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John James Woodhurst was born at Milton near Sittingbourne in Kent in 1852 to parents William (4) Woodhurst and his wife Ann (nee Page). The GRO reference is [Birth Index: Milton 2a 576, 1852 (June)].
In 1855 he emigrated with his mother and siblings to America.
The US 1860 Census finds him living at age 7 with his parents at South Fork township, Jackson County in Iowa.
The US 1870 Census appears to find him at age "17" - with his surname misspelt as "Woodheart" - occupied as a farm labourer in the household of a farmer Miles Wright in Maquoketa township, Jackson County, Iowa.
The US 1880 Census finds him living at "the mines between Judith and Arrow Creek", Meagher County in Montana, aged 27, unmarried and occupied as a farmer. The record confirms that he and his parents were born in England. One other person was with him, a 30-year-old unmarried farmer named Thomas Foly.
During the 1880s and 1890s he was occupied in the mining of silver and other minerals on Woodhurst Mountain as described on this page.
He was mentioned in an article published on July 8th 1880 in The Rocky Mountain Husbandman (Diamond City, Montana) as follows:
John Woodhurst and his partner, who live near the road leading from the Judith to the Belt river, have fine crops growing.
He was mentioned in the same newspaper in 1882 by someone visiting the Wolf Creek area, in the issue of January 5th:
Wolf Creek was next upon my way. The valley on this creek is narrow at the foot of the mountains, but eight miles lower down it widens to eight or ten miles, while further down it spreads out into one grand plain as even as a floor. The soil is deep and the grass the finest quality of blue-joint meadow. As yet but few settlers have reached this valley. The first of these settlers is John Woodhurst, who is pleasantly located at the foot of the mountain, and has a most valuable farm, a splendid place for fruit-growing.
Another article published on August 23rd 1883 gives a fuller description of this area and of John James' settlement there and his discovery and extraction of its lead and silver deposits. It mentions his neighbour James W. Shaw who joined him as a partner in his mining claims.
He seems to have come into dispute with Paris Gibson, a major pioneer, prospector and landowner, as in April 1884 he lost a legal case that Gibson had brought against him, resulting in him having to pay $1,218 and accept a decree of foreclosure, possibly in respect of some land or mining loan. This was briefly reported in the The Rocky Mountain Husbandman on April 10th 1884. A further article on May 29th reported that, relating to this dispute, there was to be a Sheriff's sale on June 5th of a parcel of land in the Sir Walter Scott and Mystery lode mining claims in Running Wolf.
In 1877 he had married Flora (nee) Owens; their marriage took place on September 12th in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa [FHL: Film No. 1018501]. He was apparently working away from home in 1885 because a census taken in that year for Ward 1 of Council Bluffs, Mills Co. in Iowa shows Flora living there at 415, Franklin Street with just their first two children:
Flora Woodhurst : 25 : mar : [no occupation cited] : [no birthplace cited]
Jennie Woodhurst : 4 : unm : --- : Montana
Florence Woodhurst : 2 : unm : --- : Montana
In 1887 John James discovered a coal deposit at Willow Creek. This was reported on September 21st 1887 in the Great Falls Tribune, with mention also made of his silver and gold discoveries.
The following year the same newspaper reported on July 4th 1888 that John James had come to Great Falls from Wolf Creek in a state of enthusiasm about the discoveries being made there, including his recent "big strike" at Running Wolf, evidently referring to his recent finding of lead there.
On May 19th 1897 he patented land in Judith Basin, as shown in the records of the US Bureau of Land Management Database.
Flora had evidently died in the 1890s. In 1898 John James remarried to a widow named Carrie (nee Lee) Wall who had been previously married to Thomas A. Wall, by whom she had produced the two sons listed below. Their engagement had been announced on December 17th 1898 in The Neihart Herald:
The marriage license for John James and Carrie states that they married on December 20th 1898 in Cascade Co., Montana. His abode was Stanford in Fergus Co. and hers was Kibbey in Cascade Co. He was described as a widower aged "43" and she as a widow aged "33". His parents were named as William Woodhurst and Anna (nee) Page. Hers were named as William O. Lee and Deliah (nee) Williams.The engagement of Mrs. Carrie L. Wall of Kibbey and John Woodhurst of Wolf Creek is announced and the marriage will occur at Great Falls on Tuesday evening next.
The US 1900 Census finds him living with Carrie, four daughters and one of his step-sons in Kibbey Township and occupied as a ranchman. His birthdate is cited (incorrectly) as April 1854, and Carrie's as March 1865. She was born in Iowa. The record also states that he was naturalized and had immigrated in (inaccurately) 1856.
