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1200323

GENEALOOY COLLECTION

EN COUNTY PUBLIC UBRARY

3 1833 01402 2906

PLEASE CHECK MATERIAL IN
BACK POCKET

JOHN WOOD

ATTERCLIFFE, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND
AND FALLS, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

AND

His Descendants

In the

United States

ARNOLD WOOD

^A^'^ NEW YORK

ii)%t/(^^juJ PRIVATELY PRINTED

1903

OF THIS BOOK THERE HAVE
BEEN PRINTED BUT FIFTY COPIES
FOR MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY,
OF WHICH THIS IS NUMBER^ *^

1200323

ARNOLD WOOD, Jr.

THIS

LITTLE HISTORY

OF THE WOOD FAMILY

IS DEDICATED

PREFACE

The following genealogy has been compiled from
records collected during the past few years, and while
family tradition was the original foundation for investi-
gations, yet nothing has been recorded herein which has
not been verified and proved, either by old wills or
records on file at Doylestown, where most of the mate-
rial has been found, and other places. I have been
unable to trace some of the Wood descendants handed
down by tradition, and have accordingly omitted them.
If such omissions are found, it should, therefore, be
understood that is because of insufficient evidence of
their authenticity to warrant including them, and I shall
be very grateful for such evidence if brought to my
attention. The chapter on " Falls Township " is taken,
with a few changes and additions, from Battle's " His-
tory of Bucks County," and parts of the chapter on
" Early English Settlers by the Name of Wood " from
" Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newtown
Township, West New Jersey," and Mulford's " His-
tory of New Jersey." As to the general plan of the
work, it is that usually adopted by American gen-
ealogists, and notably that of the McKean Family
by Roberdeau Buchanan, who says in his preface :
" Therefore, the plan adopted by the best genealogists

8 Preface

in this country, and which is decidedly the clearest
and simplest, is to classify each generation by itself,
and the members thereof in strict order of primo-
geniture. Upon this system the work proceeds chron-
ologically, the eldest generation first, the latest at the
end. Names of persons appear first as children under
the biography of their parents, and subsequently as
parents of the next generation. Names thus repeated
are accompanied by a running Arabic number for con-
venience of identification. A little examination will
readily show how a line of descent may, by these num-
bers, be traced upward to find the ancestor, or down-
ward to find the descendant."

Most genealogists in this country include in their
histories only an account of those bearing the surname
of which they write, and omit the descendants of females
bearing other surnames. In many cases this is undoubt-
edly due to the magnitude of a family, but it seems to
me that a genealogy, to be complete, should include all
the descendants of one person, whether bearing the orig-
inal surname or not, and it is on these lines that I have
endeavored to carry out this genealogy.

Finally, I wish to thank those members of the fam-
ily who have given their hearty co-operation in assisting
me and in furnishing valuable data and information, with-
out which this book could never have been compiled.

Niw York, 1903. ■^' '^ •

HISTORY

OF THE

EARLY SETTLERS BY THE NAME OF

WOOD

IN WEST JERSEY

In the year 1677 a commission, composed of nine
men, appointed by the proprietors to take charge of
affairs in the province of West Jersey, left England in
company with a large number of settlers, most of them
members of the Society of Friends. The company of
settlers arrived at New Castle (Delaware) on the i6th of
August, while the commission went on to New York to
wait on Governor Andros. These settlers, shortly after
their arrival at New Castle, encamped at the mouth of
the Narriticon or Raccoon Creek, where a few Swedes
had previously settled. After many difficulties with Gov-
ernor Andros, the commission rejoined these settlers
and proceeded in the discharge of a part of their trust.
They purchased from the natives three several portions
of land upon the Delaware River, the whole reaching
from the Assunpink, on the north, to Oldman's Creek,
on the south. The West Jersey proprietors had entered
into a contract or agreement with five individuals of the
County of York, England, directing this commission to
grant to the five persons in question the privilege of

lo History

choosing; any one of the tenth parts or shares Into which
the land they had purchased should be divided. The
representatives of the Yorkshire interests chose the land
extending from Rankokus to the falls of the Delaware,
and this portion was accordingly assigned to them by
the commission as the first tenth, sometimes called the
" Yorkshire tenth."

This was the first tenth disposed of, and was natur-
ally settled largely by Yorkshire families. The order of
apportioning land to the several settlers was determined
by the date of the applicant's arrival, advantages being
allowed to early applicants, and also according to the
number, age and condition of the persons that were
brought to the provinces.

Among these early English settlers who came to
West Jersey there were more persons of the name of
Wood than of any other.' They must have been pleased
with the scheme of settlement as laid down by the com-
missioners and proprietors, and must have made its suc-
cess certain from the beginning. They were men of
some estate, as they purchased their property rights be-
fore leaving their native land; they were men of educa-
tion, for they at once took part in the management and
control of the new government. Most of them were
Quakers, and a perusal of Besse's history of that sect
will show the reason why they were so anxious to
break up their homes in England and brave the wilds

History ii

and hardships of America. From 1654 to 1683 per-
sons of the name of Wood were imprisoned in the
Hartfordshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham and
Cumberland jails for attending Quaker meetings for
worship, and from these sections came most of the
Woods who settled in West Jersey.

William Wood was the first to arrive in this new
colony. He landed at Burlington in 1677, having come
in the "Willing Mind" (John Newcomb, commander),
and in 1680 he located thirty-six acres in the town of
Burlington. He was followed in eleven months by
John Wood, of Yorkshire, who arrived in the Delaware
in the tenth month, 1678, in the ship "Shield," of Hull,
commanded by Daniel Tods.^ In 1682 another John
Wood, of Lancashire, a Qiiaker, came to West Jersey
and settled at Burlington on three hundred acres of land
at the mouth of the Woodbury Creek. He married and
had five children. This family always remained at Bur-
lington. We can consider, then, that these three men
were the first of their name to settle in this part of the
province. Later, a Henry Wood, of Rhode Island,
moved to West Jersey and settled at Burlington, in
1687. He was the son of William Wood, author of
" New England Prospect," published in London in
1634. Most of the literature on the early English set-
tlers of West Jersey confuses the above two John
Woods and their families, and as a number of their

12 History

respective children bore the same Christian name the
confusion has increased, until it is only after long and
exhaustive search that we are able to distinguish at all
accurately their respective places in the history of this
early colony. I think it safe to assume that these two
John Woods in question were in no way related, and
especially as they came from different parts of England.
John Wood, of Yorkshire, was the only known English
settler in the county of Bucks, Pa., in 1678, and some
historians state that he was one of the first Qiiaker set-
tlers in this county, but I mean to show that he was not
of the Quaker faith. The " Shield " was the first Eng-
lish vessel to pass up the Delaware as far as Burlington,^
and, arriving in the night, tied up to a tree to await the
morning. During the night the weather became ex-
tremely cold, and by mf)rning the river was frozen so
solid that the passengers walked ashore on the ice.

^^^%fe?,.v

j9 Sc4»ie o/ Four£nfrU.th ,^iles.

MAP OF BUCKS

AND PART OF

I r^-wr PHOPRI 'EST A RYS^

PHILADELPHIA COUNTIES. !

