Frank H. Woody was born in Chatham County, North Carolina, in 1833, son of Robert and Pyrene Woody. After his education and some time teaching, he came to the town of Hellgate, Montana, in 1856. He remained there until 1857, when he went to Fort Walla Walla, Washington. Returning to Missoula in 1860, he worked in a variety of occupations until 1866, when there was a vacancy for clerk and recorder for Missoula County, a position that he won and held until 1880. After considerable study and experience with the law, he was admitted to the Montana bar in 1877 and in 1892 was elected district judge of the Fourth Judicial District. In 1896, he was re-elected to this office. He married Elizabeth Countryman in 1871; they had three children, Frank, Alice M., and Flora P. Woody. Frank Woody died in 1916.
From the guide to the Frank H. Woody Letter, 1896, (University of Montana--Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