The US 1900 Census has a second record for him which shows him living with Carrie, four daughters and both his step-sons at House No. 29, Stanford Precincts, Fergus Co. in Montana and provides almost the same details of the family members; here he is described as a farmer. It is not clear how or why the family could have been recorded in two different counties on the same date (June 4th); however, the two census schedules are crystal clear.
The US Bureau of Land Management Database records that Carrie patented land in Judith Basin on April 22nd 1901.
In 1907 he was reported in The Fergus County Argus, issue of January 4th 1907, as having discovered a coal mine:
A coal mine has been discovered about seven miles from Dubuque, on the head of Willow creek, by John J. Woodhurst, who located it one week ago. From present developments he has a fine vein of coal, about seven feet wide, and free sulphur. Mr Woodhurst has also discovered a quartz lead of fine silver-bearing ore at the head of Wolf creek, in the Belt mountains.
The US 1910 Census finds John James and Carrie living in Orcas Precinct No. 2, San Juan Co. in Washington State together with (ostensibly) his daughter Bessie (2), his step-son Tommy Wall and Carrie's father William Cory Lee and brother Thomas E. Lee. John James was now working as a fruit farmer. Meanwhile their daughters Helen (2), Ada (1) and Bessie (2) were enumerated in Precinct 6 of Tacoma City in Peirce Co., Washington State, lodging with others in the household of a widow Mandy Barker. It is therefore not clear where Bessie (2) actually was on the night of the Census. Her occupation in the Tacoma record was given as stenographer whilst the other two sisters there were nurses for a private family (perhaps for Mrs. Barker).
He died in 1912 and was buried in the Mount Baker Cemetery on Orcas Island, San Juan Co. in Washington State. His gravestone there states that he died on March 17th 1912 and gives his birthdate as (inaccurately) April 6th 1853.
Carrie died in Seattle on October 6th 1949 and, according to a listing of Woodhurst graves in Cascade Co., Montana was buried there in the Highland Cemetery at Great Falls. There must have been some specific family sentiment behind the decision to bury her over 600 miles from where she had died.
An unattributed IGI patron-submission record states that Jennette (1) was born on August 14th 1881 at Stanford, Judith Basin in Montana, that she married Fred F. Fair on September 16th 1900 at Council Bluffs, Mills Co. in Iowa, that he was born at Glenwood in Mills Co. on February 19th 1878 and died on March 20th 1966, and that she died on February 28th 1977. Most sources name her as "Jennie".
The 1900 Census finds her as "Jennette Woodhurst" living in Glenwood township, Mills Co., Iowa and occupied as a cook among numerous other cooks and staff at the Iowa Institution for Feeble Minded Children. It states that she was single, aged "18" and born in Montana in August 1881.
On July 16th 1903 The Mills County Tribune published an announcement of the birth five days earlier, on Saturday July 11th, of a daughter (unnamed) to "Mr. and Mrs. Fair".
The American Social Security Death Index states that Jennette (1) was born on August 14th "1880" and died in February 1977. Her SSN (issued in California) was 555-21-3865 and she had been residing at 91504 Burbank in Los Angeles, California. It also states that Fred Fair was born on Feburary 19th 1878 and died in March 1966. His SSN (issued in Wyoming) was 520-07-3267 and he too had been residing at 91504 Burbank in Los Angeles.
Florence (1) married in St. Paul's Church, Seattle to a clerk Walter Arad Small on November 7th 1906. She died in 1910 and was buried as "Florence Woodhurst Small" in the same cemetery on Orcas Island as her father would be two years later. Her gravestone there states that she died on February 22nd 1910 and gives her birthdate as November 22nd 1882.
Ada (1)'s birth certificate states that she was born on December 21st 1885 in the town of Rural, Fergus Co. Her father's occupation was given as miner and his age as "32". It also states that Flora was aged "30" and had now produced four children of whom three other than Ada (1) were now living. So there must have been some child not listed above who had not survived. Nothing more is currently known of Ada (1).
Helen (2)'s birth certificate states that she was born on November 20th 1887 in Rural. Her father's occupation was given as miner and his age as "34". It also states that Flora was aged "32" and had now produced five children of whom four other than Helen (2) were now living. Helen married in King Co., Washington State on May 31st 1911 to a physician Arthur J. Keho. He died in 1978. Helen died aged "93" in Tacoma, Washington State on April 20th 1981. They were buried at the Fox Island Cemetery in Pierce Co., Washington State.
Bessie (2)'s birth certificate states that she was born on February 22nd 1890 in Rural. Her father's occupation was given as miner and his age as "29" (but actually nearly 39). It also states that Flora was aged "27" (but actually about 37) and had produced four children of whom three other than Bessie (2) were now living; these figures were clearly not correct.