Woodard Family papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Merritt D. Betts, May 8, 1985; Revised by E. Merle Watkins, April 17, 2003; Last Updated: June 2023

Inclusive Dates: 1841-1981
Extent: .50 cubic foot (1 half-size record storage box)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Joshua Woodard (1779-1854) moved to Ohio after marrying Rebecca Wooden of Geneva, New York. They first settled in Ravenna Township, and then Kent. Their home at the top of the hill on Woodard Avenue is thought to have been a station in the Underground Railroad.

Joshua's son James (1810-1882) married Maria Hopkins, whose antecedents are included in genealogical materials in the Dick Dudley Donaghy Papers. James served two terms as Mayor of Kent and many years as Justice of the Peace. His Justice of the Peace docket for the years 1841-1844 is included in this collection. Of James and Maria's children, Frank (1842-1904) is the only one represented in this collection.

Frank and Flora (Clarke) Woodard's son, James C., worked at The Ohio Penitentiary in the early 1900s. Governor Martin Davey of Kent, Ohio, appointed him Warden in 1935, a post he held until 1939. James C. and Grace Apple Woodard's only child James C. Woodard, Jr., (1913-1981), grew up in the Deputy Warden's residence at the Penitentiary.

Scope and Content: Some records concern certain descendents of Joshua Woodard, an early settler in the Kent area, chiefly his son James Woodard, his grandson Frank, his great grandson James C. Woodard, including many photographs. The bulk of the collection is from the early nineteenth century. James C. Woodard married Grace Apple and some of the materials included here also pertain to the Apple family. Further information concerning the Woodard family can be found in the Dick Dudley Donaghy Papers and in the Apple Family Papers.

Processing Information: Originally processed under the archive identification D.7.7.1.

Acquistion Information: The materials in this collection were donated by Esther Getz Donaghy and Merritt Donaghy Betts of Kent, Ohio.

Box 1
Folder--Contents

1. James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket book, May 22, 1841- April 3, 1844 [Woodard purchased this book on May 11, 1841. The book also contains an attached newspaper clipping from The Kent Courier-Tribune: May 23, 1962, and a color photograph of the Woodard house in Kent: 1974.]
2. Manuscript index to James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket, compiled by LTC James C. Woodard, Jr. (A.U.S.Ret.)
3. Typescript copy of the index to James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket, [prepared by the Special Collections and Archives staff]
4. Miscellaneous genealogical materials concerning the Woodard family, including a table prepared by Esther Getz Donaghy and Merritt Donaghy Betts; a table prepared by James C. Woodard, Jr.; a letter to Louis Woodard: June 24, 1942; and a letter from LTC James C. Woodard, Jr., (A.U.S.Ret.), April 30, 1981
5. Miscellaneous genealogical materials concerning the Apple family, including a table prepared by LTC James C. Woodard, Jr., (A.U.S.Ret.)
6. Memorabilia belonging to James C. Woodard, including a certificate of membership in Theta Xi Fraternity, 1937; and a pin from the 1899 roadrace of The Riverside Cycle Club, Kent, Ohio
7. Letters written to LTC James C. Woodard, A.U.S.Ret.: December 31, 1915; December 25, 1917; undated
8. Newspaper clippings, 1916-1981; undated
9. Ohio Penitentiary News, Columbus, Ohio: June 14, 1915 (shelved in 11th floor map case)
10. Photograph of the Frank Woodard home on Stinaff Street, Kent, Ohio
11. Photographs of Flora Woodard in front of her house on Lock Street, Kent, Ohio
12. Photograph of James C. Woodard's grade school class, [1882?]
13. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1890
14. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1893
15. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1898
16. Photograph of James C. Woodard in Odd Fellows (100F) uniform, 1900
17. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1900
18. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1913
19. Photograph of James C. Woodard, 1923
20. Photograph of James C. Woodard, wearing Deputy Warden's hat, 1930
21. Photograph of James C. Woodard with brothers Louis and Mortimer, 1946
22. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple in Kent, Ohio during the flood of 1913
23. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple at the door of his house on North Water Street, Kent, Ohio, 1918
24. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple, [1919?]
25. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple's sons, Robert, Clayton and Newton in grade school picture, Campbellsport, Ohio, [1889?]
26. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple family, [1905?]
27. Photograph of Clayton Apple, early 1900s
28. Photograph of Clayton Apple, 1922
29. Photograph of Charles Apple, son of William and Ella Apple, Kent, Ohio, [1914?]
30. Photograph of Grace Apple, [1903?]
31. Photograph of Grace Apple at her wedding to James C. Woodard, 1909
32. Photograph of Oliver Perry Apple family, Kent, Ohio, including Grace Apple Woodard and Flora Clarke Woodard, Christmas 1922
33. Photograph of Grace Apple Woodard, [1922?]
34. Photograph of James C. and Grace Apple Woodard with their son James, Jr., 1932
35. Photograph of James C. and Grace Apple Woodard, 1945
36. Photograph of James C. and Grace Apple Woodard, 1946
37. Photograph of James C. Woodard, Jr., 1917
38. Photograph of James C. Woodard, Jr., sixth birthday party, Columbus, Ohio, 1919
39. Photograph of James C. Woodard, Jr. in Ohio State University band uniform, 1931
40. Five photographs of the big snow, Kent, Ohio, [1913?], made from old photo-post cards (also includes three postcards)
41. Five photographs of Kneifel's Grocery store, Kent, Ohio, made from old photographs, undated
42. Early photograph of East Main Street, Kent, Ohio, undated
43. Negatives of five early Kent, Ohio scenes, undated
    Scope and Content: Copy Negative of postcards and photos including the Methodist Church of Kent, a view of the Cuyahoga River in Kent, a Broken Dam on the Cuyahoga River in Kent, St. Patrick's Church in Kent, and a family or group photograph of several people (interior).
44. Negatives of nine scenes of the flood, Kent, Ohio, March 1913
45. Postcards: Kent, Nov. 10, 1913; Ohio State Penitentiary, undated