Son of John Woodland (1776-(1869)
and Ceclia Steepleford (1801-1885)
Married Margaret Melena Whitaker Feb 8 1849 in Kanesville Pottawattamie Iowa. Sealed Jun 17 1856 in the Endowment House.

THE LIFE OF JOHN WOODLAND
AND HIS WIFE CELIA STEEPLEFORD

An account compiled by Mary Woodland Fox from material written by Daniel B. Woodland and from information dictated to her by her father, William West Woodland, who shared the experiences.
William was 30 years old when John and Celia Woodland moved to Willard.


Not far from where the James River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, near the city of Norfolk, Virginia, there was born to John and Mary Brown Woodland, a son who also bore the name of John and greatly influenced the lives of many generations.

This Boy was born on the 27th of March, 1776, and not long afterwards his mother died, leaving him to the care of an aunt, Dorethy Rhoda Brown, who soon afterwards married the boy's father, and from that union other children were born: William, James, Margaret, and Ruben.

This family was reasonably prosperous. They had a plantation and slaves, and raised cotton and tobacco. However, as the children grew up, John and William were not satisfied to stay in the swamps and lowlands. The call of the West was in their blood, and they started on a long journey that took them about four hundred miles, and they landed into a new country called Kentucky. The first authentic information we get is a marriage license, which simply says "John Woodland and Ruth McGee, married September 21st, 1813, Bath County, Kentucky" How long they stayed there is not known. All we have is that two children were born to them. Two little girls and mother Ruth McGee, all died within two weeks time with a disease that swept the country at the time, known as the "Cold Plague." With a sad heart, he left that place and three years later we have this information: That John Woodland, his brother William, and the Jefferson Hunt family were waitin at a ferry owned by a man named Noah Steepleford, to cross the Ohio River into Illinois. While waiting here he saw a young lady picking polk berries to be used in dying clothes, and was attracted by her. Before leavin the place, he made her acquaintance. Not long after this Celia Steepleford, born May 7th 1801, at Baron County, Kentucky, became the wife of John Woodland, and later moved to Edwards County, Illinois. Here they lived at least eighteen years. There they had ten children born: Polly, Nancy, James, Elizabeth, Thomas, Noah, John, William, Celia, and Henry.
About this time, over in the western part of New York State, a young man by the name of Joseph Smith, had created excitement, as he had received some very remarkable records, and had been visited by Heavenly Messengers. A new book had been published, and a new church organized, known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, nicknamed "Mormons". One day in Albion, in company with Jefferson Hunt, John Woodland attended a meeting and heard a young man preaching. This young man told then a very strange story, We will tell the story just as it was dictated by their son William West Woodland: After leaving the meeting and bidding goodbye to Jefferson Hunt, He was impressed to pray. He knelt by a stump and prayed. The evil one tried to overcome him, but he cast it off, and was satisfied that the gospel was true. Through this Testimony, he and all his family, in company with Jefferson Hunt, were baptized. After joining the Church, Jefferson Hunt became dissatisfied and wanted to sell his place and go to the Mormons in Missouri, and John Woodland bought it, That night, after buying the place, an angel appeared to him and Showed him his future house, and John told him that if he would wait a few days he would accompany him to Missouri. He told Jefferson Hunt about the dream: That the angel had shown him his home, and that we would know the place by a tree there in the grove that was about twenty-five feet higher than any other tree there and that he was to go to that tree, place his back against it, and take twenty-five steps west and he would find a spring with white sand boiling up in it, and that he would know this was his home.
In a few days they saddled their horses, taking blankets and axes, and traveled across the state of Illinois into Missouri. After looking for a few days, Jefferson Hunt found a place that suited him, so they both stayed there and built a house to hold the land, Jefferson Hunt then asked John which way he was oing to find his home. He was told about two miles, and they saw a grove of trees with a tall tree in it, and John exclaimed: "There is the tree I saw in my dream." They rode to the groveand Jefferson Hunt held the horses while Brother Woodland went to the tree, Placed his back against it, and went twenty-five steps west, where he found the spring, just as he had seen in his dream. He then called to Jefferson Hunt to come and have a drink, but he laughed as he didn't think that there was any water anywhere around, but there was a beautiful little spring. Where they both had a drink. .They built a house to comply with the law, and returned to their families. John Woodland sold his home and moved to the new home which the Lord had shown to him. After living on and improving his new home for about a year, the Prophet Joseph Smith came to visit them. After looking over the place he said: "Oh Brother John, what a beautiful place you have. What wouild you take for it for a Stake in Zion?" Brother John said "If it's the will of the Lord, take it and give me another place as good." Brother Joseph stood a minute, dropped his chin on his bosom, turned pale, and after standing in this attitude for a number of minutes, he raised his head and said: "Brother John, I won't have your place for the Lord showed it to you, and you had faith enough to seek it out." He then placed his hands on Brother Woodland's head and sealed the place unto him and his posterity for life and all eternity. He told him never to sell the place. He was afterwards offered a great amount of money for it, but would not sell it, and forbade all his posterity to never sell it. Brother Woodland remained on the place until they were driven away by the mob, who burned their home at a time when Grandmother Steepleford and her daughter Celia Steepleford Woodland were both ill. Grandmother with chills and a fever, and Celia heavy with child, and threw them out, with their children that had measles on the ground. The two children, Elizabeth and Noah, due to exposure, both died, and were buried in 1838. The otherr children were not harmed. Their team and wagon were not destroyed, as they were hidden away in the timber. The family then went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. While there due to previous exposure, Grandmother Steepleford died in November 1838. The mob was so bad that they couldn't go after timber, for the coffin, so they buried her in a clothes box, which was not long enough, and her feet stuck out about six inches, a scene which was a trial they never forgot. It was in the dead of winter and they had no shelter except a wagon and quilts over some bushes.
While at Adam-Ondi-Ahman the mob came and was going to take Brother Woodland's wagon, because they said it was the only one that could haul the big cannon. Brother Woodland said that he would burst the head of the first one that came to take the wagon with his ax. General Clark, the leader of the military, stepped up and forbade anyone to touch him or his wagon. General Clark then said: "Father Woodland I give you a pass," and ordered his clerk to write it, but Brother Woodland wouild not accept it, unless General Clark would write it in his own hand for fear the mob would think it a bogus pass, so General Clark wrote it himself and gave him a pass out of Missouri.
They left there for the West. One day, while camped for noon in some trees, he andn the children were in front of the wagon, in which the mother lay sick. Brother Woodland heard a noise: he looked up and there saw a train of chariots moving through the air. They were much the same as the train nowdays. They were loaded with people, dressed in white. They went and settled down over Far West, and Brother Woodland exclaimed "Far West is saved." The mob cut them off from going to Far West, so they went down to the bottoms, a short distance from Far West, and camped there. While at the bottoms, Joseph Smith sent word to James Woodland, son of John Woodland , to leave the state, for the mob was after hiim. When James received the word, he left in company with a cousin, named Underwood. As he started to leave, John Woodland called to his wife Celia, and said, "Mother, come here and take a look at your boy for it is the last time you will see him alive." They never heard from him again, and all they ever knew was that there were two new graves. They went from there to Adams County, Illinois. There they lived for four years. They then went to Handcock County; From there they went to Iowa, on the Big Mosquito, Then to Utah, then called the State of Deseret, in 1850. They traveled in Gordon Snow's company. They first settled in Salt Lake City, Utah.
While enroute to Utah, for additional children born, fourteen in all, as follows: Soloman, born October 22 1838, at Adam-Andi-Ahman; Lucinda, born January 1840, at Colombus, Adams County , Illinois; Marth Jane, born March 4 1843, at Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois; Daniel B., born July 30, 1847, at Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. They moved to Willard, Utah, in 1853, and first lived at Aunt Nancy's home, but later their son, William West, returned from California and built a home for them, and they lived with William and his wife Laura for several years. As Brother John Woodland grew into his ninties he often spoke of the blessings promised him by the Prophet Joseph Smith, at the time in 1838, when he offered to give up his home to the Church, that he coujld live upon the earth until the Savior came if he desired. He often said that the Savior would soon come, as he was getting toward the one hundred year mark. Laura would say, "Grandpa, when you get that old you will want to go." But he would say, "No, I will live until the Savior comes."

