William Coffy Woodward was named as a son in the Robertson Co, TN will of Richard Woodward written February 26, 1839:

Lastly I give and bequeath unto my son William Coffy all of my land were I now live with the Exception of the above that was named for Dollys priviledges of support also I give my negro named Ben and my negro woman named Nancy and Boy named Lewis and Girl named Martha another named Addline and the increase of Nancy one Grey horse and cow and calf and bed & Furniture two sheets two coverlets two pillows and one Still.

Lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint John S Bigbee & William C. Woodward my Executors....
 

However, the will apparently was not found for several years, and John S Bigbee was issued a Letter of Administration on November 2, 1840. As a result, some of the slaves that had been left to various children were hired out to others. Some of the livestock and other items that had been left to children were sold. John S Bigbee was still referred to as the administrator of the estate on Jan 12, 1841 but was referred to as executor of the estate in April, 1843, so the will must have been found by that date. The 1843 account shows that William C Woodward was paid for
24  "   William C Woodward Receipt for the hire of Boy Ben      50
25  "   Sale of property of W C Woodward per Receipt             115
This payment would seem to be intended to reimburse William for the part of his legacy that had been sold or rented.

Ben was only one of the slaves that William Coffy Woodward had been left in his father's will. Some of the others were mentioned in another account:

Robertson Co, TN Will Book 10, p 578
Hire of Negroes until 25th Dec 1841
1 Man Ben                     To    Richd Randolph                    80  25  -
1 Man Handy                 To    B Raney                               90  00  -
1 Woman named Lydia   To  D Mulloy                                50   -   -
1    Do           Nancy & 2 children  To  [L?/S?] Johnson   11   -   -
1 Boy             Louis                            W C Woodward   10   -   -
 

William C/Wm C/William/W C/W Woodward was the principal buyer at the estate sales held Nov 27 & 28, 1840 and Dec 26, 1840. Robertson Co, TN. Will Book 10, p 572-578. He purchased
1 Boarshear plow
1 Barsheus plow
1 Single Tree & Cl___
1 [per Tanguis?]
1 Pot
1 Spooling frame
1 Auger
1 Hatchet
1 Remnant of Castings
1 Lot of Sundries
1 Washing Tub
1 Backband
1 Flax Wheel
1 Shoe Bench
1 Lot Sundries
1 Chisel
1 Frow
1 Lot Sundries
2 Blind Bridles
1 Yrd Geer
1 [Yiggins?]
1 Tea board
2 blind Bridles
1 pr hooks & boiler
1 [Pail?]
1 Cotton Wheel
1 Heifer
1 Waggon
1 Grey horse
1 Stack Fodder 57 pr 100
1 Boy Ben hired /month
1 negro woman & 2 children  [apparently hired]
1 negro boy  [apparently hired]
2 Barrels
1    Do [Barrel from entry above]
1    Do [Sythe & Cradle from entry above]
2 Large Bowls
2 Dishes & 5 Plates
1 [Neat?] Table
1 Pad Lock
1 Dec Kettle
1     Do [Pot Rack from entry above]
1 Still
1 Ser___ and vials
1 Bed & furniture
2     Do [Table Cloths from entry above]
1 Cupboard
1 Book Case
1 Razor Strap
1 [Bencaco?]
1 Chest
1 Loom
2 Large Barrels
1 Hominy Morter
? [Dash?]
1 Bed quilt
1 Lot [Sheatstories?]
1 Bread Trey
3 1/2 yds Cloth at 37 per yd
1 Log Chain
1 ____ [unreadable]

According to  , a descendant of James Kirby, Hardy Kirby, the husband of Dolly Woodward, died before March of 1839 when his brother-in-law, William C. Woodward, was appointed administrator of his estate. We do not yet have that record.

