b. May 18, 1806, in Jessamine County, Kentucky; d. 1877, in Carrollton, Illinois. Woodson began the study and practice of law in Kentucky, where in 1832 he was elected to the state legislature. In 1833, he moved to Carrollton, Illinois, where he continued the practice of law. He formed a law partnership with Charles D. Hodges in Carrollton that lasted for fourteen years. In 1838, he was selected to fill a vacancy as the state's attorney of Greene County, and he held that position until 1840, when he was elected to the state legislature. He was a delegate to the 1848 state constitutional convention, and that same year, he was elected judge of the First Judicial Circuit. In 1867, he retired from the bench to continue the private practice of law. In 1868, he was elected as a Democrat to the state legislature.