Woods, Alva, 1794-1887

Alva Woods was born in Shoreham, Vermont, on August 13, 1794. He was the son of Abel Woods, a Baptist minister, and Mary (Smith) Woods. He graduated from Harvard College in 1817 and from the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts in 1821. After his ordination in October of that year Woods accepted a professorship at Colombian College, which is now a part of George Washington University in Washington. D.C.In 1823 Woods married Almira Marshall (1804-1863). They had two children: Marshall Woods (1824-1899) and Priscilla M. Woods (1826-1827). In 1824 he accepted a professorship of natural philosophy and mathematics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. After the resignation of President Asa Messer he served as president ad interim from 1826 to 1827. Brown University awarded Woods an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1828. Woods left Brown that year to become the fourth president of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1831 he was appointed the first president of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While there, Woods helped to found the Alabama Female Athenaeum, whose purpose was to train women to become teachers. Woods and his family returned to Providence in 1837, where he managing his business affairs and real estate holdings. He served as a Trustee of Brown University from 1843 to 1859 and as a member of the Board of Fellows from 1859 to 1887. Alva Woods passed away in Providence on September 6, 1887. Marshall Woods was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 28, 1824. He graduated from Brown University in 1845 and from the University of New York Medical School in 1848. The Woods family⁰́₉s relationship with the Brown family of Providence began when Marshall married Anne Brown Francis (1828-1896) in 1848. Anne was the daughter of Ann Carter Brown Francis (1794-1828) and John Brown Francis (1791-1864). Marshall and Anne had two children: Abby Francis Woods (1849-1895) and John Carter Brown Woods (1851-1930). Instead of opening a medical practice, Marshall Woods devoted his time to business and the study of art and literature. He was a director of the Providence National Bank and served as a United States commissioner from Rhode Island to the Paris Exposition in 1855. He was very active in the governance of Brown University, serving as its Treasurer from 1866 to 1882 and as a Trustee from 1858 to 1899. Marshall Woods passed away in London, England on July 13, 1899. John Carter Brown Woods (J.C.B. Woods) was born on June 12, 1851 in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Brown University in 1872 and from Harvard Law School in 1874. He was active in Republican politics, serving in both the Rhode Island House of Representatives (1881-1887) and in the Rhode Island State Senate (1891, 1894-1897). In addition to practicing law, Woods served on the boards of numerous organizations, both public and private. Among them were the State Board of Charities and Corrections ; the Institute for the Deaf of Rhode Island; the corporations of Rhode Island Hospital, Butler Hospital and the Providence Lying-in Hospital (now called Women and Infants Hospital); and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Like his father and grandfather, J.C.B. Woods was active in the governance of Brown University. He served on many university committees and was a Trustee from 1884 until his death in 1930. J.C.B. Woods never married. He passed away in Providence in 1930.

From the description of Alva Woods papers, 1657 - 2011 (bulk 1812 - 1918) (Brown University). WorldCat record id: 767835538