Harry Woods Biographical Page

Woods Farm
It was originally built by James Smith in 1816. It was sold in 1833 to Martin Luther Sanborn. Purchased by Arthur Woods in 1863

Quote from Historical Notes of Bath New Hampshire, 1965

"Mr. Woods was known as a well-to-do farmer, cultivating not only his farm but the Woods meadow farm and running a sawmill for several years besides. His wife was Adeline, daughter of Dudley Weeks, and they had four children: Harry, Lucy who married Frank Alden, George who married Helen Kirkland, and William who married Mary Hayward.
After Arthur Woods' death in 1908, his son, Harry, moved into the brick house and there spent the remainder of his life. Harry married Alice Page of Sugar Hill who taught at Pettyboro, and they had four children: Arthur, who received his masters degree from Cornell and worked for the Timken Company in Detroit; twins Minot and May; and Ethel. Minot married Barbara Whitney, and Ethel married Carroll Foster and continues to live on the home place. After the death of his first wife, Harry married Isabel Thyng.
For years Harry had snow-white hair and his eyes were extremely keen. He was the last farmer in the neighborhood to keep sheep and oxen. He must have been the first to have a car--a 1912 Cadillac-- which must have pleased him as much as it awed the neighbors.
Ethel and Carroll Foster have one son, Carroll, Jr., who lives in the frame house near the brick one. The old brick house burned in the winter of 1916 and was replaced by another brick house--the present one--on the same site
In 1892 the "frame house" was built near the brick house, and there Harry Woods lived when he moved from the Woods hill farm. It has served as home for four generations of the Woods family/l Harry, Ethel, Carroll Foster, Jr., and his children. Carroll, Jr., married Eunice Holbrook, and their chidren are Herbert, Nancy, and Richard. Carroll works on the family farm.
Woods Meadow Farm - Col. Timothy Bedell was the original settler of this farm which now has no public highway leading to it. He was living there in 1769 and in 1772 he and Asa Porter built the first saw and grist mill in the town of Bath. . . Among others who lived on this farm were Albert Moulton, David S. Reed, and Charles Elms. Arthur Woods bought it about 1885 and it has remained a part of the Woods farm ever since. The house is long gone but the big barn with its slate roof can still be plainly seen from the main highway across the river."

about 1885	from the diary of Arthur Page Woods . . . "My fathers name is Harry Woods. My fathers birthplace was in Bath. His residence is in Bath. He was born the 21st of Feb, 1860. He has always lived in Bath and is the only one of a family of four that follows the occupation of farming." Harry was the oldest of 6 children He married Alice Page at the age of 25
Woods Farm It was originally built by James Smith in 1816. It was sold in 1833 to Martin Luther Sanborn. Purchased by Arthur Woods in 1863 Quote from Historical Notes of Bath New Hampshire, 1965 "Mr. Woods was known as a well-to-do farmer, cultivating not only his farm but the Woods meadow farm and running a sawmill for several years besides. His wife was Adeline, daughter of Dudley Weeks, and they had four children: Harry, Lucy who married Frank Alden, George who married Helen Kirkland, and William who married Mary Hayward. After Arthur Woods' death in 1908, his son, Harry, moved into the brick house and there spent the remainder of his life. Harry married Alice Page of Sugar Hill who taught at Pettyboro, and they had four children: Arthur, who received his masters degree from Cornell and worked for the Timken Company in Detroit; twins Minot and May; and Ethel. Minot married Barbara Whitney, and Ethel married Carroll Foster and continues to live on the home place. After the death of his first wife, Harry married Isabel Thyng. For years Harry had snow-white hair and his eyes were extremely keen. He was the last farmer in the neighborhood to keep sheep and oxen. He must have been the first to have a car--a 1912 Cadillac-- which must have pleased him as much as it awed the neighbors. Ethel and Carroll Foster have one son, Carroll, Jr., who lives in the frame house near the brick one. The old brick house burned in the winter of 1916 and was replaced by another brick house--the present one--on the same site In 1892 the "frame house" was built near the brick house, and there Harry Woods lived when he moved from the Woods hill farm. It has served as home for four generations of the Woods family/l Harry, Ethel, Carroll Foster, Jr., and his children. Carroll, Jr., married Eunice Holbrook, and their chidren are Herbert, Nancy, and Richard. Carroll works on the family farm. Woods Meadow Farm - Col. Timothy Bedell was the original settler of this farm which now has no public highway leading to it. He was living there in 1769 and in 1772 he and Asa Porter built the first saw and grist mill in the town of Bath. . . Among others who lived on this farm were Albert Moulton, David S. Reed, and Charles Elms. Arthur Woods bought it about 1885 and it has remained a part of the Woods farm ever since. The house is long gone but the big barn with its slate roof can still be plainly seen from the main highway across the river."	notes on the back of the photo: Original "Woods Farm" house Bath, New Hampshire as of the year 1872-73 (estimated from notes in diaries and other data) A.P. Woods Nov 17, 1956 Burned January 18, 1916 "Woodsville News" Item Friday Jan 21, 1916 Note in "Minot"diary, farm bought at public auction for $2150 Nov 28, 1863 from M.L. Sanborn The Woods Hill Farm was the birthplace of Harry Woods. It received its name from the earliest settler there. The land frist belonged to John Hurd, as did most of the land in this seciton of Bath. Between 1792 and 1822 the Woods family had acquired either all or a part of seven of the hundred-acre lots. The first dwelling was a log cabin which stood on the same knoll where the present house stands, and just in front of it. This cabin was built by Andrew Woods (1756-1835) in 1793, and there all his children were born and raised. The present house was built in 1849, and the site of the old log house became a garden. Mr. Woods was an imigrant from Northern Ireland who landed in Boston.
	about 1898 He and Alice had 4 children together. He was 42 when she died. He remarried at the age of 49 to a school teacher, Mary Isabel Thyng, the only mother his youngest daughter Ethel Evelyn remembers.
Biographical Notes by Everett M. Woods: Sep 1,'09, Mary Isabel Thyng marries my grandfather, Harry Woods - this is his second marriage and she is the only grandmother I knew when we all went up to Grampa Woods' farm in Bath, NH - she was a marvelous cook and I do believe that when we came to visit during the 1930s, they would kill the old rooster and we would have a wonderful chicken dinner - their kitchen did not have a sink with faucets as we know them, but rather, they got all their water from a well - but they did have pumps that brought this cold water into the kitchen into a large open tank from which they drew their water - a little tin cup was always there for us to get a drink - their stove was wood burning and the kitchen was always nice and warm and I just loved to be in this kitchen as Grandma Isabel would often bake cookies for us	summer of 1900 as he was at work-age 40 years
	pictured clockwise from top William Woods unknown Minot Woods John Alden Unknown George Dudley Woods center - Harry Woods picture taken on Woods Farm about 1910
the photo to the right was taken on the porch of this house	about 1924
	Harry distinguished himself by becoming the oldest citizen in Bath, NH in 1949 - an honor he held for nearly 4 years.
according to his death certificate, he died at the age of 93 due to a cerebral accident suffered 18 hours prior to his death.	My mother, who met him a few years before he died, remembers Harry Woods as being small in stature