MAN NOR "^

Redu c ed/rom H O LM E'S VJt/^/» o/ the "^^^'^^ lilL^- - :'

iTTiproveci parZ of iherProvince e^ Pennsylva?z7ay' ■' \ •'.
}Vith the mzTTte^-Q^the (rricfina^J*u.Tc7iase>-^Jro7n^ - y;^'
WILLI ^ ^ ^ '""'

FALLS TOWNS H I P

Falls is pre-eminently rich in historic associations.
The circumstances of its settlement possess an interest
not merely local, but important in the history of the
county. It has been claimed that the first settlement of
Europeans in the state was made by the Dutch from
New York, in the early part of the seventeenth century,
on an island (afterwards owned by John Wood) at the
present site of Morrisville, and, while it lacks confirma-
tion, the fact is well authenticated that there was an over-
land route from the falls of the Delaware to New York
at an early period of colonial history. It was recog-
nized as the "King's Path" in 1675, and its course
was nearly identical with that of the turn-pike from
Morrisville to Philadelphia. It thus happened that the
English crossed over the Delaware to the region above
Falls several years before Penn's arrival. And when the
Proprietor, in the first enthusiasm of his plans, looked
about in quest of a site for his manorial residence, he de-
cided in favor of the wide extended level lands between
the "path" and the river as the location for " Penns-
bury." In close proximity to the manor was the trian-
gular district of Crookham, the earliest seat of justice
of the county. In writing to Col. Henry Sidney, Penn
says of Falls : " I find the country wholesome ; land, air

14 Falls Township

and water good ; divers good sorts of fruits that grow
wild, of which plums, peaches and grapes are three ;
also cedar, cypress, chestnut, black walnut and poplar,
with five sorts of oaks — black, white, Spanish, red and
swamp oak, the most desirable of all, the leaf like the
Knglish willows."

In 1679, Governor Andros ordered a survey of the
land at Falls, and at the time of Holmes's survey (1682)
it appears that Falls Township was apportioned among
no less than thirty landholders. Of the tract adjoining
the river, the land of John Wood was farthest north,
and consisted of 478 acres, together with an island lying
opposite in the Delaware River, and then in regular
order were the lands of Daniel Brinsley, John Acre-
man, Richard Ridgeway, William Biles, Joshua Boare,
Robert Lucas, Gilbert Wheeler, William Biles, Samuel
Darte, Daniel Gardner, John Luffe, Lionel Brittan,
George Brown, James Harrison and George Heathcote.
In the second tier of farms, beginning at the Wakefield
line (which is the line bounding the western end of John
Wood's land), were those of Jeffery Hawks, Ann Mil-
comb, James Hill, John and Thomas Rowland, Thomas
Wolfe, and Ralph Smith, while the westerly row com-
prised the lands of William Darte, John Haycock,
John Wheeler, Jonathan Witscard, Thomas Atkin-
son, and Thomas Rowland. These lands constituted
the township of Falls as erected in 1691, when, as

Falls Township 15

will be seen by the map, its shape was nearly rectan-
gular, and the area less than half what it is at pres-
ent. Falls is now one of the most thickly populated
sections of the county. The census of 1880 shows a
population of 2,385 in the township, and in the borough
of Morrisville, 968. The latter is the largest town in
the southeastern part of the county. Its site was origin-
ally owned by John Wood, and in later years it was known
as " Colvin's Ferry," Patrick Colvin being the proprie-
tor of the landing on the Pennsylvania shore in 1772.
There was once some prospect of the national capital be-
ing located within the limits of Falls Township. The
federal district would have included the site of Morris-
ville, which location was decided upon by resolutions of
Congress in 1783. This was intended as a compromise
between the claims of New York and Philadelphia. In
1784 commissioners were appointed and empowered to
lay out the proposed district and take means for the
erection of public buildings. Washington was asked for
his advice, which was not favorable to this action on the
part of Congress, and the matter was dropped.

ALL OF THE FAMILIES IN FALLS OF ANY NOTE
PRIOR TO PENn's ARRIVAL.*

Joshua Boare Daniel Brinsley John Wood

William Biles Lionel Brittan Samuel Darte

William Darte Joseph Kirkbride Robert Lucas

Gilbert Wheeler Richard Ridgeway John Haycock

James Hill John Acreman George Brown

* Battle's History of Bucks County.

GENEALOGY

OF THE

WOOD FAMILY

FIRST GENERATION

3obn Moo^

I. JOHN WOOD,of AtterclifFe, in the parish of Shef-
field, Yorkshire, in 1677 purchased of George Hutch-
inson, of Sheffield, a quantity of proprietary rights, in-
cluding a sixty-fourth share in the province of West Jer-
sey, to be enjoyed by him upon his arrival there/ The
ship-book of the " Shield " shows that he was a passen-
ger on that boat with his five children — John, Joseph,
Ester, Mary and Sarah. Nothing is said as to his wife,
so I think it may fairly be assumed that she died prior
to his departure for America, otherwise there would
surely have been some reference to her in the ship's
book. It might be of interest to note that Thomas
Wood, a brother of John Wood, came on the same ship,
and settled at Burlington, N. J.^ John Wood settled
temporarily on lands purchased from Richard Randall
and John Champion, on Creswick Creek, but shortly
after moved across the Delaware to Falls, in Crook-
horn District, Bucks County, and settled on a tract
of 478 acres, together with an island lying opposite
the same in the Delaware River.^

i8 First Generation

John Wood was, with Richard Noble and William
Ridgeway, a representative of the extreme eastern end of
the county, before what was called the "Upland Court,"^
held September 13, 1681, William Biles and Robert
Lucas on the bench. William Biles was the first con-
stable at Falls, April 19, 1693. I" 1680 Thomas Loyd
was informed by Benjamin Fletcher, of New York,
" We have received their Majesties' commission for the
government of Pennsylvania," and on May 31, 1684,
John Wood received a patent from William Penn con-
firming the previous grant of his 478 acres of land
and the island, made to him by Governor Andros,
in 1679. John Wood's lands comprised a part of
the present site of Morrisville, Pa., and had a river-
front of one mile.^ His estates must have been rather
extensive, because a report of the jury laying out the
townships of Bucks County, in 1692, bounds the towns
both of Wakefield and Falls by lands of John Wood.'
He also owned large tracts of land in West Jersey.'"
The original Indian title of his land in Bucks County
was extinguished by private purchase on July 15,
1682, at which time the name "Grey Stone" was ap-
plied to his tract." We know that he raised cattle, for
in 1684 the records show that "John Wood had cattle
in Bucks County ; "" he was also a carpenter.

John Wood was the only known English settler in
the County of Bucks in 1678. He was a member of

First Generation 19

Assembly in 1682-3.'^ His eldest son, John Wood, died
prior to 1687, for in a deed on that date his father refers
to his "only son, Joseph Wood."''* His will* is dated
March 20, 1692, and was proved on September 12,
1692. His executors were his son Joseph and his son-
in-law Isaac Smalley, but as the latter did not qualify,"
the duty of settling the estate fell entirely upon Joseph
Wood. The land which he, John Wood, had received
from William Penn, he deeded to Joseph Wood on Jan-
uary 26, 1687. I hardly think John Wood could have
been a Quaker, as he is supposed to have been, for the
following reason : In his will he names his son Joseph as
his executor, and in deeds on record of the same year he
refers to him in the most loving and endearing terms.
Now, as Joseph Wood was baptized in 1691, and is
known to have entered the Baptist ministry a few years
later, it is hardly probable that his father, if a Friend,
would have so referred to him, because of the very posi-
tive views held by Friends on these subjects.

CHILDREN:

John

d. prior to 1687.

3 "•

Joseph

b. 1659 5 ^- Sept.

15, 1747

4 III.

Ester

(Mrs. Smalley).

5 IV.

Sarah

(Mrs. Biles).

6 VI.

Mary

(Mrs. Coleman),

* See Records.

20 First Generation

2. THOMAS WOOD, of Yorkshire, England, ar-
rived with his brother, John Wood, in the "Shield" in
1678, and settled at Burlington, N. J., where he married
Mary Howli in 1685, by whom he had two sons and
three daughters. He owned large tracts of land border-
ing on AUowaynes Creek, which he willed to his wife and
children. He died between 1709 and 1 713, his will hav-
ing been proved in the latter year, and he appointed his
son Thomas his sole executor, I am unable to trace the
descendants of Thomas Wood, as this branch of the
family seems to have died out by 1750.

