Franklin B. Woodman. Those to whom has been granted the privilege of residingin Ottawa County for the past forty or fifty years have witnessed an interruptedseries of improvements. Where once rose the smoke of the camp fire now ascendsthe busy hum of industry from a thriving city. Where once the hunter roamed insearch of game the farmer now tills the soil. Chaos has been reduced to system,and poverty has been replaced by prosperity. As one of the number whose effortshave contributed to secure these results, we present the name of F. B. Woodman,a resident farmer of Tallmadge Township.

The parents of our subject were Borden and Elizabeth (Brown) Woodman, thelatter being the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Brown. He was the sixth of afamily of eleven children, and was born in Madson, Madison County, N.Y., October11, 1825. At the age of six years he was orphaned by the death of his mother andwas then taken into the home of his maternal grandfather, Joseph Brown, by whomhe was reared to manhood. In his youth he attended the common schools of theneighborhood, but as they were of a very inferior order his education was rathermeager.

At the age of nineteen years our subject commenced to work as a day laborer,and was thus engaged until the fall of 1849, when, desirous of bettering hisfinancial condition, he came to Michigan. Here he settled in the woods ofTallmadge Township, and purchasing property began to clear the land andcultivate the soil of his present farm. He is now the owner of about one hundredacres, all of which are under excellent cultivation, devoted principally to theraising of cereals. In the rotation of crops and fertilization of the soil heexercises good judgment, as a consequence of which his land is fertile and he isenabled each year to gather large harvest of golden grain.

The lady who in 1845 became the wife of our subject was Emily J., daughter ofWilliam Hammond, a resident of Herkimer County, N.Y., Mr. and Mrs. Woodman arethe parents of five children, but only two are now living. They are Hannah S.,who is the wife of Samuel Roach and resides in Ottawa County; and CharlesFranklin, who married Miss Ann Elizabeth Ritelmiller, and makes his home withhis father, assisting in the cultivation of the farm. In his political beliefMr. Woodman is a stanch Republican, and since casting his first ballot hasalways upheld the principles for which the party stands. He has officiated asConstable, and has also occupied other positions, where he has renderedefficient and satisfactory service on behalf of his fellow citizens.