DARKE COUNTY OHIO - BIOS: WOODS, JAMES W.  (Lewis Publishing Company, 1887)
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 683-684

        JAMES F. WOODS, of Portland, one of the early settlers of Knox
Township, Jay County, was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, the date of
his birth being November 7, 1823, a son of Hezekiah and Mary (Oliver)
Woods. The father was a native of the State of New Jersey, and in his youth
removed with his father, Levi Woods to Pennsylvania, where he was married,
and in 1833 removed with his family to Darke County, Ohio. Traveling in
those days was slow and tedious, they making the journey from Pennsylvania
down the Ohio River in a flat-boat to Cincinnati, and then with teams to
Darke County. Hezekiah Woods and wife lived in Darke County until their
death. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom the subject of
this sketch was the eldest. Four of the sons and two daughters grew to
maturity, but one daughter has since died, leaving four sons and one
daughter the surviving members of the family. Levi Woods, the grandfather
of our subject, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The maternal
grandfather of our subject, Joseph Oliver, was one of the well known
pioneers of Pike Township, Jay county, Indiana. He was a native of Dublin,
Ireland, where he grew to manhood. Soon after his marriage he immigrated to
America and settled in Pennsylvania, later removed to Darke County, Ohio,
and from there he came to Jay County, settling in Pike Township.  He lived
in Jay County many years, and late in life returned to Darke County, where
he and his wife lived until their death. He was a manufacturer of shingles,
which he made his principal occupation. He was the father of a large
family, thirteen children living at one time. James F. Woods, whose name
heads this sketch, was ten years old when his parents settled in Darke
County, and there he was reared to maturity, and in his youth he often
visited the home of his grandfather in Pike Township, Jay County. He was
married in Darke County, to Miss Susanna Bailey, a daughter of Peter and
Elizabeth (Porter) Bailey, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia
respectively. To this union three children have been born Melissa, wife of
Henry Shofer; Susie, wife of David Barr, and John B. By a former marriage
Mr. Woods has two children, named Martha and James C. Peter Bailey, the
father of Mrs. Woods, was twice married, Mrs. Woods being a child of the
second marriage. Some years after his marriage Mr. Bailey settled with his
family in Perry County, Ohio, and in 1849 removed to Darke County. The
father died in Darke County, and the mother of Mrs. Woods died near Briant,
Jay County, Indiana, at the home of one of her daughters, in her
eighty-fourth year. In 1856 Mr. Woods came to Jay County, and settled in
Knox Township, where he and his wife lived for eight years. They then
removed to Pike Township, where they resided a number of years, and in
September, 1883, came to the city of Portland, where they have a pleasant
home. In politics Mr. Woods affiliates with the Republican party.