Susanna
(Minerd)
Mayle Woody
(1863?-1953)
Susanna (Minerd)
Woody was born in 1855 or in June 1863 in Preston County, WV, the daughter of Jacob
and Ruth (Adams) Minerd. We do not
know if this family is related to ours, but it is known that Susanna's father was
a "Dutchman" (Pennsylvania German) and that he was from the precise area of the
Fayette/Somerset County, PA, border region where our Minerds were pioneers in
the 1790s. We also know that Susanna's mother was
a Native American and that Susanna and her siblings thus were considered of mixed
race (or "mulatto" in the language of the mid-1800s).
Little is known of Susanna’s life, and we do not know why there is such a vast difference in her birth year information, but we believe the "1863" data as more accurate. At a young age, she resided for spans of time in Evansville, Preston County; Grafton, Taylor County; and Philippi, Barbour County, all in West Virginia. In about 1881, at age 18, she migrated with her parents to southeastern Ohio, in between the towns of Athens and Marietta. She resided in Rome Twp., Athens County for the remaining 72 years of her life.
Susanna's first husband was Noah Mayle (1860- ? ). They were married in Taylor County, WV on March 18, 1883, when Susanna was age 20, and Noah was 23. William H. Murphy performed the ceremony.
Noah's fate is not known.
On Aug. 20, 1891, in Athens County, Susanna married Fleming Woody (1855-1915),
a native of Virginia, whose parents also were born in Virginia. Fleming's birth
year also has been given in federal census records as February 1855. Their official Athens County marriage license is seen
at right.
The Woodys are believed to have had six children -- Inez Woody (born in 1890), Lucy M. Dalton (1892), James Riley Woody (1895), Dow Edward "Dalton" Woody (born 1897) and two who have not been identified by name. Sadly, she outlived four of her daughters and sons.
Born someone else's property, said the Athens (OH) Messenger, Fleming was "freed from the bonds of slavery, when about 15 years old." He "spent the greater part of his life" in the Stewart vicinity. Fleming generally was employed as a farm laborer over time.
Over time, the Woodys moved within Ohio to Stewart, Athens County (1892-1895), Coolville, Rome Twp., Athens County (1900), Decatur Twp., Washington County (1920) and back to Coolville (1930).
In the federal census of 1910, when the family was renting a home in Decatur, Fleming was marked as black while Susanna and the children were indicated as mulatto. That year, he worked as a general farmer, while she was a "wash woman" performing "odd jobs."
Sadly, son Dalton
suffered with polio, and spent many years in a wheelchair. After a lifetime of
suffering, he passed away at age 25 on
Jan. 13, 1923. He is buried in the Stewart Cemetery in Rome Township, Athens
County, OH.
Fleming passed away in Athens County on
March 12, 1915. In a short obituary, the Messenger called him "an
aged colored man." His death certificate noted that he was
"Negro."
Susanna outlived her husband by nearly four decades.
When in her 90s, Susanna resided in the home of her daughter Lucy Dalton in Coolville and in Stewart. She died at age 97 on Feb. 8, 1953. She is said to have died "while working in the fields."
At her death, she had 16 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. Susanna is buried with her husband and sons Dalton and James in Stewart Cemetery.
Graves of Fleming and Susanna Woody in Stewart Cemetery
Son James
Woody (1895-1987) was a "farmer and
worked in the timber industry," said the Messenger. He was a member
of the Bethany Ridge Methodist Conference Church. He married Arlie Mae Walker
and they had seven children -- Paul Parker Woody, Hazel Willette, Dorothy
Norman, Patty Mayle, William Riley Woody, Donald Eugene Woody and Genevieve
Gillard. James enjoyed visiting his sister Lucy in Stewart, and they always had
a fun time playing bid seven-up and horse shoes. James passed away at age 92 on Sept. 17, 1987, and is buried at Stewart
Cemetery.
Daughter Lucy Woody (1892- ? ) was married twice. She had a daughter, Izora Kinder Johnson, with her first husband. Later, she married Ezra Dalton (1891-1958). In 1953, they lived at Coolville, Route 2. The Daltons had two daughters, Jean Carol Peters and Bobby Dale Dalton. Ezra died of a lung ailment at the age of 67 on June 28, 1958, at the O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens.
In 1998, the Woodys' grandchildren placed
grave markers for Fleming and Susanna in Stewart Cemetery. Four other
individuals buried in the family plot are Melyann Woody, William Riley Kider,
Thomas Edward Dalton and "Baby Dalton." These graves also were marked
in 1998 with "markers of the funeral home type," wrote Aiken &
Gregg in the genealogical booklet, Rome Township Cemetery Inscriptions.
No dates on these markers were given in the booklets, and did not appear on the
metallic markers when photographed in April 2005.
It is being researched to determine if Fleming was related to two black families headed by a man named Fleming Woody as listed in the federal census of 1870. They include:
-
Fleming and Sally Woody of Hewlett, Hanover County, VA. The family's ages are as follow: Fleming (age 39); Sally (30); son John (11); daughter Ucebia (9); daughter Martha (7); and daughter Judy (5).
-
Fleming G. and Sarah Woody of Kanawha
Court House, near Charleston, Kanawha County, WV. Fleming G. was born in
Virginia and was employed keeping a ferry. The family's ages are: Fleming G.
(46); Sarah (41); son Andrew W. (12); daughter Sarah C. (9); daughter Roxy
(4); and son John D. (1).
The facts about Fleming's life in slavery are being researched, hopefully utilizing the resources of the National Archives' African American Research which was announced in newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in January 2006. More will be added to this biography when known.
Granddaughter Izora Kinder Johnson passed away in April 2006 at the age of 93.
Be sure to visit Susanna's page on the TribalPages.com website compiled by Barb Nelson with significant excerpts from our research and website.
Copyright © 2004-2006 Mark A. Miner