Born in Warren county, Pennsylvania, on 27th of February 1828 and is the son of David and Parthena Woodin, natives of Monroe county, New York. The youth of Mr. Woodin was spent at work on his father's farm during the summer and attending school in the winter until 1844, when he attended one term at the Waterford (Pennsylvania) Academy, and the next winter taught a district school; the two following summers were spent at Jamestown academy, New York, and the winters were spent in teaching; with one term of preparatory still to complete he entered Allegheny college, at Meadville, in 1847; the full course of one term in the preparatory department, and four years in the college were completed in four years, while at the same time he taught school for three months each winter and made one year in his law studies with A. B. Richmond of Meadville, Pennsylvania. He graduated with honors at the head of his class in 1851, having defrayed the entire expense of his education by teaching. After leaving college he taught in the academy at Warren Pennsylvania, for one year, reading law at the same time in the office of L. D. Wetmore. He was admitted to the bar in 1862, and for one year after practiced is profession with his preceptor, developing at the same time rare powers and genius as a practitioner. In 1853 he decided to come to Iowa and he made the then incipient town of Iowa City, his future home. His entire stock of trade consisted on arrival, of a few books, a suit of clothes and four dollars in money. In 1854 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Johnson county and in 1855, was elected mayor of Iowa City. In 1856 he was elected to the legislature from Johnson county and served one term with credit to his constituents and honor to himself. In 1857 he moved to Sigourney and in 1858 was elected district attorney for the Sixth Judicial District, and served four years, during which time he earned for himself the reputation of being one of the most skilled and successful criminal lawyer's in the State. Mr. Woodin has had great success as an attorney and has been engaged on one side or other of almost every important case since he came to Sigourney, and during a period of twenty years he has not been absent from the court room one full hour at any one time during the session of court. In July 1859 he was married to Miss Mary E. Skillman of Sigourney; she was a native of Louisa county, Iowa.