One afternoon, in his ninety-fifth year, he laid down for a rest and when he failed to awaken at his usual time, Laura went to waken him and found him not breathing. The realtives were called in and he was pronounced dead. As he knew of this promise that the Prophet Joseph Smith had made to him, and of his father's faith, so William said: "We'll find him eating his breatkfast when we arrive." Sure enough, that is where they found him. Their father was quite annoyed that they had sent for them. He was a practical man and didn't like to have them leave their work. However, he had a wonderful message for them. He said: "His spirit left his body and went to a beautiful place, where he met a messenger with authority, who questioned him, and asked the keeper if he was worthy to enter. A record was opened and he was told to enter, but a crown was placed on his head, and he was given full freedom to move without restraint. He beheld his heavenly home and many who had lived and died for Christ's sake. He also saw that his work was being neglected, and he expressed a desire to set to work at once, but the messenger informed him that he must return and be realeased. He had a testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was true, and that the Chruch established upon the earth, through Joseph Smith was God's own Church, and admonished all his children to remain true to it. He then said: "I am ready to go and relinquish my right to remain on the earth until the Savior comes." He then said, he was ready to go as soon as the Lord wanted him, the sooner the better. During the time following and before his death, he would stop, and say: "No, I must not tell you or you will be too unhappy with your lot here and may shorten your days here and lose the prize." He lived about four months after this experience and then one night his spirit slipped away to that Eternal Home, where he is building a kingdom for numerous posterity. It was on November the 8th 1868 he was released to go Home."

Celia Steepleford Woodland, his wife lived more than eighteen years after he died. She was a woman of strong character and had a good personality. The Steeplefords came from England and had a fine background. After the death of her husband she went to live with her youngest son, Daniel Brown Woodland, who married Sophronia Davis. They took over the homestead and she remained with them the rest of her days. As she grew older, she lived back over those terrible days in Missouri, and a times fancied that the mob was again at her door. When the fear was lifted, then that beautiful face would brighten and she would thank God for their delieverance. On January 7, 1885, she peacefully passed away to a reward that surely awaits the faithful. John and Celia Woodland lay side by side in the Old Cemetary at tWillard, Utah. Their lives were once continuous round of honest endeavor. Their testimony, ever fresh and positive and their dying admonition, a prayer for their posterity.