CHILDREN :

I. Thomas

II. Elizabeth (Mrs. Peter Groome).

III. Joseph

IV. Sarah
V. Martha

u ,2

SECOND GENERATION
Cbil&ren ot 5obn TRaoo^ [I]

3. JOSEPH WOOD, the son of John Wood, was
born at Hull, in Yorkshire, in the year 16 ^g.'^ He came
to this country with his father in 1678'^ and settled with
him at Falls, Bucks County, Pa. He was baptized by
Mr. Keach at Burlington, N. J., on April 2, 1691 ;
and was ordained a minister of the Baptist Church on
September 25, 1708.'^ Prior to this time he had at-
tended a little church at Cold Spring, near Falls,
founded by Thomas Dungan, of Rhode Island, in
1684.'^ This church broke up in 1702. Joseph Wood
also attended a church at Burlington, which broke up
in 1699. On October 9, 1699, he joined Pennepek
church, of which church he was elected a deacon on
October 6th of the same year. This was the first Bap-
tist church of any note and permanency in the province.
The name Pennepek wks formerly written " Pemmepe-
ka," which is the name of a little stream running near
the place of worship. The house was a stone building,
thirty-three feet by thirty feet, with pews, galleries and a
stove. In one corner of it stood the pulpit, and the gal-
leries in the opposite angles. The house was erected in
1707 on a lot of one acre, given by the Rev. Samuel
Jones, in the township of Lowerdublin, in the county
of Philadelphia, eleven miles north of that city. The
first preacher of this church was Elias Keach ; then John
Watts ; then Samuel Jones ; and in 1708, Joseph Wood.

22 Second Generation

Joseph Wood was reckoned a good preacher, but in the
latter part of his Hfe his influence was much lessened by
some family and personal unhappiness."' His successor
was Abel Morgan, appointed in 171 1. Joseph Wood
died on September 15, 1747, in his eighty-ninth year.^°
He seems to have been associated in some way with Mr.
Keith in 1691, when Keith and his followers, known
as " Keithian Quakers," broke away from the Quaker
church,^' This separation, according to the Rev. Mor-
gan Edwards, was owing to a difference of opinion
touching on " the sufficiency of what every man nat-
urally has within himself for the purpose of his own
salvation." (Some denied that sufficiency, and conse-
quently magnified the external word, Christ, etc., above
Barclay's measure. These were headed by George
Keith, hence the name Keithian Quakers.) When
this order broke up the majority of the members
became Baptists, and were known as Keithian Baptists,
or Quaker Baptists. Eventually, Mr. Edwards says,
they became Seventh Day Baptists. Joseph Wood was
a carpenter by trade. In 1684 he received from his
father 470 acres of land, together with an island."
On June 21, 1703, a patent was issued to him for
664 acres across the falls, by commissioners of William
Fenn.^^ The original land which' he had received from
his father he deeded in part to his sons Jabez, Josiah
and Benjamin. Benjamin, by will, dated October 25,

Second Generation 23

1725, divided his share of land between his brothers
Jabez and Josiah. This land, all or in part, remained
in the family until 1764,^"* when the last seventy acres
and the island were sold to Adam Hooper. Joseph
Wood was justice of the peace, Bucks County, July 13,
1 6 93, '5 and in 1717 petitioned for leave to start a
ferry across the Delaware at the falls. -^ Joseph Wood
married three times,^^ and had, altogether, nine children.
He married first Elizabeth, in 1687, who was baptized
at Burlington March 16, 1700, died May 26, 1704,
and was buried at Falls. On March 5, 1706, he mar-
ried Katherine Godfrey, who died about 1729. About
the year 1733 he married Katherine Siverts, daughter
of Cornelius Siverts, of Philadelphia (evidently Dutch).
We know little of his children, except of his son,
John Wood, who, for some reason, impossible to dis-
cover, left his home and settled at Hempstead, Queens
County, Long Island.^^ It is possible that the family
trouble above referred to had something to do with it,
and this trouble may have been superinduced by one
of Joseph Wood's latter marriages. I have been unable
to find the will of Joseph Wood on record, and, as I
have found all the other wills of the family, I am in-
clined to believe he died intestate, and that he deeded
away his real estate prior to his death. Otherwise, 1
think deeds would have turned up made by his oldest
son, Jabez Wood, as the colonial laws relating to the

Second Generation

inheritance of real estate were the same as those of
England, and Joseph Wood's property would all have
gone to his eldest son. I can think of no other explana-
tion of the absence of any deeds on file made by Jabez
Wood, and his will disposes of practically no real estate.

d^S&y^^?m!^

SIGNATURE OF JOSEPH WOOD

( From an old bond )

CHILDREN BY FIRST WIFE, ELIZABETH

Joseph

b. ± i688;

d. young.

II.

Jabez

b. ± 1690 ;

d. 1763.

III.

JOSIAH

b. ± 1691 ;

d. 1764.

IV.

Tabitha

b. ± 1692 ;

d. young.

Benjamin

b. ± 1694;

d. ± 1729,

VI.

John *

b. ± 1695;

d. 1765.

CHILDREN BY SECOND WIFE, KATHERINE GODFREY

VII. Samuel

VIII. William

IX. Hannah

* As John Wood was married in 1728, he could hardly have been a child by Joseph
Wood's second wife, whom he married in 1706, for it would have made him barely
twenty-one years old at the time of his (John's) marriage. Therefore, I think we may
safely conclude that he was by Joseph's first wife.

Second Generation 25

4. ESTER (WOOD) SMALLEY, eldest daughter
of John Wood, married Isaac Smalley, of Piscataway,
N. J., and had a son Isaac, who married and had a
number of children. He died in 1724. Isaac Smalley,
Sr., was named by John Wood as one of his executors,
but declined to qualify. Ester Wood Smalley received
300 acres of land in West Jersey, besides the first
land which John Wood had, upon his arrival, pur-
chased of Richard Ramsdal and John Champeon, near
Burlington, N. J.

5. SARAH (WOOD) BILES, second daughter of
John Wood, married Charles Biles, a prominent farmer
of Falls, Pa. Sarah Wood Biles received no land from
her father, but this was presumably due to the fact that
her husband was a large land-owner, while her sisters,
who did receive his real estate, had married men who
were not so fortunate. Mr. Biles died prior to 1692.

Ube Biles jfamil^

William Biles, with his wife Jane, children, Wil-
liam, George, John, Elizabeth, Johanna, Rebecca and
Mary, and three servants, came from Dorchester, Eng-
land, in the " Elizabeth and Sarah," landing the fourth
of April, 1679. He was accompanied by his younger
brother Charles, and both were extensive landed proprie-
tors. Their titles were derived from Governor Andros,

26 Second Generation

of New York. William was an active citizen, a man of
talent, and a distinguished preacher among the Friends,
of which faith the family had been for a number of
years. William Biles was sued by Governor Evans for
jTjoo for publicly saying of him: " He is but a boy;
he is not fit to be a governor, we'll kick him out ; we'll
kick him out." Although Evans obtained a judgment,
he failed to collect, but, seeing Mr. Biles shortly after in
Philadelphia, he caused his arrest and imprisoned him
for one month. The first monthly meeting of Friends
in the State of Pennsylvania was held in his house, and
it was there that his brother Charles married Sarah
Wood. It is probable that she joined the Quaker
Church prior to her marriage, as all the Biles were
prominent among that sect.

CHILDREN:
I. Son

II. Alexander (See Records).

6. MARY (WOOD) COLEMAN, youngest daugh-
ter of John Wood, married Thomas Coleman, of Bur-
lington. I can find no record of any children. She
received from her father one hundred acres of land near
Burlington, on Cresswick Creek.

THIRD GENERATION

CbtlOren ot 3osepb XldooO [3]

7. JABEZ WOOD, second son of Joseph Wood by
his first wife, EHzabeth, was born about 1690, and died
in 1763 at Falls, where he is buried. He married Amy,
and had three children. By his will, dated November
16, 1759, he appointed his son Benjamin sole executor
and left his property to his children — Benjamin and
Susannah, with instructions that they turn over to their
sister Elizabeth a certain sum. Evidently Jabez Wood
disapproved of her husband, Mr. Carman, and of her
marriage, and showed it in this way.