From JoAnne Schultz email:
I have a Tabitha Ann Metcalf, born ca 1818, who married William C. Woodard on 24 Jul 1834 in Henry County, TN. William was only about 32 when he died at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico on 24 Feb 1847 during the Mexican-American War. Tabitha's mother died around 1850, and Tabitha with her two children, Richard and William Henry, are living with her father, Enoch Metcalf, in Caledonia, Pulaski County, Illinois on the 1850 census. Tabitha died on 18 Feb 1859.
 
 

1845 - Robertson Co., Tennessee Abstracts of Chancery Court Loose Papers, 1844-1847 by Jean M. Durrett and Yolanda G. Reid, 1986, pg 46
Lawsuit # 277 Dolly Kerby vs Johnson and Metcalf  Accusation by Dolly Kerby that her negro man, Handy, was taken from her fraudulently by Enoch Metcalf. Richard Woodard, decd, father of Dolly Kerby. W.C. Woodard, brother of Dolly Kerby. Enoch Metcalf, father-in-law of W.C. Woodard.
Filed: 1845
 

1850 Census - Caledonia, Pulaski Co., Il
enumerated with her father Enoch Metcalf
Tabitha Ann Woodward - 32 - female - 500 - b. Ky
Richard - 10 - male - b. Tn
William C. - 4 - male - b. Il
 

Portrait and Biographical Album of Lancaster County, Nebraska
Chicago:  Chapman Brothers, 1888   No author/editor named.

