban station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, in St. Louis County, thirteen miles from St. Louis and half a mile east of Kirkwood.

Woodmen of the World.-The wood-chopper's ax resounding in the forest and the operations of woodcraft are themes that grace with pleasing effect the pages of the pastoral poets. The woodman is the first among pioneers to chop down the trees and open up the wilderness to the advance of civilized man in the settlement and establishment of rural homes for himself and those who come after him. It is not surprising, therefore, that the appellation of "Woodman" should be adopted by two beneficiary orders which are asserting their claims and spreading their camps throughout the country. One of these orders, though not the first in origin, is that known as Woodmen of the World. This order was instituted at Omaha, Nebraska, June 6, 1890, by a convention called by Joseph C. Root and F. A. Falkenberg. Thereupon camps were instituted almost simultaneously at Omaha, Nebraska, Davenport, Lyons and Sioux City, Iowa, which were the first camps of the order. The order is governed by a board of directors, composed of thirteen members, elected by delegates selected by district conventions. peculiar feature of the Woodmen of the World is the obligation to place a $100 monument at the grave of every deceased member. It has accumulated an emergency fund to be drawn on to meet death losses, should ten assessments during any calendar year prove inadequate-a contingency which is not expected for at least fifteen or twenty-five years, at which time the estimated accumulation will be upwards of $1,000,000. The first camp in Missouri, No. 5, was established at St. Louis in 1891 by M. Powers, an organizing deputy from Springfield, Illinois. In 1897 the order had sixteen camps in that city with an aggregate membership of about 1,300. The whole number of camps in existence at the same date was as follows: Southern jurisdiction, headquarters at Omaha, 1,957 camps, with a membership of 85,787; Pacific jurisdiction, headquarters at Denver, a fraternal jurisdiction of the sovereign camp, 337 camps, membership 28,960; Canadian order, Woodmen of the World, chartered by a spe

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cial act of the Dominion Parliament in 1893, 117 camps, membership 5,691. The order had then paid over $2,000,000 in losses and had erected 1,200 monuments at the graves of its deceased members. In the year 1900 there were 350 camps in Missouri with 13,500 members, St. Louis having sixteen camps with 2,000 members, and Kansas City ten camps with 1,000 members.

Woods, William E., senior member of the Crescent Lumber Company of Kansas City, was born February 22, 1861, in Shelby County, Kentucky, son of Isaac M. and Virginia (Sea) Woods, both natives of the State named. The father, who is yet living, was descended from a North Carolina family. He was a farmer by occupation. During the Civil War he was an ardent Union man, but was unable to perform military service on account of a physical injury. The son, William E., after attending the common school near his home, completed his literary education at a private academy in Eminence, Kentucky, and afterward took a commercial course in the the Southern Business College at Louisville, Kentucky. His active active business life began in the same line of industry in which he has been continuously engaged to the present time. In 1883 he entered the employ of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, in a yard at McCune, Kansas. At the opening of the new town of Kiowa, Kansas, he established there a business for the same firm, remaining in charge for two years. He then opened yards for the same employers at Caney, Kansas, of which he had charge until 1890. In the latter year he took up his residence in Kansas City, Missouri, remaining in the employ of the same company, and traveling in their interest. In 1892-3 he was temporarily located in Oklahoma when that territory was opened to settlement. In 1893 he was engaged in Kansas City for the Pacific Coast Lumber Supply Company. Soon afterward he bought the Schutte lumber yards at Sixteenth and McGee Streets for the Dierks Lumber and Coal Company, and managed them for nearly two years. June 15, 1899, in association with Thomas B. Moore and Theodore B. Sherwood, he organized the Crescent Lumber Company, a partnership firm of which he is the senior member. The product marketed by the company is mainly yellow pine, from their own

sawmills at Janssen, Arkansas, having a daily capacity of 65,000 feet. Mr. Woods has general management of the business, with offices in the Keith & Perry building, Kansas City. He is a member of the Grand Avenue Methodist Church, and of the order of Modern Woodmen. He was married in 1886 to Miss Mollie C. Neal, of Smithfield, Kentucky, daughter of Moses Neal, formerly proprietor of the National Hotel, at Louisville, Kentucky, who during the Civil War was a lieutenant in an Indiana regiment, and was killed in the battle of Jackson, Mississippi. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Woods-Everett, Cecil and Helen Woods. Politically Mr. Woods is a Republican.

