Book 41 Contents - Legal Documents and Assorted Papers, approximately 1825 to 1862

The D. M. Woods Collection, 1835-1921, consists of financial records, legal papers, correspondence, and assorted ephemera that originally belonged to D. M. Woods. Woods worked as a blacksmith in Clarksville, and much of the collection consists of account statements and receipts for iron and other goods connected to his work. Although he was not a soldier, he did supply iron to the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The correspondence is a mix of business and personal. Several of the letters concern family matters, in particular a series from Woods' sister Narcissa that focuses on difficulties in her marriage to James Smithers. Other letters document Woods' business dealings and land purchases.

Woods died in 1865, and it is unclear who maintained the collection or who added the materials created after his death. Many of these later items have ties to Alabama. Woods mother, Narcissa Rogers, remarried a man name John Bird (sometimes written Byrd) and the couple lived in Alabama.

This collection provides valuable insight into the iron industry of Middle Tennessee and the economic life of Clarksville more generally. Many well-known Clarksville residents and businesses are represented in Woods' papers. Researchers interested in the iron industry before and during the Civil War will find useful information.