EDWIN S. WOODWORTH.
The name Woodworth is a noted one, not only in Kansas, but in American history. A long line of distinguished men have descended from the original founders of the family in America, and the men of each successive generation have added additional luster to the family name by deeds of valor and statesmanship which stand out prominently in the annals of their respective abiding places. Edwin S. Woodworth, farmer and live stock breeder, of Kapioma township, is a well and favorably known member of the civic body of Atchison county, and a son of Maj. Caleb A. Woodworth, who was one of the famous figures in the early period of the making Kansas into a great State. His grandfather, Caleb A. Woodworth, Sr., was one of the earliest of the Kansas pioneers.
Major Caleb A. Woodworth was born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., April 14, 1838, and was a son of Caleb Woodworth, a native of Tyre, N. Y., whose father, also named Caleb, was a captain of artillery under General Scott in the War of 1812. Gresham Woodworth, the great-grandfather of Major Woodworth, was a colonel in the Continental army during the American Revolution, and fought at the battle of Saratoga. The Woodworth family is of English origin, the progenitors of the family having emigrated from the Isle of Man early in the seventeenth century. The father of Major Woodworth was a farmer by occupation, and married Miss Ellen Gordon, of Goshen, N. Y., a cousin of Gen. Gordon, of Goshen, and a daughter of Cornelius Gordon, who was born in Ireland, of Scotch-Irish parents, and settled in Virginia. The elder Woodworth died at the age of seventy-four years, and the wife and mother died in December, 1898, at the age of eighty-six years. Caleb, Sr., immigrated to Kansas in 1857, and settled at Muscotah, Atchison county. Both Caleb Woodworth and his wife were members of the Congregational church, and Caleb was an Odd Fellow. He was well educated, and in his younger days was a school teacher, becoming a farmer in later life. The line of Woodworths in America tells of many men of letters and distinction, and many soldiers who have shed luster on the family name in the successive generations.
There were five children born to Caleb, Sr., and wife, namely: Caleb A., father of Edwin S.; Gilbert M., who came to Kansas at an early day, and served three years in a Kansas regiment during the Civil war, first as corporal, then as sergeant, and later was captain of a company of the Fourth Arkansas infantry, and was made lieutenant-colonel of the Twelfth Kansas militia in 1864. He became prominent in political life, and served as State senator in Colorado, and died while marching in the G. A. R. reunion parade in Philadelphia, September 8, 1899; eighty veterans succumbed to the heat. He left one son, Charles G., of Onanga, Okla.; Ben F., a resident of Downs, Okla., served three years in the Union army, part of the time as bugler of Company A, Fifth regiment, Kansas infantry, and later as captain in the Fourth Kansas regiment; David G., a graduate of Monroe Institute, a teacher, and a Kansas militiaman. David Woodworth assisted in the survey of Oklahoma, moved to the new State in 1889, and settled at Downs. He was a successful farmer, but is now postmaster at Kingfisher, Okla. The mother accompanied him to Oklahoma, and died there; Sarah Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of B. A. Colville, and left one son, Dr. Frank Colville, who died in St. Joseph, Mo.
Major Caleb A. Woodworth came to Kansas in 1857, from Virginia, and engaged in farming near Muscotah until 1859, when he entered the University of Chicago, and pursued his collegiate education until the outbreak of the Civil war. He then returned to Kansas and offered his services in defense of the Union. His first enlistment was for a period of nine months in Company B, Fourth regiment, Kansas infantry. He then assisted in organizing the Thirteenth Kansas regiment, and was a member of Company F of that regiment, which he joined September 20, 1862. He rose rapidly in rank, was commissioned major of his regiment, and served for three years, or until the close of the war. He served directly under Colonel Bowen, and under Generals Blount, Schofield, Steele, and Reynolds. He participated in the battles around Springfield, Mo., and in Arkansas. At the battle of Prairie Grove, in 1862, his horse was shot from under him. Three times his mount was killed in battle, but he seemed to bear a charmed life, and was never wounded. After the close of the war he returned to Atchison, Kan., and engaged in freighting across the plains, making three trips in all with a freighting outfit. He was the first man to telegraph money from Denver, Colo., to Atchison. He operated a livery barn where the union depot now stands in Atchison. About 1868 he again turned his attention to farming, and settled in Kapioma township, where his father had preëmpted half a section of land. Major Woodworth farmed the home tract, and erected the house where Edwin S. now lives. He became an extensive cattle feeder, and was very successful in his farming operations.
Major Woodworth was married in June, 1867, to Miss Margaret Shaw, of Valley Falls, Kan. Three children were born of this union, namely: Nora, wife of E. M. Wilcox, Kamaloops, British Columbia; Edwin S.; Jennie, living in Wood, S. D. The mother of these children was born in Akron, Ohio, January 21, 1850, a daughter of William and Louise (Fletcher) Shaw, natives of Ohio. She is now residing with her daughter at Wood, S. D.
The civic and political career of Major Woodworth was a distinguished one. He was elected State senator from Atchison county on the Republican ticket in 1876, and served for four years. During his term as senator he wrote the bill and presented the same to the State legislature, organizing the Kansas State Historical Society. In 1892 he was chosen to represent the third district in the lower house of the legislature, this time being elected on the Democratic ticket. In 1895 he removed to Effingham, Kan., and resided in that city until 1897, when he removed to Atchison to take up his duties as superintendent of the State Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home. He filled the duties of this position until 1900, when he resigned and retired to a home in Muscotah, Kan. Major Woodworth died October 24, 1908. His demise marked the passing of one of the most noted of the Kansas pioneers, a distinguished soldier and statesman. He left a heritage of honorable and upright service to the people of the State, of which his descendants can well be proud.
Edwin S. Woodworth was born April 20, 1874, on the farm where he now resides. He was educated in the common schools of his native county, and studied in Bolton University, after completing a course in the high school at Effingham, Kan. After his marriage, in 1895, he began farming the home place of the Woodworth family. He is the owner of 163 acres of rich farm land, which is well improved. Mr. Woodworth is a well known breeder of registered Shorthorn cattle, and ships the product of his farm in this respect to all parts of the country. He is a member of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. During 1915 he had a herd of fifty thoroughbred Shorthorns, but has sold to buyers at excellent prices until he has depleted his herd.
Mr. Woodworth was married May 29, 1895, to Miss Sadie E. Speer, born June 11, 1875, and reared on a farm three miles east of Muscotah. (See biography of D. Anna Speer for details concerning the Speer family.) Four children have been born to Edwin S. and Sadie E. Woodworth, namely: Mrs. Marguerite Mulligan, of Benton township; Mabel, a student in the county high school at Effingham; Isabelle and Mildred, at home.
Politically, Mr. Woodworth is allied with the Democratic party. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Central Protective Association. There is no doubt in the minds of those who know Mr. Woodworth and esteem him for his many excellent qualities, that he will keep alive the traditions of the Woodworth family and endeavor to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestors as regards right living and doing his duty to his county and State.