Cooper Woodard spent only 18 of his approximately 68 years in freedom. When he died in late 1883, his small estate went into probate, revealing that he raised hogs; grew corn, fodder, potatoes, and cotton; and owned one mule. His sole heir was his wife Candis Barnes Woodard.

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On 31 August 1866, Cooper Woodard and Candis Barnes registered their 7-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Cooper Woodard, 56; wife Candiss, 56; and Austin, 21, Jonas, 24, Handy, 17, and Esther Woodard, 21. Cooper claimed $225 in personal property.

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Cooper Woodard, 65, and wife Candis, 64.

Estate file of Cooper Woodard (1883), North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.