JOHN T. WOODFORD,2 present proprietor of the Woodford stock farm at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, is a scion of old pioneer families in this state and he has well upheld the prestige of the honored name which he bears, the while lie has, like his father and -grandfather, contributed his quota to the civic and industrial progress and upbuilding of this section of the state. Mr. Woodford was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the 12th of August, 1847, and is a son of John T. and Elizabeth Hawes (Buckner) Woodford. ...
John T. Woodford, Jr., was reared to the, sturdy discipline of the home farm and after due attendance in the schools of his native county he attended the Kentucky University at Lexington. In 1874, in Montgomery county, he initiated farming operations on his own account. Today his landed estate consists of five hundred acres of land in Montgomery county and two hundred acres in Bourbon county. The fine farm on which he resides is modern in every particular, from the magnificent, spacious residence to the large, comfortable barns, For the past thirty-five years Mr. Woodford has been successfully engaged in the breeding and training of fancy saddle horses and it may be stated with authority that he has bred more saddle horses than any other one man in Kentucky. Mr. Woodford's reputation as a horse breeder and as a man of his word is widespread. His fair and honorable methods and sterling integrity have ever accrued to his credit and he is recognized as a loyal and public-spirited citizen whose contributions to progress and development have been of distinctive order. He keeps on hand an average of seventy-five head of fancy saddle horses and he has a herd of registered Jersey cows which he retains for his own use.
Mr. Woodford is a Democrat in his political proclivities and is ever alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises advanced for the general welfare of the community. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church.
On the 13th of February, 1872, Mr. Woodford was united in marriage to Miss Nannie Chenault, who was born in Madison county, Kentucky, on the 20th of August, 1853, and who is a daughter of Anderson and Margaret K. (Oldham) Chenault. Anderson Chenault was likewise born in Madison county, the date of his birth being January 8, 1812, and he died on the 27th of March, 1884. Mrs. Chenault was a native of the same county and her birth occurred on the 15th of October, 1829. She is still living on the Chenault farm, located two miles south of Mount Sterling. Residing with her is her son William O. and family. Mr. and Mrs. Chenault became the parents of seven children and of the number five are living--Nannie, who is the wife of Mr. Woodford, of this sketch, as already noted; William O., who resides with his mother; Mollie W., who is the wife of J. S. Bogie, of Montgomery County; Margaret, who married W. J. Dearing, an attorney for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, with headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky; and Lucy C., who wedded Bishop Clay, of Lexington, Kentucky. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Woodford were Reverend David and Mary (Tribble) Chenault, natives of Virginia, whence they came to Kentucky about 1780 and purchased four thousand acres of land in Madison county. He was a devout minister of the Baptist faith and after many years service in behalf of the spiritual welfare of his fellow men he passed to his reward in 1851. His devoted helpmeet and companion died in 1862, in her eighty-fourth year. Anderson Chenault was reared to maturity and educated in his native county (Madison) and in 1832 he settled on a tract of eighty acres in Montgomery county. This land was covered with heavy timber but it was eventually cleared and raised it to a high state of cultivation. His first crop was corn. This he fed to hogs, which he sold for tile sum of four hundred and five dollars. With this money he purchased an old negro, called Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim became so attached to his new home that he ignored his freedom after the war and continued to serve the Chenault family with all the old-time faithfulness until his death, some years ago. Mr. Anderson Chenault became a most successful agriculturist owning at one time twelve hundred acres of land. He was originally a Whig in political matters but at the time of the Civil war he became a Union man and after the close of the war, a Democrat. He had in his possession forty slaves and he believed in gradual emancipation. He was active until his death and Mrs. Chenault, in spite of her eighty-one years, is yet active. To Mr. and Mrs. Woodford were born eight children, six of them are living, namely: Margaret C., who is the wife of William W. Gay, of Bourbon county; Thornton, who remains at home; Catesby, of Bourbon county, Chenault, William B., and Lucy Clay, all of whom remain at the parental home.