CHILDREN:
I. Benjamin m. Margaret.

II. Susannah (Mrs. John Roberts).

11 III. Elizabeth (Mrs. Carman).

8. JOSIAH WOOD, third son of Joseph Wood and
his first wife, Elizabeth, was born about 1691 and died
in 1764. He married Elizabeth, by whom he had four
children. In his will, dated March 24, 1764, he leaves
all of his estate to his wife and children, and names as
executors William Yardly and Henry Baker.

CHILDREN:

12 I. JosiAH m. Amy.

II. Sarah (Mrs. Morgan).

III. William

IV. John m. Abigail.

28 Third Generation

9. BENJAMIN WOOD, fifth child of Joseph Wood,
was born about 1694 at Falls, where he always lived.
He never married. By his will, dated October 15,
1725, he left to two of his brothers, Jabez and Josiah,
the land which he had received from his father in 1723.
He died about 1729.

10. JOHN WOOD, sixth child of Joseph Wood by
his first wife, was born at Falls about 1695, ^^^ ^^^^^
moved to Hempstead, L. I., where he married, on
August 24, 1728,-'' Mary Carman, daughter of Benjamin
Carman. He had four children, the first three of whom
were all baptized together at St. George's Church,
Hempstead, L. I., on February 22, 1736.^° From this
it would seem that John Wood did not join the Episco-
pal Church until eight years after his marriage, as the
Church would not baptize the children unless at least
one of the parents was a church-member. Thus, in
many cases, none of the children of a family were bap-
tized until one or both of the parents had joined the
Church. Then the whole family of children were bap-
tized on the same day. John Wood registered his ear-
mark in 1729. In 1748 he was appointed justice of the
peace, and in 1754 commissioner of highways.^' John
Wood was a farmer by occupation, besides acting in
many public ofiices, and was a man of some prominence.
He seems to have entirelv broken awav from the other

Third Generation 29

members of his family in Pennsylvania, for there are no
records on file to show that there was any family inter-
course, as there was between his other brothers. He
died at Hempstead, between April and October, 1765,
and is buried there. His personal estate he divided, by
will dated April 26, 1765, among his three surviving
children, Hannah, Mary and Catherine, with a small
remembrance to his grand-son Samuel Wood, and ap-
pointed as executors Patrick Mott and his brothers-in-
law, Samuel and Adam Carman.^'

Ube Carman dfamil^*

John Carman came from Roxbury to Lynn, Mass.,
in 1631 ; moved to Stamford, Conn., in 1641, and in
1644 settled at Hempstead, L. L, where he died prior
to 1658. He married Florence, and had three chil-
dren, John, Joshua and Caleb. John, born 1633, died
1684, married Hannah and had several children, among
them Caleb, who died in 1746, who married Mar-
garet, and had Mary, who married John Wood.
About 1700 a number of the Carmans moved to
Monmouth County, N. J., but Adam Carman, a
brother of Mary, probably remained at Hempstead,
as there are records showing that he was a land-holder
there about that time. Whether Mary Carman was

* The Carman family has proved a difficult one to trace, but after exhaustive search,
I believe the above descent of Mary Carman to be correct.

30 Third Generation

living at Hempstead or in Monmouth County when
she met John Wood, I am unable to say, but it would
seem as though she had met him in New Jersey while
staying with her relatives in Monmouth County, —
probably at her uncle's, who lived there. Mary Car-
man was married at Hempstead, L. I., where, I believe,
was the home of her parents.

(tijiM.viy-d

SIGNATURE OF JOHN WOOD
{From his ivill)

CHILDREN:

13 I. Hannah b. Sept. 7, 1729 (Mrs. Barker & De Mott).

14 II. Mary b. 1733 ; d. Nov. 13, 1772 (Mrs. Ward).

15 III. Samuel b. May 6, 1735; d. 1762.

16 IV. Catherine b. May 4, 1 738 (Mrs. Skidmore).

FOURTH GENERATION

CbUOren of 5abe3 Moo& [7]

11. ELIZABETH (WOOD) CARMAN, youngest
child of Jabez Wood, married a Carman, probably a son
of the Rev. James Carman, of Monmouth County, N. J.,
who died in 1756. In her father's will, his other two
children are directed to give her a certain sum out of his
estate. There seems to be something very significant
about this, for her uncle John Wood also married a Car-
man, and apparently was disinherited by his father for so
doing. Whether John Wood's wife Mary Carman was
any relation to the Carman who married Elizabeth Wood,
I am unable positively to say, but I think she was, as the
New Jersey Carmans originally came from Long Island.
At any rate, there was some kind of a feud between the
Carmans and Woods, the particulars of which, if we
knew them, would probably explain many of the strange
events which occurred in those early days between these
families, and which to us seem otherwise unaccountable.

Cbil^ren of Sosinb Wioo^ [8]

12. JOSIAH WOOD married Amy, and there are no
records to show that they had any children. Josiah
Wood, together with his cousin Benjamin Wood and
Langhorn Biles, purchased from Josiah Wood, Sr,, and
Elizabeth, his wife, one-half an acre of the original Wood
land at Falls for a schoolhouse. This was the first
schoolhouse in the township, built in 1762."'

* See Records.

32 Fourth Generation

CbilDren of 5obn Wioo^ [10]

13. HANNAH (WOOD) BARKER and DE
MOTT, eldest child of John Wood, was born at
Hempstead, L. I., on August 7, 1729, baptized Feb-
ruary 22, 1736, and married Benjamin Barker on Febru-
ary 2, 1763. She marrried second a De Mott; no issue.

CHILDREN BY FIRST HUSBAND:

I. John
II. William

14. MARY (WOOD) WARD, second child of John
Wood, was born (circa) 1733, ^^ Hempstead, L. I., bap-
tized on February 22, 1736, and married on May i,
1775, to Daniel Ward. They had no children. She
died on November 13, 1772.

15. SAMUEL WOOD, third child of John Wood,
was born at Hempstead, L. I., on May 6, 1735, and
married Freelove Wright on October 8, 1759. They
had but one child, William, born July 17, 1760, whose
name, after his father's death, was changed to Samuel.
Samuel Wood was but little known, and there is practi-
cally nothing on record about him, as he died very
young, in 1762, in his twenty-seventh year. Family
tradition says that he was drowned in Hempstead Bay,
but this is not substantiated.

Fourth Generation 33

xrbe XllDirigbt family

We know little of the Wright family beyond the
fact that Elijah Wright came from Holland and settled
near Hempstead, L. I., where he married Ann, who
also came from Holland, and that Freelove, who married
Samuel Wood, was probably their daughter.

CHILDREN:

17 I. William (afterwards christened Samuel)

b. July 17, 1760 ; d. May 5, 1844.

16. CATHARINE (WOOD) SKI DM ORE, young-
est child of John Wood, of Hempstead, was born at
Hempstead, L. I., on May 4, 1738, and married, on
February 3, 1770, Walter Skidmore. They had no
children.

(signature from marriage certificate)
( From a copy of an old daguerreotype in the possession of the Neiv Tork Blind Asylum.)

FIFTH GENERATION
Cbtl5ren of Samuel MooC» [15]

17. SAMUEL WOOD='= was born at Oyster Bay,
Queens County, N. Y., on the 17th of July, 1760. He
was the only son of Samuel and Freelove Wood
(Wright), and was originally christened William, but on
the death of his father in 1762 his name was changed to
Samuel. Owing to his father's early death he was thrown
on his own resources for the acquirement of an education.
His thirst for knowledge and love for books were ever
ardent, and his first choice of an occupation, school-
keeping, as well as his final choice, book-selling, were
doubtless influenced by his tastes. 1200323

Samuel Wood was married at the age of twenty-two,
and finding the profits of a country school inadequate to
his needs, he tried several callings, living successively
at Clinton Town, Ninepartners, N. Y. (1794), New
Rochelle (1796), and finally moving to New York City
in December, 1803. In 1804 he opened a book-store
in a small two-story brick building at 362 Pearl Street.
His business at the first consisted of the sale of miscel-
laneous books, many of them second-hand. He also
sold paper, and cotton goods consigned by Almy &
Brown, Providence, R. I. These two lines proved not
profitable, and were before long discarded. He soon
added a printing plant, in charge of his two sons, and
commenced the publication of books on his own account.

