William Allen Woods

Who was William Allen Woods?

William Allen Woods was a United States federal judge.

Woods received an A.B. from Wabash College in 1859 and read law to enter the bar in 1861. He was in private practice in Goshen, Indiana from 1862 to 1867. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1867 to 1869, returning to private practice in Goshen from 1870 to 1873. He was a judge on the 34th Judicial District of Indiana from 1874 to 1880, and then a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from 1881 to 1883.

On May 2, 1883, Woods received a recess appointment from President Chester A. Arthur to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana. vacated by Walter Q. Gresham. Formally nominated on December 18, 1883, Woods was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 7, 1884, and received his commission the same day.

On December 16, 1891, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Woods for elevation to a new seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit created by 26 Stat. 826. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 17, 1892, and received his commission the same day. Woods served in that capacity until his death, in 1901, in Indianapolis, Indiana.