Woods, William Stone, physician and banker, and one of the most prominent financiers of Missouri, was born November 1, 1840, in Columbia, Missouri. His parents were James Harris and Martha (Stone) Woods, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. They were married about 1825, in Madison County, Kentucky, and a short time later removed to Columbia, Missouri, where the father became a successful merchant. His death occurred in 1845. The son, William S. Woods, upon leaving the common school, entered the State University at Columbia, from which he was graduated with the class of 1861. He at once began a course of medical reading and then became a student in the St. Louis Medical College. Upon the completion of the course he located at Middle Grove, Monroe County, Missouri, where he practiced medicine until the fall of 1863, when he resumed his medical studies at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received his diploma March 4, 1864. Returning to Middle Grove, he practiced medicine until 1867, when he removed to Paris, Missouri, and engaged in a mercantile business. In 1868 he and a brother conducted a profitable wholesale grocery business along the line of the Union Pacific Railway, following the road in its course of construction westward. Ogden was reached in 1869, and Dr. Woods returned to Missouri and located at Rocheport, where he established the Rocheport Savings Bank, which was ceeded by the banking house of W. S. Woods & Co. In this business Dr. Woods developed in a high degree the qualities which mark the careful and sagacious financier, and his ex

perience marks the beginning of a remarkably useful and successful career. January 1, 1880, he disposed of his bank interests in Rocheport, Missouri, to his associates and removed to Kansas City. There he became a member of the wholesale dry goods firm of Grimes, Woods, LaForce & Co., with which he was connected for about two years. During the same period was established the wholesale house of the W. B. Grimes Dry Goods Company, succeeding to the business of Grimes, Woods, LaForce & Co., in which he became a stockholder, but took no active part in the business on account of impaired health. Afterward the name was changed to the Swofford Dry Goods Company, which has been and is still a very successful wholesale house. In the meantime Dr. Woods had purchased a controlling interest in the Kansas City Savings Association, of which J. A. Powell was president and Churchill J. White was cashier. The affairs of the bank being in an unsatisfactory state, conditions demanded the attention of a thoroughly capable financier, and he was induced to become president and to assume direction of the business. The bank had been organized in 1865 under a special charter, with an authorized capital of $100,000, of which but $10,000 was paid in. A reorganization was effected under a new charter as the Bank of Commerce, with a capital of $200,000. The bank commanded confidence from the outset and each succeeding year witnessed a material increase of business and money-earning capacity. In 1887 the Bank of Commerce liquidated its affairs, the stockholders receiving $3 for each dollar invested, in addition to the regular semi-annual dividends of 6 per cent, which has been habitually paid. It was succeeded by the National Bank of Commerce, with a capital of $1,000,000, and Dr. and Dr. Woods was elected president, retaining his position to the present time. Under his masterful management this bank has grown to be the second largest financial institution west of the Mississippi, holding priority over all others except one in the city of St. Louis. It is known throughout the country among the most stable and successful of the great banking houses, and enjoys a prestige which reflects credit upon its city and State. With this great enterprise, which has conduced in large degree to the

business enterprise of Kansas City in many channels, the name of Dr. Woods is inseparably connected. Recognizing the fact that the marvelous development of the business which he conducts is primarily due to his great ability and close personal attention, he is accorded by the highest authorities in monetary concerns the distinction of being the first and most accomplished financier in the entire West. A man of broad capabilities and masterly directing powers, he has at times borne a share in various commercial enterprises. For fifteen years he was associated with his brother, James M. Woods, in the cattle business in Montana, filling government contracts for the supply of beef to United States forts and Indian agencies. The immediate conduct of this business was vested in the brother, to whom he sold his interest in 1894. He has ever been an earnest advocate of all measures and projects for the advancement of the business interests of Kansas City, and has freely contributed his effort and means to these ends, aiding materially in the substantial development of his home city and of the great Missouri Valley region. He was one of the projectors, and is now a large stockholder, in the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railway, constructed at first for purely local development, but now an all-important line, terminating at the Gulf of Mexico. Several of the most important business buildings in Kansas City were built through his effort. Building up his fortune through arduous labor, he holds in warm regard young men struggling toward success, a number of whom, now conspicuous in business circles, he has established or aided in business. He has freely contributed for the education of indigent youth and to charitable purposes. For such large public spirit, sagacity in financial and commercial concerns, unspotted personal integrity and liberal charities, he is held in the highest regard by all classes of the community. In political affairs he is independent and conservative. He holds membership with the First Christian Church. Dr. Woods was married, July 10, 1866, to Miss Albina McBride, daughter of Judge Ebenezer McBride, an old and prominent resident of Monroe County, Missouri. Mrs. Woods is a woman of excellent education and charming social qualities. Many charities and social movements are constantly aided through her efforts and

means. A daughter, Julia, a highly cultivated lady, was educated at a leading college in Baltimore, Maryland.