* This biography by William C. Wood, from William Wood's notes.

36 Fifth Generation

Observing that what little literature was produced
for children was uninteresting, if not in some cases even
improper, from a strict religious standpoint, he began
the preparation and reprinting of books and leaflets
for youthful readers. His first publication is said to
have been "The Young Child's A B C, or First Book,"
a little affair of sixteen pages, about three inches square,
and written by himself. This was followed by numer-
ous others in similar style, most of them illustrated by
copper-plate engravings, often colored by hand. Many
of these little books seem to have been made for free
distribution, as Samuel Wood is known to have been
in the habit of going about with his pockets full of
them, and of giving them freely to the children whom
he met. His purpose in this was plainly philanthropic,
and the little books abound in moral prose and verse.

In 1 8 10 he moved his store to larger quarters at
357 Pearl Street. In this year was brought out his first
important publication. This was an edition of Fox's
" Book of Martyrs." It was a full octavo, of 61 1 pages,
with engraved frontispiece and a list of over four thou-
sand subscribers, and is the first American edition of
the work. At about this time he published a series of
readers, following the general plan of " The Young
Child's A B C," which headed the list, and entitled re-
spectively, " The New York Primer," " The New York
Preceptor," "The New York Spelling-book," and "The

Fifth Generation 37

New York Expositor." Numerous books of a religious
or devotional character, such as books of sermons,
memoirs of famous Quakers, "Instances of Early Piety,"
etc., were published. About this time Alexander Ander-
son, the "father of American wood-engraving," was just
becoming known and appreciated. Samuel Wood em-
ployed his art to embellish most of his books, and in
some of the old advertisements it is mentioned that these
are " adorned with cuts by the ingenious Anderson."

About 181 1 was commenced the publication of
" Wood's Almanac," compiled by Joshua Sharp, and
this was continued until 1834. In 1815 Samuel Wood
took into partnership two of his sons, Samuel S. and
John Wood, and the firm name became Samuel Wood
& Sons. In 1 81 8 Samuel S. Wood opened a store in
Baltimore, which was kept for about two years, but finally
closed. In 1822 Samuel Wood & Sons moved again,
to 261 Pearl Street, a property belonging to Samuel
Wood. At this time another son, William Wood, was
admitted to the firm, John Wood retiring. The busi-
ness was increased considerably, and had become to a
large extent wholesale, all kinds of books, as well as
stationery, being dealt in.

The business still increasing, they moved tempora-
rily to a store in Fulton Street, tore down the building
at 261 Pearl Street and erected the substantial five-story
building still standing (1903) at that place. It was con-

38 Fifth Generation

sidered at the time a large building to be devoted ex-
clusively to the book business.

In 1836 Samuel Wood sold his interest in the book
business to his sons Samuel S. and William Wood.
The remaining years of his life were devoted to the
philanthropic and charitable labors he loved.

Samuel Wood was christened in the Church of
England, but in early life joined the " Society of
Friends," or Quakers, of which religious body he re-
mained an active and influential member until his death.
In company with many of the philanthropists of his day,
he took part in the founding of the Savings Bank, the
House of Refuge, and the Society for the Prevention of
Pauperism. He was an active member of these societies
as well as of the Manumission Society, the Society of
the New York Hospital and other benevolent institu-
tions. As a trustee of the public schools, he was untir-
ing in his efforts to better the condition, physical as well
as educational, of the children of the city. About 1827
or 1828 he observed that ophthalmia was extremely prev-
alent among the pupils of the school at Bellevue, and
that some of them became totally and incurably blind.
Touched with their forlorn and helpless condition, he
appealed to the public through the newspapers, urging
the adoption of speedy measures for the relief of the
sightless children of poverty. Dr. Samuel Akerly also
espoused the cause, and to the exertions of these two

SAMUEL WOOD
{From an ortginal India ink Jraiving by Dr. Alexander Anders

IN THE POSSESSION

ARNOLD WOOD

Fifth Generation 39

men the city is indebted for the Institution for the Blind.
(See Tenth Annual Report of the Managers.)

Samuel Wood married, on August 8, 1782, Mary,
daughter of John and Mary Searing, by whom he had
seven sons and six daughters. She was born at Sear-
ing Town, L. I,, on December 12, 1764, and died in
Brooklyn, on June 19, 1855.

Samuel Wood died on May 5, 1844. He had
been partially paralyzed since 1839, and his death came
as a welcome end to a life full of activity and good
works. His grave is in the Friends' Burying Ground in
Brooklyn, now a part of Prospect Park.

Ube Searino 3fa!nil\?

John Searing settled on Long Island In the latter
part of the seventeenth century, and married Ann Pear-
son, They had one so'n — John, who married Elizabeth
Rayner and had five children : John, Amy, Jacob, Sarah
and May. John was born in 1737, died in 1822; mar-
ried Mary Prior, born in 1738 (daughter of Samuel and
Mary Powell, granddaughter of John and Elizabeth
Bowne, the latter a daughter of John Bowne, who was
the son of Thomas Bowne, born in 1595, and great
granddaughter of Matthew Prior and Mary, who settled
at Matinnicock prior to 1670), and had seven children —
Mary, who married Samuel Wood ; John, who married
Mary Merritt ; Amy, who married Daniel Mott; Phebe,

40 Fifth Generation

who married Thomas Willis in 1795; Elizabeth, Adam
and Elizabeth.

CHILDREN:

18 I. Phebe b. July 20, 1783; d. Feb. 21, 1864.

(Mrs. Hatch).
II. Sarah b. July 2, 1785 ; d. April 22, 1867.

19 III. Silas b. May 16, 1787 ; d. June 30, 1852.

20 IV. Samuel S. b. May 9, 1789 ; d. Sept. 24, 1861.

21 V. John b. April 20, 1791 ; d. July 25, 1850.

22 VI. Isaac b. Aug. 21, 1793 ; d. March 25, 1868.

23 Vn. Mary b. July 7, 1795 ; d. May 1 7, 1878.

(Mrs. Seymour).

24 VIII. William b. May 6, 1797 ; d. April 9, 1877.

IX. Ann b. March 21, 1799 ; d. 1879.

25 X. Richard b. Jan. 9, 1801 ; d. Jan. 19, 1861.

26 XI. George S. b. Aug. 28, 1802 ; d. March 16, 1865.
XII. Lydia b. Aug. 18, 1803; d. .

XIII. Hannah b. Dec. 15, 1804; d. Sept. 29, i 805.

SILAS WOOD
( From a sketch made after his death )

SIXTH GENERATION

CbilDren of Samuel iMoo^ [17]

1 8. PHEBE (WOOD) HATCH, eldest child of
Samuel Wood, was born at Searing Town, L. I., on
July 20, 1783. She married Isaac Hatch on July 14,
1 8 19, and had three children. She died on February 21,
1864, and he on December 11, 1841.

CHILDREN :
I. Samuel b. June 20, 1820 ; d. Oct. 17, 1821.

II. Isaac Sherwood b. Jan. 28, 1822 ; d. Nov. 24, 1895.

m. April 19, 1849, Mary Jane Meiritt.
(Seven children.)
III. Mary Wood b. Aug, id, 1824 ; d. May id, 1845.

