The Kelly family was linked to A. P. Riker's by marriage. Riker, a customs officer, was John A. Kelly's son-in-law. Members of the Kelly family were publishers and it may not be a coincidence that the agent with whom the Kellys contracted for development of Woodside farmland was a publisher of sheet music, periodicals, and "subscription books" named Benjamin W. Hitchcock. Hitchcock had a flair for publicity and innovative sales techniques. Once the area had been surveyed and 972 plots laid out, he organized excursions from the city, hired brass bands to play, and gave prospects free lunch. The first sales event took place on February 18, 1869. Hitchcock priced empty lots at $300. Employing an innovative sales technique, he sold them on the installment plan. Purchasers made a down payment and owed $10 a month until the note was paid off. He took a 25% commission on each sale. To entice purchasers he sold lottery tickets with first option on choice lots as one set of prizes. Other prizes included option to purchase one of five houses already built on the property. It may have been he or perhaps Kelly who gave the name "Woodside" to the area. A member of the Kelly Family, John A. F. Kelly, had used it in occasional pieces he had written for a local newspaper during the 1850s and 1860s. In 1899 one of the original purchasers told a reporter than he had bought a lot with a tiny house on it, only 20' wide by 16' deep. The price was $480 and he paid $125 down and $10 a month until he'd paid off the note.