San
Joaquin County
Biographies
EZEKIEL WILLIAMSON SMITH WOODS
A model citizen whose life work was
direct, straightforward and highly constructive, the late Ezekiel Williamson
Smith Woods stood among his fellow men as one of the biggest and most thorough
builders of central California and whose worked added
inestimably to the wealth of the community.
The development of his lands, which were uncultivated acres when he took
hold of them, has thrown many thousands of dollars into this locality,
benefiting this section of California generally, that a tract of its richest
land was brought to its generous yield under Mr. Woods’ able management. When he passed away on June 22, 1922, he had
amassed a fortune appraised at considerably more than a million dollars, the
largest estate every filed in this county.
Mr. Woods, popularly known as
“Smithy” Woods, was born in Missouri in May, 1849, in the humble home of his
parents who had journeyed from their childhood homes in Indiana to pioneer in
the new west. His father was engaged in
selling Missouri mules to Southern planters, and his partner, Ezekiel Williamson
Smith, asked that his name be given to the new arrival in the Woods
family. Mr. Woods always felt that it
was an honor to have borne the name of this sturdy frontiersman, who was an
uncle of the late James C. Smith, father of Charles B. and Dow Smith,
well-known farmers here. Mr. Woods’ father
came to California in 1850 lured to the land of gold by stories that reached
even the backwoods hamlets, leaving his little family at the home place and
planning to have them join him at the mines.
He landed in Placerville and went on to Mariposa, where he was killed in
a mining trouble. His brother, Jerry
Woods, came to California the next year to look up the pioneer, and settled on
the land where Woodbridge is located, the village being given his name. He conducted the first ferry over the Mokelumne
at this point, and was killed there in June, 1864.
Here the interesting California
careers of the Woods brothers, John N., and E. W. S., start. John N., who became one of the best-known
citizens of San Joaquin County, and a trusted public official came out from Missouri
in 1857 to join his uncle, Jerry Woods, at Woodbridge, and his first letter
sent to his mother urging her to come to California, was one of the first
carried east by the pony express. The
Civil War came on and in January, 1863, the mother and her boys, one of them
the subject of this sketch, left for California, sailing on the steamer
Northern Light from New York in February.
The steamer made a long detour to avoid the privateer Alabama, then feared
on the high seas, and reached the Isthmus safely. They came up to San Francisco on the Sonora,
arriving in Stockton March 14, 1863.
They went direct to Woodbridge, near where John N. had taken up
homesteads for himself and his mother on the present site of Acampo. That section was heavily timbered and covered
with chaparral, but the boys soon cleared the land. The next year, 1864, was dry and cattle died
on every hand, food becoming scarce and very high. In 1869 the railroad was built through that
section and the boys sold their wood to the company. They also chopped out the right of way for
two and a half miles north of the river, for which they were paid $125, which
to them was big money. In 1869 the boys
started with their four-horse team over the Sierras to the White Pine mining section
in Nevada, and here they made as much as fifty dollars a day, hauling rich ore
to mills or shipping points, but the life was not to their liking, so after a
few months they returned to California.
E. W. S. Woods later went to Butte
County, hearing that the lands there offered good chances, and there his
honesty and integrity won for him the backing of a bank president in Chico, who
advanced him money for his farming operations, trusting him because he was
known to be honest and capable. “He’s
honest and will make his way in the world,” this far-seeing banker declared,
and he later made Mr. Woods his confidential agent to handle big business. The year 1876 brought bumper crops and Mr.
Woods prospered, selling a section of good land for fifty dollars an acre. He then returned to Stockton, where his
brother, John N. Woods, was well started on his way to wealth, being connected
with the Farmers’ Union there. The
brothers then started their investments in lands. Among their purchases they bought a section
of the Mitchell ranch near Modesto, picked up a half section east of
Farmington, and were directed to Tulare County by George Crossmore,
a wealthy local capitalist, who financed them in their purchase of 9,000 acres
near the present city of Tulare, for $45,000.
In 1880 Mr. Woods moved to the
Tulare lands with his family and there began the hard struggle that brought the
brothers great wealth. There was then
but one house between their place and Tulare Lake, but the plucky young farmer
and his helpful wife made the best of their surroundings and brought the tract
into marketable condition by the introduction of water, drilling some of the
first artesian flowing wells in that county and used for irrigation. Six years later they had 1,000 acres in alfalfa,
a large herd of cattle and had enlarged their acreage to 14,000. Selling out to a Los Angeles syndicate, they
paid back Mr. Crossmore his $45,000 and cleaned up
$375,000, also selling their Modesto ranch for forty dollars an acre, just
double what it had cost them.