Woods' Fort.-See "Troy."

Woodside, Leigh B., lawyer and judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, was born in Oregon County, Missouri, February 2, 1848, son of Judge J. R. Woodside, who was born in Kentucky and in 1836 removed to Missouri and settled in Scott County. In 1844 the elder Woodside removed to Oregon County, where he lived until his death in 1887. In 1871 he was elected judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, comprised of the counties of Oregon, Howell, Ozark, Douglas and Shannon, and was re-elected at the expiration of his term, and by successive re-elections occupied the office until his death. Judge Leigh B. Woodside, the son, received his education largely at the old academy at Steelville, in Crawford County, under the direction of Professor W. P. Rennick, and later W. H. Lynch. He attended the academy from 1863 to 1866. to 1866. Then he commenced the study of law, and in November, 1870, was admitted to the bar. He immediately commenced practice at Salem, Missouri, with success from the start. In 1876 he was elected a member of the Legislature and served one term. In 1892 he was a Democratic presidential elector. January 10, 1897, he was appointed by Governor Stone to fill the vacancy in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit caused by the election of Judge C. C. Bland to the judgeship of the St. Louis Court of Appeals. In 1898 Judge Woodside was elected to the circuit judgeship, receiving 9,120 votes, the candidate on the Republican ticket receiving 7,409. Judge Woodside was married in 1868 to Miss Martha Howell, of Scott County, Missouri.

Woodson, Charles Ransom, physician and superintendent of State Hospital for Insane No. 2, at St. Joseph, Missouri, is one of the men who have had an active part in directing the affairs which have added to Missouri's greatness and general importance as well as in building up an eleemosynary institution that is looked upon as a model by all who are familiar with the management of such indispensable State property. He was born May 17, 1848, in Knox County,

Kentucky, and came from one of the most prominent families of the South. His father was Benjamin J. Woodson, whose boyhood home was on a pretty hillside in the bluegrass country, and his mother was Margaret J. Fulkerson, a native of Virginia. The genealogical record of the Woodson family leads back to Revolutionary days, and a certificate of membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, of which Dr. Woodson is the possessor, shows that in the ancestral line one Lieutenant John Harris, the grandfather of Dr. Woodson's father, belonged to the noble old First Virginia Continental line. The name of Woodson is familiar to every Missourian. The members of the distinguished family have won places so high in the public esteem and have been so frequently honored by positions of trust, that the family has come to be looked upon as one of remarkable power, and worthy of the confidence that has been reposed in its various illustrious members. Silas Woodson, ex-Governor of Missouri and one of the most noted men of his day, was the youngest brother of Benjamin Woodson, the father of the man whose name appears at the head of this biography. Archie M. Woodson, a brother of Dr. Charles R. Woodson, is now circuit judge of Buchanan County, Missouri, and is considered one of the most reliable lawyers in the State. Other members of the family have carved enviable reputations for themselves out of the rough stones time has furnished. Charles R. Woodson acquired his first literary training in the public schools of Buchanan County, Missouri, to which State he came in 1856. Educational advantages were more or less lacking, but there was plenty of determination in the young man's breast, and he devoted much time to the study of such branches as were not included in the limited course provided in the public schools. And so a broad foundation was laid, and the young man was well prepared to enter upon a medical course at the Missouri Medical College, St. Louis. The determination to be a physician had been formed early in life, and the lectures and required readings were mastered and digested by the young student with eagerness, and a hungry desire to advance rapidly was rewarded by a diploma and a remarkably successful practice early in his career. In 1868 he began the study of medicine, and was graduated March 6, 1872.

