Webster County, West Virginia Biography of WILL L. WOODDELL ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 86 WILL L. WOODDELL has so applied his professional ability and constructive energies as to gain secure vantage-ground as one of the prominent and successful members of the bar of Webster County, where he is established in practice at Webster Springs, the county seat. Mr. Wooddell is a scion of sterling old Virginia ancestry and was born at Greenbank, Pocahontas County, West Vir- ginia, on the 14th of March, 1876, a son of William J. and Martha J. (Gum) Wooddell, both natives of Virginia, where the father was born in Rockingham County. William J. Wooddell was long numbered among the honored and influ- ential citizens of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, where he became a successful merchant and farmer, where he served two terms as county sheriff and where he was twice elected representative of the county in the House of Dele- gates of the State Legislature, his political allegiance hav- ing been given to the democratic party. Both he and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Of their children the eldest is Margaret, who is the wife of Dr. M. H. Dyer, a representative physi- cian in the City of Charleston; Anna is the wife of Arthur Sheets, of Harrison County; Virgie is the wife of J. N. Craddock, a former mayor of Clarksburg, this state, she having formerly served as police matron in that city; Clara, who is the widow of J. Lee Conrad, attended the University of West Virginia and is now a popular teacher in the pub- lic schools at Clarksburg; Nettie is the wife of H. C. Thur- mond, a retired lawyer and the present (1922) mayor of Webster Springs; Mattie is the wife of W. S. Wysong, of whom specific mention is made on other pages, she being a graduate of the West Virginia State Normal School at Glenville and having been a successful teacher prior to her marriage; Bantz S. is clerk of the County Court of Webster County; James W. is manager of the Waldo Hotel at Clarksburg; and Will L., of this review, is youngest of the number. After having profited by the advantages of the public schools of Webster Springs, where the family home was es- tablished when he was a boy, Will L. Wooddell pursued higher academic studies by attending the State Normal School at Glenville. In 1900 he graduated in the law de- partment of the University of West Virginia, his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws having been virtually coincident with his admission to the bar of his native state. He forthwith engaged in active general practice at Webster Springs and he has been an outstanding figure in his pro- fession in this county, owing to his exceptional ability as a trial lawyer and his mature judgment as a counsellor. Since 1906 he has maintained a professional partnership with Senator Morton. He served two terms as prosecut- ing attorney of Webster County, and has been active and influential in the local councils of the democratic party. Mr. Wooddell is affiliated with Elk Fork Lodge No. 116, A. F. and A. M.; Sutton Chapter No. 129, R. A. M.; and Sutton Commandery No. 16, Knights Templars. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Wooddell wedded Miss Marguerite Miller, who was born and reared in Webster County and whose youthful education included a course in the State Normal School at Fairmont. Mr. and Mrs. Wooddell have four children: Holt is a successful teacher in the public schools of Web- ster Springs at the time of this writing, in 1922; Gordon is a student in the University of West Virginia; Marguerite is a graduate of the normal department of the Webster Springs High School; and Maurice is a student in the local high school.