In 1887 the Glasgow California
Company owned the upper and middle divisions of Roberts Island, and after it
was levied Easton & Elbridge got an option on the 20,000 acres for thirty
dollars an acre. The Woods brothers were
promised a third of it, but were crowded out and finally had to buy separate
tracts, securing 12,000 acres at forty-five dollars an acre. Later they bought the Gersbacher
tract of 1,100 acres with the growing crops, and when harvested, the land cost
them twenty-seven dollars an acre; they also then got 3,000 acres from the
option holders, which, after the crops were sold, cost them eighteen dollars an
acre, now easily worth $500 an acre. On
March 22, 1893, the levees broke and the Woods brothers were broke but not discouraged,
though they owed $120,000 on the property.
When some bankers wanted to close them out, J. D. Peters of Stockton
stood up in a bankers’ conference and announced that he would give his check
for any amount needed to carry John and “Smithy” Woods, and their credit was
again established. Balfour Guthrie
advanced them $40,000 and they bought the dredger Roberts Island and rebuilt
the levees. They got no crops in 1893 nor in 1894, but in 1896 they sold their crops to Balfour
Guthrie for $165,000 and the next year they received $130,000, thus making
money fast, though they were paying $18,000 a year interest. That their judgment was well founded was
shown by the fact that when Mr. Woods’ will was filed, one tract of land on
Roberts Island was appraised at $912,027.
After this life ran along smoothly
for the plucky farmers, who were undaunted by disaster, and they amassed large
fortunes through their foresight and industry.
In December, 1900, when John N. Woods died, the brothers owned over
8,000 acres of farming lands in fine shape, a vineyard of 800 acres at Acampo,
worth at least $500 an acre, besides other valuable properties, which were
amicably divided between the heirs of John N. Woods and the surviving brother,
E. W. S. Woods.
Mr. Woods’ first marriage united him
with Miss Lydia Downing, who passed away in Acampo, and in Elliott, California,
May 8, 1878; he was married to Alice M. Markle, born in Fairfield, Jefferson
County, Iowa, a daughter of George and Sophronia (Springer) Markle, who were born
respectively in Holland and Indiana.
Coming to Pennsylvania as a young man the father later moved to Iowa
where he met and married Miss Springer and engaged in the mercantile business
in Keokuk until his death. Afterwards
the mother and the children came to California via Panama, arriving in San
Francisco in July, 1867. Mrs. Woods
survives her husband making her home at 1109 North El Dorado Street, Stockton,
surrounded by a large circle of friends, who hold her in high esteem for her
many gracious qualities and her generous spirit. Mr. Woods was also survived by a brother, A.
J. Woods, of Stockton, and three sons:
Lloyd H., Armand and Marcy Woods, the two former of Stockton, and the
latter at Monterey. He also left two
granddaughters, Mrs. Marie Park Grunsky and Alice
Armand Woods, and a grandson, Lloyd Henry Woods.
Mr. Woods was a Knight Templar and
32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason as well as a member of Islam Temple,
A. A. O. N. M. S., in San Francisco, and a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, B.
P. O. E. He was deeply interested in the
cause of education and served as a member of the board of education for twelve
years, being president of the board for six years of the time. He was president of the board of trustees of
the Stockton high school while the building was being built and took a strong
stand for the present location of the high school instead of close in where
they would soon be crowded for room.
Looking into the future they now have by his foresight four blocks of
ground for the high school site. Mr.
Woods, with his brother John N. Woods, was also largely interested in mining. Since his death Mrs. Woods, ably assisted by
her sons, is looking after their large interests, the sons having the
management of the large ranches and vineyards.
Through all the varied experiences of his interesting career, Mr. Woods
had the confidence and respect of everyone with whom he dealt and the universal
commendation as a man who never done anyone injury nor ever taken advantage of
a man in a trade, rather taking the worst in any deal in which he was
concerned. Never sacrificing principle
to personal expediency, he ever showed signal integrity of purpose, placing
true valuations on men and affairs, and well deserving the high place he held
in the community’s esteem.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
348-351. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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