19. SILAS WOOD, third child of Samuel Wood,
was born at Cow Neck, Queens County, L. I., on May
16, 1787. He married Julia Ann Chew Brock, daugh-
ter of Joseph and Ann Brock [nee Chew), on April 17,
1 8 16, at Fredericksburg, Va., at the home of Mrs. Ann
Chew. They had eleven children. Though born a
Quaker, Silas Wood joined the Episcopal Church
shortly after his marriage. He was for a long time in
the wholesale flour business, residing for several years
near Fredericksburg. His large acquaintance in Virginia,
then the greatest wheat- and flour-producing section of
the United States, influenced enormous consignments
to his house in New York City. The firm was then
styled Byrnes, Trimble & Co. About 1825 to 1830,
Mr. Byrnes retired, and the firm name was changed to

42 Sixth Generation

Wood & Trimble. The manner in which Silas Wood
laid the foundation of his large fortune was somewhat
romantic. He was in England at the time when Napo-
leon escaped from Elba, and all Europe was alarmed at
the possibility of a renewal of war. It was apparent that
the price of all sorts of provisions would rise, and Silas
Wood, together with several other merchants then in
London, took the first ship sailing for America, each
thinking to be the first to arrive and take advantage of
the circumstances. There being no steamers, and no
cable, their ship would bring to America the first infor-
mation of impending disaster in Europe. They had a
favorable passage, and, upon arrival at Sandy Hook, the
ship anchored in the lower bay for the night. After
dark, Silas Wood lowered himself over the ship's
side, and, being a powerful swimmer, reached the shore
safely, where he immediately went to a farmer's house,
and, buying a horse, set off on a long race against time
for Fredericksburg. No one knows how many horses
he killed in his mad ride. Long before his fellow
voyagers appeared in Virginia, he had bought up every
bushel of grain in the state. The price of all foodstuffs
rose tremendously, and he realized several hundred thou-
sand dollars' profit by the transaction. Silas Wood after-
wards became the head of the large house of Wood,
Johnson & Burritt, where he remained until his death,
on June 30, 1852.

Sixth Generation 43

XTbe Brock 3fainil\?

Julia Ann Chew Brock was the daughter of Joseph
and Ann Brock {nee Chew). She was born in Spotsyl-
vania County, near Fredericksburg, Va., on November
II, 1798. She died on February 16, 1863, in New
York. Her mother died in New York on April i,
1842, at the house of Silas Wood, in Houston Street.

CHILDREN:

Thomas Byrnes

b. Sept.
d. July

II, 1817;
24, 1847.

II.

Beverley Chew

b. Sept.
d. July

19, 1819;
27, 1820.

III.

Samuel Chew

b. Sept.
d. July

13, 1822;
24, 1826.

IV.

Virginia

b. April
d. Aug.

22, 1825;
29, 1826.

Virginia Beverley

b. Mar.

27, 1827;

(Mrs. Rogers)

d. April

30, 1900.

VI.

Samuel Chew

b. Oct.

d. July

II, 1828;
24, 1847.

VII.

Beverley Chew

b. Nov.
d. Sept.

16, 1830 ;
27, 1854.

VIII.

Julia

b. Dec.
d. Jan.

3,1832;
I, 1884.

IX.

WiLMER Pitts

b. Jan.
d. Dec.

10, 1835;

28, 1835.

Wilmer Cadwallader

b. May
d. Sept.

23, 1837;
27, 1839.

XI.

WiLMER StANARD

b. Feb.

24, 1840.

44 Sixth Generation

20. SAMUEL S. WOOD, fourth child of Samuel
Wood, was born at Cow Neck, L. I., on May 9, 1789.
He was always a member of the Society of Friends. In
I 8 1 8 he went to Baltimore and opened a branch of the
firm of Samuel Wood & Sons, at 212 Market Street,
under the name of S. S. Wood & Co. He did a fairly
successful business for a few years, when his services
were required at home, and he was recalled (the Balti-
more house being discontinued) and taken into partner-
ship with his father and brother, William. Previous to
1 8 10 he was in charge, for some time, of his father's
printing plant. Samuel S. Wood never married, and died
on September 24, 1861.

21. JOHN WOOD, fifth child of Samuel Wood, was
born at Cow Neck, L. I., on April 20, 1791. He was
always a member of the Society of Friends. On Sep-
tember 10, 1816, he married Sarah Mott. In 1815 he
was taken into business with his father, but in 1822 he
retired from the book business and became a member of
the house of William F. & Samuel Mott, the firm name
then changing to Mott, Wood & Merritt. John Wood
was one of the managers of the Blind Asylum of New
York City. He was also one of the early trustees of the
Bowery Savings Bank, of New York. He died on July
25, 1850. There is no portrait of John Wood known
to be in existence.

SAMUEL S. WOOD

ISAAC WOOD

Sixth Generation 45

In 1646 Governor Keift granted land at Green
Point, L. I., to Adam Mott. He married on July 28,
1647, J^^^ Hewlett. "Adam Mott jin uyt Graefschaps
Esseck en Jenne Hulet jd uyt Graefschap Bucking-
ham."— From Dutch Church records. Adam and Jane
settled in Hempstead in 1656. Jane died and he mar-
ried, second, in 1667, Elizabeth Richbell, daughter of
John and Ann. Their son William married, in 1704,
Hannah Ferris, daughter of John and Mary. She died
in 1759; he died in 1740; a son — William, born in
1709, died in 1786, married Elizabeth Valentine and
had Samuel, born in 1750, died in 1791, who married
Sarah Franklin and had Sarah, born September 25, 1791,
who married John Wood. She died on April 16, 1875.

'CHILDREN:

I. Mary H. b. July 12, 1817; d. March 7, 1824.

II. Louisa b. July 17, 1818.

III. Ann M. b. Jan. 24, 1822; d. Nov. ii, 1894.

33 IV. Margaret b. Aug. 20, 1823 (Mrs. Birdsall).

34 V. Caroline b. Nov. 9, 1824 (Mrs. Birdsall).

35 VI. Edward b. Jan. 25, 1827; d. Feb. 3, 1894.
VII. Walter b. Oct. 28, 1828; d. Jan. 7, 1832.

V^III. Sarah b. Sept. 17, 1832; d. Mar. 17, 1849.

IX. Emily b. Sept. 17, 1832; d. Oct. 13, 1832.

22. ISAAC WOOD, sixth child of Samuel Wood,
was born at Clinton Town, Duchess County, N. Y., on

46 Sixth Generation

August 21, 1793. He married, on April 20, 181 8,
Nancy, daughter of Andrew and Lucretia Morrell, of
New York, by whom he had two children. She was
born on April 20, 1798, and died on December 23,
1820. He married, second, on August 25, 1829, Mary,
daughter of Isaac and Mary Bennett, of St. Johns,
N. S., by whom he had no issue. She was born in
Annapolis, N. S., on May 30, 1802, and died at Belle-
vue, N. Y., on July 2, 1830. On May 10, 1840, he
married, third, Margaret Morrell, widow of Harvey Street
and daughter of John and Phebe Hicks, by whom
he had one child. She was born in New Rochelle,
N. Y., on July 2, 1798, and died in Norwalk, Conn.,
on August 9, 1873. Isaac Wood remained a Quaker
until his death. He was a prominent physician, and in
1843 w^^ ^ manager of and visiting physician to the
New York BHnd Asylum. He was also visiting phy-
sician to the Bellevue and New York Hospitals.
He died on March 25, 1868.

CHILDREN BY FIRST WIFE:

I. Ann Augusta b. Apr. 7, 1819; d. Mar. 19, 1820.

36 II. Ann Augusta b. Sept, 28, 1820 ; d. April 7, 1863.

(Mrs. Cock.)

CHILDREN BY THIRD WIFE:

37 III. Isaac Francis b. July 15, 1841; d. Sept. 24, 1895.

WILLIAM WOOD

Sixth Generation 47

23. MARY (WOOD) SEYMOUR, seventh child
of Samuel Wood, was born on July 7, 1795, at Clinton
Town, Duchess County, N. Y. She joined the Episco-
pal Church and on June 5, 1823, married Manning L.
Seymour, a physician. He was born on November 14,
1 79 1, and died February 16, 1826. They had but one
child, William Wood, who became an Episcopal clergy-
man, and who married Mary Alice Ives, born on Octo-
ber 21, 1837, by whom he had two children — an infant,
born October 17, 1856, and died the same day, and
Edward Manning Seymour, born August 18, i860, and
died August 5, 1864. Mary Wood Seymour died
May 17, 1878.