Active practice was entered upon at once, and Agency, a small settlement in Buchanan County, not far from St. Joseph, was his first field. Dr. Woodson removed to St. Joseph in 1886, and has resided there continuously since that year. He was appointed superintendent of the State Hospital for Insane No. 2, located just east of the city limits of St. Joseph, in the year 1890, at the June meeting of the board of managers. David R. Francis was Governor of Missouri at that time. Under the various executive changes which have taken place in this State since that time, Dr. Woodson has been retained in the position where brilliant success has marked his management. His capable jurisdiction over the multitude of affairs connected with the management of such a large institution has commended itself to every one acquainted with the work in hand and its great importance, and it is generally recognized that Dr. Woodson is one of the most efficient men at the head of an eleemosynary institution. He assumed control of the Insane Hospital at St. Joseph on August II, 1890, and under his management the institution has improved wonderfully, as will be found by reference to a history of it, which is made a part of this work. Dr. Woodson is now serving his third term as superintendent, each appointment being for four years. He has held no other public office, although as an active, working Democrat he has taken a considerable part in political affairs, and is considered an important factor in the battles which are waged between opposing forces. He is actively identified with the Christian Church and the Young Men's Christian Association of St. Joseph. He is a trustee and treasurer of the Ensworth Medical College and Hospital. He is a member of the St. Joseph Medical Society, of the State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American Medico-Psychological Association. This association is the oldest national medical association in America. He holds membership in the order of Sons of the American Revolution, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the National Union. Dr. Woodson was married, February 26, 1873, to Miss Julia P. Taber, of Buchanan County, Missouri, daughter of Dr. Paul T. Taber, one of the pioneer physicians of northwest Missouri, having come here from Al

bany, New York, in the "forties." Two children have come to this union, Paul G. Woodson, a young attorney of St. Joseph, and Julia Woodson. Notwithstanding the arduous duties which fall upon his shoulders, including personal supervision over more than 1,000 patients and a general superintendence over every department, Dr. Woodson has time for participation in social enjoyments to a limited degree, and does not lose interest in politics and the affairs of the various organizations with which he is connected. He is closely confined to the great institution of which he is the head, but finds time, nevertheless, to entertain with a free hand, and has always a welcoming word for those who are interested in the State's affairs and in the matters over which the will of Superintendent Woodson is authority.

Woodson, Samuel H., Sr., lawyer and member of Congress, was born in October, 1815, in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and died June 23, 1881, at his home in Independence, Missouri. He graduated from the law department of Transylvania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, and in 1838 came to Missouri, locating at Independence. Satisfied with the new home which he had found in a promising country, he returned to Kentucky, and in 1840 took his family to Independence for permanent residence. In 1849 the celebrated law firm of Woodson, Chrisman & Comingo was formed, and the combination of talent became one of the strongest in the State. The members of the firm were the subject of this sketch, William Chrisman and Abram Comingo. The partnership continued until 1856, when Mr. Woodson became the Whig candidate for Congress. In 1850 he was elected a member of the Missouri constitutional convention and performed valuable service in that capacity. Two years later he was elected to the Missouri Legislature from Jackson County, and in 1854 was re-elected. In 1856 he made the race for Congress on the Whig ticket, and was successful, although the district in which he ran was strongly Democratic. Again he was a congressional candidate in 1858 and was the second time elected, his opponent in this race being General John W. Reid, a distinguished lawyer. At that time Pettis County was in the district which included Kansas City and Independence, and the second convention

which nominated Mr. Woodson for Congress was held at Georgetown, one of the early settlements of Pettis County. The Civil War, in 1860, brought his political career to an end at the close of his second term in the national legislature, his sympathies with the Southern cause resulting in his disfranchisement. In 1866 he formed a partnership with James K. Sheley for the practice of law, under the firm name of Woodson & Sheley, and this alliance proved brilliantly successful in the practice of practice of law in its most important branches. The partnership continued up to the time Judge Woodson was appointed to the circuit bench, in 1875, by Governor Hardin. He completed a term under this appointment and was elected to the same position in 1880, but did not complete the second term, his death occurring in 1881. His career was replete with interesting incidents and his life was marked by participation in many of the most important events of Missouri's pioneer history. During his residence in Lexington, Kentucky, while he was attending law school, he boarded at the residence of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln's mother, Mrs. Todd. As a lawyer Judge Woodson ranked with the most successful in the State. His keen insight into difficult problems and an ability to grasp the true legal meaning of questions at issue made him a particularly able judge of law and evidence. He was a Mason and a Knight Templar. He was married, in 1838, to Margaret J. Ashby, daughter of Dr. M. Q. Ashby, of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. She is descended from Colonel Jack Ashby, a famous member of General George Washington's staff, and is a second cousin of General Turner Ashby, of the immortal "Black Horse Brigade," a monument to the memory of whose members has been erected at Winchester, Virginia. Mrs. Woodson is living at her home in Independence at the age of eighty years, carries her years well, and is still a close student of timely affairs and important subjects.

Woodson, Samuel H., mayor of Independence and lawyer, was born September 29, 1857, in Independence, Missouri, son of Samuel H. and Margaret (Ashby) Woodson. He attended the common schools of Independence and was later a student at William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri. After leaving college he attended the Albany Law