Benton Co., AR - Biographies - John Riley Woods

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History of Benton County BENTON COUNTY.

John Riley Woods,farmer, ex-sheriff and ex-county clerk of Benton
County, Ark., was born in Carroll County, Tenn., in 1828, and is a son
of Dysart and Sarah (Holmes) Woods, who were born in Bedford County,
Tenn., in 1806 and 1811, respectively. The father was of Scotch-Irish
descent, and at the age of thirteen years was taken by his parents to
Carroll County, and was there married in 1827 to Miss Holmes. In 1836
he became a resident of Pope County, Mo., and the following year came
to Benton County, Ark., where he became the owner of 160 acres of land,
and died in 1882. He was one of the very early settlers, a useful
citizen, and his death was universally lamented. He was a son of John
Woods, a North Carolinian, who immigrated to Bedford County, Tenn., and
was there married, and moved to Carroll County, Tenn., in 1819, when
Dysart was thirteen years of age. He died in Carroll County in 1846, at
the age of seventy-two years. His father, Samuel Woods, was an early
settler and resident of Tennessee, and a soldier in the Revolutionary
War. Dysart Woods wife died in 1859. They were the parents of fourteen
children, ten of whom lived to be grown. Seven are now lving, John
Riley Woods being the eldest. He was about nine years old when his
parents located in Benton County, Ark. He made his home with his
parents until twenty-two years of age, and in 1849 was married to Miss
Margaret Ann Woods, a daughter of Samuel P. Woods. She was born in
Carroll County, Tenn., in 1832, and became the mother of fourteen
children, ten living: Samuel L., John R., Jr., Dewitt C., William P.,
Cephas D., Margaret E., Sarah G., Finis H., Charles R. and Annie. In
1858 Mr. Woods was elected sheriff and ex-officio collector of the
county. In 1860 he was elected county and ex-officio circuit court
clerk and ex-officio recorder, being re-elected to the latter office in
1862. In April, 1882, his wife died, and in 1884 he was married to Jane
Ellis, a daughter of David and Margaret Ellis. Mrs. Woods was born in
Shelby County, Ill., in 1845, and is the mother of one child, Clyde.
Mr. Woods is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Christian
Church.