Francis B. Woodbury was born in Bolton, Massachusetts in 1857, the son of Frank M. and Julia Bailey Woodbury. His father is no longer living in 1870, and he is living in Bolton in Worcester Co Mass living with his mother and brother at mother’s parents’ farm. By 1880, he had moved to Middlesex, Somerville, Massachusetts and was living with cousins while working as a telephone clerk. He married eight years later at Bulfinch Place Unitarian Church to Annie L Clark, and they made their home at 23 Bromley Street in Roxbury.
While residing in Roxbury, Francis was elected secretary at the annual National Spiritualists Association meetings, 1894-1897. He wrote to the Buffalo News, 18 April 1895, about their statement that Spiritualism was not expanding. “The fact is that spiritualism is progressing rapidly all over the world, and there has been a very large number of societies organized in the last three months and one of our weekly papers gained 2000 subscribers in that time.”
The Progressive Thinker 3 October 1896 wrote, “The efficient secretary, Francis B Woodbury, has been a prominent worker in Spiritualistic circles for nearly twenty years, and the charge of inexperience and over-zealous youth cannot be laid at his door.” His wife, Annie, was also involved with Spiritualism. At an1896 meeting in Boston she gave tests and readings. She also attended Mass Convention of Spiritualists in Feb.
Francis was elected secretary in 1897 at the Annual Convention of NSA, an important year for women’s rights. “Two-thirds of the audience at to-day’s sessions of the National Spiritualist Association were women.” That year, resolutions were adopted looking to the “liberation of women,” setting out that women had been kept long enough in the position of Indians or idiots, and that women had helped for centuries to build up homes without having partnership. In the discussion on educational facilities the support of spiritual schools was advocated. Delegate Sprague said he had placed his children in the Red Bush Institute because his “spiritual guide commanded it,” and had been opposed to it “till an angel told him to do it.”
The Lawrence Daily Journal, 30 December 1897, wrote that the Secretary spoke at the National NSA meeting in Cleveland and said, “He said that so-called magicians did things which mediums accomplished, but the former resorted to trickery, while the power of the later was due to spiritual influence. He said there is little difference between the mesmeric and trance conditions, and, inasmuch as there was no doubt about the genuineness of the former, there should be no doubt about the latter.”
Francis was voted out as NSA secretary in 1898 but still continued to participate. He gave addresses like at Lookout Mountain, discussed the history of the organization, and was concerned with people being arrested for their beliefs.
Frances and Annie lived in Greenfield, Massachusetts in 1900 where he worked as a night watchman, and she was a waitress. They had a daughter, Ruth, and later moved to the nearby Spiritualist community of Lake Pleasant. Francis became involved in politics, supporting the Democratic Party and became secretary for Lake Pleasant Independent Order of Scalpers.
In 1915, Francis became involved with the Unitarian church in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was a delegate at Unitarian meeting in 1920 and The Church of Unity treasurer in 1921. By 1923, he was the Springfield First Spiritualist Church president and in 1924 sexton at the Church of Unity.
Francis died in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1924. At the time, he had been a resident there for 18 years He was a member of the Church of Unity and the United Order of Workmen. Annie and Ruth Dionne were still living.