CHILDREN:

I. William Wood b. Aug. 21, 1824; d. Jan. 5, 1874.

24. WILLIAM WOOD, eighth child of Samuel
Wood, was born at New Rochelle, N. Y., on May 6,
1797. On November 11, 1834, he married Mary S.,
daughter of Joshua and Mary Underbill, in the Cherry
Street Meeting House, New York. They had three
children. When Samuel Wood & Sons removed to
261 Pearl Street he was admitted into the firm. William
Wood was always much interested in medicine and medi-
cal books, and first developed that department of their
business. He was one of the young men who, in 18 19,
made the first movement toward establishing a mercan-
tile library, and was one of the founders of the New

48 Sixth Generation

York Mercantile Library. He was always a very promi-
nent Friend — clerk of meetings, including the New
York Yearly Meeting, for over thirty years, the latter
position equivalent to that of bishop in other denomi-
nations. To a kindly, genial disposition was added a
conservative soundness of judgment and an intellect of
no mean order. Unselfish, generous and self-denying,
he was the member of the family to whom all turned
for advice or assistance. He died on April 9, 1877.

ZTbe XIln&erbiU 3famil>}

Capt. John Underbill, born in Warwickshire, Eng-
land, about 1596, came to Boston, in 1630, with Gov.
John Winthrop and his nine hundred emigrants. His
wife Helena was a member of the "Old South Church"
in 1633. She was the mother of John, born April 11,
1642, and Elizabeth, unmarried. Helena died at South-
old, L. I., 1658. Capt. John Underbill married, second,
Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Winthrop, who was a son
of Henry and Elizabeth (Fones). Henry Winthrop
was drowned on July 3, 1630, in attempting to swim a
small river. The young widow came to Massachusetts
Bay and subsequently married Robert Feaks. Elizabeth
Underbill is generally supposed to have been his daugh-
ter, having grown up with the Feaks children, of whom
there were five. After Capt. John Underbill's success-
ful campaign against the Indians in New England, the

Sixth Generation 49

Dutch government invited him to come to New Amster-
dam, in 1649, ^"d bring to their aid his proven prowess.
He accepted their call. Again, in 1653, the Massachu-
setts government allowed him and Capt. Edward Hull
to attack the Indians on Long Island, who had presum-
ably proved troublesome to the Dutch, who occupied
the western end of the island, the English having nom-
inal control of the rest. In 1657, he bought a place in
Southold and moved his family there in 1658, but, los-
ing his wife soon, he sold his home in 1659 to Thomas
Moore. He then moved west, and settled upon a grant
of land in Oyster Bay, naming the place Kenilworth,
joined the Society of Friends, and died on July 21,
1672. He was one of the eight men to assist the gov-
ernor of New Netherlands in 1648-9. Their son
Nathaniel, born February 22, 1663, ^^^^ lyiOj married
Mary Ferris in December, 1685, and had eight children,
including Abraham, who married Hannah Cromwell.
They had six children, and their son Isaac, born in 1725,
died December 28, 18 14, married Sarah Field, and had
ten children, including Joshua, born July 7, 1765, died
February 14, 1839, who married October 13, 1789,
Mary, born March 7, 1767, died December 12, 1820
(daughter of Richard Sutton and Elizabeth Ouimby,
granddaughter of Joseph and Mary Sands ) ; and their
daughter Mary, born September 8, 1805, died April 10,
1894, married William Wood.

50 Sixth Generation

CHILDREN:

I. P'rederick b. Sept. 9, 1837; d. Sept. 25, 1839.

38 II. William H. S. b. April 13, 1840.

39 III. Elisabeth b. April 7, 1842 (Mrs. Taber).

25. RICHARD WOOD, tenth child of Samuel
Wood, was born at New Rochelle, N. Y., on January 9,
I 801. He joined the Episcopal Church and filled many
lay positions in that church. On June 12, 1837, he
married Evelina Bridges, daughter of Kitchel and Phebe
(Miller) Bridges, of Morristown, N. J., and Basking
Ridge, N. J., respectively, and had three children, none
of whom ever married. He, with his brother George S.
Wood, entered into partnership in the printing business,
under the firm name of Richard & George S. Wood, and
had their establishment at Morristown, N. J., where they
ran their presses by water-power. The press was known
as the " Woodvale Water-Power Press." In 1825 they
had a New York office at 265 Pearl Street. Richard
Wood was much interested in a wood-planing machine,
which in latter vears was universally used. He died on
January 19, 1861.

CHILDREN:

I. Mary Caroline Braithwaite b. Aug. 17, 1838 ;

d. Feb. 5, 1842.
II. Maria Laing b. Aug. 7, 1841.

III. Mary Evelina b. Sept. 11, 1843.

RICHARD WOOD

GEORGE S. WOOD

Sixth Generation 51

26. GEORGE S. WOOD, eleventh child of Samuel
Wood, was born at New Rochelle, N. Y., on August
28, 1802. He joined the Episcopal Church, and on
May 22, 1845, he married Eliza Harris, of Virginia, but
had no children. He was in partnership with his brother
Richard Wood in the printing business, as previously-
recorded in the biography of Richard Wood. A number
of the publications of Samuel Wood bear the imprint
of Richard & George S. Wood as printers. George S.
Wood died March 16, 1865.

SEVENTH GENERATION

(I:bil^reu of Silas Wioot) [19]

27. THOMAS BYRNES WOOD, eldest son of
Silas Wood, was born in Fredericksburg, Va., on Sep-
tember II, 1817, and died on July 24, 1847. ^^ ^^s
drowned in the Ohio River, off Flint's Island, where
his body was interred. His death was caused by the
sinking or overturning of a skiff. His brother Samuel
Chew Wood, who was with him, was also drowned.
Their bodies were removed to Greenwood Cemetery and
re-interred on April 2, 1853, by Robert Chew.

28. SAMUEL CHEW WOOD, third child of Silas
Wood, was born in New York, on September 13, 1822,
during a visit of his mother to that city, and died there
on July 24, 1826.

29. VIRGINIA BEVERLEY (WOOD) ROGERS,

fifth child of Silas Wood, was born in New York on
March 27, 1827, and was married by the Rev. Francis
L. Hawks, at Calvary Church, New York, to John L.
Rogers, son of Daniel and Elizabeth Rogers, of Ips-
wich, Mass., on March 25, 1852. She died on April 30,
1900, and he on September 2, 1869, at the St. Nicholas
Hotel, New York, aged sixty-one.

30. SAMUEL CHEW WOOD, sixth child of Silas
Wood, was born in New York on October 11, 1828, and

54 Seventh Generation

died on July 24, 1847. He was drowned in the Ohio
River, with his brother Thomas Byrnes Wood, as pre-
viously recorded.

31. BEVERLEY CHEW WOOD, seventh child of
Silas Wood, was born on November 16, 1830, and died
on September 27, 1854. He was a passenger on the
steamship " Arctic," which was sunk off the banks of
Newfoundland on that date,

32. WILMER STANARD WOOD, eleventh child
of Silas Wood, was born on February 24, 1840. He
was married on November 12, 1891, by the Rev. Thomas
H. Sills, in St. Chrysostom's Chapel, New York, to
Mary Ryder Palmer, daughter of Edgar and Mary
Ryder. Since 1892 Stanard Wood has resided in Paris,
France.

Cbil^ren of 5obn Moot) [21]

33. MARGARET (WOOD) BIRDSALL, fourth
child of John Wood, was born on August 20, 1823, and
on December 13, 1848, married Thomas W. Birdsall.
He was born on May 21, 1824, and died on May 23,
1866.

CHILDREN :

I. Louisa W. b. Dec. 23, 1849.

II. Annie W. b. Feb. 4, 1852.

(Mrs. William S, Baldwin ; four children.)
Ill, Elizabeth b. Jan. 9, 1854; d. Feb. 26, 1856.

