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Woodward Family
ABSALOM WOODWARD, Sr., father of the first wife of David Reynolds,
was among the earliest emigrants to the southeastern part of Plum Creek
township, Armstrong county, which was then in Armstrong township. He came
hither from Cumberland county, Pa., in 1788, and settled near what is now
Idaho. The first assessment list of Plum Creek township (1811) contains his
name as the only innkeeper. He is spoken of as a hardy and energetic man and
an enterprising and public spirited citizen, and the various records in which
his name appears substantiate this. At the first court held in the county, in
December, 1805, the petition of “sundry inhabitants of this county,
setting forth that a bridge was much wanted across Crooked creek in Allegheny
township at or near the place where the road from Alsalom Wooodward�s to
Sloan�s ferry crossed that creek and praying the appointment of
viewers,” was presented, and they reported the following March that a
bridge was much wanted, but the probable expense ($450) was too much for one
or two townships to bear. This was the first application for a county bridge
made to the first court held in the county. As no agreement could be reached
at the time Mr. Woodward in September, 1806, made what must have been a very
large offer for the times — to advance the money that might be appropriated
for the structure. Though the matter was carried through all the formalities
and reported favorably, it is not shown whether the bridge afterward
constructed was erected at public or private expense. On Sept. 21, 1814, the
county commissioner issued an order for $137; $33 for repairing the bridge
across Crooked creek at Mr. Woodward�s house, and on Sept. 24, 1818, another
petition from the inhabitants of Plum Creek township appears in the court
records, for steps to be taken toward replacing the bridge, which had been
swept away by the flood in February. The second schoolhouse within the limits
of the township was erected on land belonging to Mr. Woodward, about fifty
rods east of what was known as Idaho mill, in the southeast part of the
township. He was also active in religious matters, giving largely of his means
to the aid and support of church work. He built a log church near Smith Bend.
A generous man in all the relations of life, he was considered a faithful
friend by all who knew him, and was highly esteemed by all his neighbors for
his many admirable qualities. The ancient map of Armstrong county shows a
tract of 290 acres in Plum Creek township to have been “seated by him; a
tract of 157.5 acres survey (sic) to him” and seated by George Smith; a
tract of 302 acres surveyed to George Campbell and subsequently owned by Mr.
Woodward. He came to own 191 acres of the Robert Elder tract (afterward owned
by his son Robert). On March 18, 1823, he conveyed to his daughter Mary, wife
of David Reynolds, the consideration expressed in the deed being
“good-will and affection,” a tract which had been conveyed to him by
James Carnahan. On Jan. 11, 1858, 111 acres, 24 perches of this tract was
conveyed by her son Alexander Reynolds to Martin John.Absalom Woodward died in 1833. He was survived by eight of his thirteen
children, two of whom died in early life. His sons were Robert, Sharp, and
Absalom, his daughters Mrs. David Reynolds, Mrs. Leonard Shryock, Mrs. Richard
Graham, Mrs. Anthony Montgomery (mother of Sheriff Montgomery), Mrs. William
D. Barclay, Mrs. James Todd, Mrs. William Clark (mother of Sheriff Clark) and
Mrs. Johnston. Jane, Mrs. Montgomery, was the last survivor of this family,
and was living in 1883, in her eighty-first year. Of the sons, Robert owned a
farm and gristmill, and we find that his steam gristmill in Plum Creek was
destroyed by fire Dec. 29, 1838, together with two carding machines belonging
to James C. Fleming, and 1,800 bushels of grain which the people of the
surrounding country had deposited there.Source: Pages 392-393, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past
and Present, J. H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed July 1998 by Joyce Sherry for the Armstrong County Beers Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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