pp. 391-393

WILLIAM H. WOODWARD, the well-known and successful lawyer of Lincoln, whose portrait is given on the opposite page, is one of the leading members of his profession in Nebraska, and a member of the law firm of Billingsby & Woodward, Office No. 210 South Eleventh street, Rooms from 1 to 4, inclusive. He is a native of Pulaski County, Ill., born Dec. 27, 1816, and is a son of Capt. William C. Woodward, a native of Tennessee, and one of the heroes of the Mexican War. Our subject is the sole survivor of the
Woodward family, the other members having fallen on the battlefield while bravely defending the stars and stripes that now wave over a free and undivided country.
   The father of our subject enlisted in the Mexican War as a private in Company A, 2d Illinois Infantry, which formed part of Gen. Wool's division, and on the arrival of his company in Mexico, by the unanimous vote of his comrades, who readily recognized his ability and trustworthiness, he was elected to be their Captain. His brilliant service was brought to a close Sept. 15, 1847, at the battle of Buena Vista, as while he was leading his company to the charge, he was killed by the ferocious Mexican lancers, and his body was cut to pieces. He was a gallant soldier and a good officer, and his premature death was
greatly mourned by his fellow-soldiers and superior officers.
   Being thus left fatherless when he was too young to realize the great loss that he had sustained, our subject was still further bereaved in his childhood, when he was ten years of age, of the tender care of the
best of mothers, her death occurring in 1857. Her maiden name was Tabitha A. Metcalf, and she was a native of Tennessee. To her and her husband had been born one other son besides our subject, Richard M., who, in life's morn, when the prospects of a glorious and honorable career were the brightest, gladly yielded up his young being to his country. In the early part of the late war he had enlisted for a period
of three months, and at the expiration of that term had again enrolled himself as a soldier for a term of three years. Just before going into the battle of Ft. Donelson he was promoted to be Captain of Company G, 11th Illinois, Regiment, and bravely did he meet the foe. Three times he was wounded, the last time unto death, first in the fleshy part of the thigh, the second time through the lungs, and the third time in the
groin. The last night of the battle, the 14th of February, 1862, was bitterly cold, and the wounded lay on the battlefield slowly stiffening and freezing as the life current ebbed away. He lay thus unprotected all
night at the mercy of the rebels, and when he was found in the morning lifeless, his body was frozen to the ground, and had to be cut away before it could be buried. His frank and noble qualities made him the
idol of his comrades; he was an exemplary young man, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; he was but twenty-one years of age at the time of his death.
   William H. Woodward, of whom we write, being early deprived of his parents, as we have before noted, was placed in charge of a guardian. The same patriotic spirit that had animated the breast of his sire and only brother characterized him, and he ran away from his guardian to enter the army. He took part in the battles of Corinth and Iuka before he enlisted, and he was then allowed to enter the service as a drummer. But it was found that he had more fight in him than music, and he was permitted to exchange the drum for the rifle, and to take his place in the ranks as a soldier, becoming in 1863 a member of Company D, 56th Illlinois (sic) Infantry, and subsequently took part in all the general engagements of the Western Army, including Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea, and thence to Washington.
   After the war our subject set himself earnestly about the task of completing his education, and in 1868, while teaching school, began to read law.
   He attended the Southern Illinois College, at Carbondale, from which he was graduated, after pursuing a thorough course, in 1869, with honors. He afterward entered the excellent law school at the University
of Indiana, at Bloomington, from which he was also graduated at the head of the class. He was admitted to the bar March 26, 1873, at Mt. Vernon, Ill., before the Supreme Court. He immediately established himself in practice at Carbondale, Ill., where he remained until 1885. He soon began to be regarded as a young lawyer of great promise, and in a few years his talents and attainments had placed him among the foremost of the legal luminaries of Southern Illinois, and had gained him prominence in public affairs. He was first elected to the thirtieth session of the Illinois Legislature in 1876, and for five years ably and satisfactorily represented his constituency in that body, having been elected on the Republican ticket in a strongly Democratic county. He was for several years City Clerk, and also held the office of attorney for the city of Carbondale. In his public life he became intimate with that illustrious citizen, soldier and statesman, Gen. Logan, and assisted him in all his political campaigns. In 1880 our subject received a
sunstroke, and was for some time incapacitated for his public or private duties. In 1884 he went to Chicago to take the civil service examination, and was the first appointee of those then examined in the
classified service, Mr. Lyman giving him the position of special examiner in the pension office, at a salary of $1,600 a year and $3 a day additional while in the field, which was the largest salary in the
classified service. His record is examiner was of the very best, as he was assured by Gen. Dudley, Commissioner of Pensions, in a letter. Our subject was discharged without cause from his office as examiner by Commissioner Black, with no reason assigned, though it is supposed on account of "offensive partisanship," that is for being loyal to the Republican party, under whose banner he had fought in the late Civil War, and of whose principles he has been a stanch supporter ever since. In October, 1885, Mr. Woodward removed to Lincoln with his family, formed a partnership with Capt. Billingsby, an eminent lawyer of this place, which has proved of mutual advantage, and they enjoy a large practice in this State.
   Mr. Woodward was married, Dec. 25, 1870, to Miss Melissa J. Hindman, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Silas G. Hindman, a native of Illinois. Her father was formerly a prominent merchant of Carbondale, Ill., of which town he was a pioneer. He has made a success of his life, and is now living retirement at Augusta, Kan. He was for many years a companion of Gen. Logan. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and does much toward supporting it. The marriage of our subject and his wife has been blessed to them by the birth of four children, namely: Frank, Fred, Dollie and William R. Dollie is deceased; the others are at home.
   Mr. and Mrs. Woodward are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially, our subject belongs to the following-named organizations: The I. O. O. F., the G. A. R. and the A. O. U. W. He is an orator of recognized ability, and his eloquent voice is often heard from the platform at social meetings, or political gatherings, urging on his party to new victories.

[Note:  A photograph of William H Woodward was included with this article. The birthdate for William H Woodward given as Dec. 27, 1816 is certainly incorrect. This date is more consistent with the estimated birth date for his father William Coffy Woodward. According to the article, William H Woodward was age 10 when his mother died in 1857, which would place his birth date as ca 1847. William C Woodward's death date given by JoAnne Schultz does not agree with the death date given in this article. Tabitha Ann Metcalf's death date also does not agree. At this time, we do not have the original records to determine which dates are correct.]
 
 

A HUGE thanks to  and  and JoAnne Schultz and  who contributed many of the records included here.

Additions and corrections are welcome! Contact  .