Seventh Generation ^^

IV. Thomas Henry b. Oct. 8, i860; d. Nov. 17,1861.

V. Mary W. b. April 2, 1863 ; d. Sept. 24, 1891.

VI. Margaret W. b. Sept. 5, 1865 ; d. Sept. 8, 1866.

34. CAROLINE (W^OOD) BIRDSALL, fifth child
of John Wood, was born on November 9, 1824, and
on December 9, 1 849, married W^illiam Birdsall, Jr.,
brother of Thomas W. Birdsall, who married Margaret
Wood, her sister. William Birdsall was born in 1823,
and died on December i, 1873, ^'"^ Brooklyn, N. Y.

CHILDREN:

I. John W. b. June 27, 1850 ; d. March 17, 1856.

II. Ernest W. b. Jan. 29, 1852;

m. Elizabeth Hastings ; four children.

III. Sarah W. b. June 9, 1853 ' ^- Sept. 27, 1854.

IV. Caroline W. b. Nov. 20, 1855.

V. Arthur W. b. Dec. 11, i860; m.; two children.

35. EDWARD WOOD, eldest son of John and
Sarah Mott Wood, was born on January 25, 1827. Be-
fore he became of age, he entered first the employ of
Christopher Spencer. From that he next went to the
house of Wood & Merritt, dry-goods commission mer-
chants. He was admitted to partnership on coming of
age. After the death of John Wood, he and Nathaniel
Merritt formed the firm of Merritt & Wood, which
failed during the financial crisis of 1857, but subsequent-
ly paid their creditors in full. Edward Wood was later

^6 Seventh Generation

engaged for a short time in the real estate business. In
1880 he was elected president of the Bowery Savings
Bank, and held that position until his death. He was
an active member of the Volunteer Fire Department in
his youth. He was a trustee of the Institution for the
Blind, and of the Bowery Savings Bank, and a director
of the Oriental Bank. He was unmarried. He died on
February 3, 1894, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

Cbil&ren ot ITsaac MooD [22]
26. ANN AUGUSTA (WOOD) COCK, second
child of Isaac Wood, was born in New York on Sep-
tember 28, 1820, and on May 17, 1842, married Dr.
Thomas F. Cock, born July i, 18 19, son of Dr. Thomas
Cock, by whom she had three children. She died on
April 7, 1863. Dr. Cook married, second, Mrs. Louise
(de Forest) Woodruff on February 6, 1866. She died
on January 21, 1887, and he on June 10, 1896, at Laurel-
ton, L. I. ; no issue.

CHILDREN:

I. Augusta b. July 14, 1843 (Mrs. Joseph Chapin).

II. Mary Logan b. July 19, 1850 ; d. Oct. 24, 1854.
III. (Female Infant) b. May 21, 1854 ; d. May 2T, 1854.

37. ISAAC FRANCIS WOOD, son of Isaac Wood
by his third wife, Margaret, was born on July 15, 1841.
He graduated at Haverford College in the class of '60.
He married on April 20, 1869, in New York, Sarah C.

Seventh Generation 57

Bowne, daughter of Richard V. and Emily Bowne, of
Rahway, N. J. In 1868 he was admitted to partnership
in the firm of William Wood & Co., retiring in 1871.
He died on September 24, 1895 5 ^^ issue.

CbU^ren of Milliam Wioo^ [24J
38. WILLIAM H. S. WOOD, second son of Wil-
liam and Mary Underhill Wood, was born at 37 Vande-
water Street, New York, on April 13, 1840. He was
educated at the University of the City of New York and
at Haverford College, and entered his father's business
in 1859. He was admitted to partnership in 1865, the
firm then adopting the style it has since retained, of
William Wood & Co. On September 5, 1865, he mar-
ried Emma Congdon, daughter of Gilbert Congdon, of
Providence, R. I. Following the policy inaugurated
by his father, who retired from active business in 1870,
he steadily built up the medical publishing business
until the concern became the first in its line in this coun-
try. He was elected trustee of the Bowery Savings Bank
in 1872, a manager of the New York Bible Society in
1878, and a director of the Young Men's Christian
Association in 1871. On January 15, 1903, he was
elected president of the Bowery Savings Bank.

Ubc Cono^ou IFamibi?

Benjamin Congdon, of Rhode Island, the ancestor
of this family, died about 1695. ^^ married Elizabeth

58 Seventh Generation

Albro, by whom he had six children, including James,
born April 19, 1686; he married and had eleven chil-
dren. His son Joseph, born February 20, 1733, married
Susannah Cross and had fifteen children, including Jona-
than, born December 16, 1763, who married, December
I, 1787, at Smithfield, R. I., Elizabeth Arnold, of Rhode
Island. They had nine children, and their son Gilbert
married, first, December 14, 1842, Mary Hopkins, of
Baltimore, Md., a sister of Johns Hopkins, Gilbert
Congdon was a Quaker minister. They had five chil-
dren. He married, second, February 14, 1856, Eliza-
beth Crenshaw, and had one son. He married, third,
Ellen L. Smith ; no issue. His daughter Emma, by his
first wife, born January 10, 1844, married William H. S.
Wood.

CHILDREN :

William Congdon b. July 22, 1866.

Gilbert Congdon b. June 21, 1869.

Arnold b. Sept. 23, 1872. [1882.

Philip Hopkins b. May 22, 1876; d. May 10,

Mary Underbill b. July 19, 1881.

39. ELISABETH U. (WOOD) TABER, third
child of William and Mary Underbill Wood, was born
in New York City, at 37 Vandewater Street, on April 7,
1842, and on October 21, 1869, she married David S.
Taber, by whom she had four children.

II.

III.

IV.

Seventh Generation 59

Ube Uaber jfamilv

Philip Taber, born 1605, died 1672, took the Free-
man's oath in Boston in 1634, and in Plymouth in 1639.
He married Lydia Masters, of Watertown, Mass. They
had five children — John, Philip, Thomas, Joseph and
Lydia. Thomas Taber, born 1644, died 1730, had ten
children by his second wife, Mary Thompson, daugh-
ter of John Thompson and granddaughter of Francis
Cooke, of the " Mayflower." Their son Joseph, born
1679, married Elizabeth Spooner in 1701, and had ten
children. Their son Benjamin, born 1706, married
Susannah Lewis in 1729. They had thirteen children.
Their son Benjamin, Jr., born 1733, died 1820, had by
his second wife, Eunice (Worth) Gardner, three children.
Their eldest child, Barnabas, born 1768, died 1853, mar-
ried Mary Congdon, and had eight children. Their
eldest child, William C, born 1797, died 1886, married
Hannah Shearman, and had thirteen children. Their
son David S., born 1840, married Elisabeth U. Wood.
The Taber family have long been identified with the
history of New Bedford, Mass.

CHILDREN:

I. Augustus Frederick b. Jan. 16, 187 1 ; d. June 26, 1872.

II. David Shearman b. June 6, 1873.

III. William Wood b. Aug. 19, 1878; d. Jan. 22, 1879.

IV. Eleanor Wood b. April 30, 1884.

EIGHTH GENERATION

CbUM'cn of Milliam lb. S. imoo^ [38]

40. WILLIAM CONGDON WOOD, eldest child
of William H. S. Wood, was born at Mt. Kisco, West-
chester County, N. Y., on July 22, 1866. He gradu-
ated from Haverford College in 1887, and in 1890 was
admitted into partnership with his father in the publish-
ing house of William Wood & Co.

41. GILBERT CONGDON WOOD, second child
of William H. S. Wood, was born at 129 East 6ist
Street, New York City, on June 21, 1869. He grad-
uated from Haverford College in 1889, and in 1891
was admitted into partnership in the publishing house
of William Wood & Co. On April 11, 1896, he was
married to Ethel Hunt, daughter of Seth Hunt, by the
Rev. David H. Greer, in St. Bartholomew's Church,
New York.

42. ARNOLD WOOD, third child of William H. S.
Wood, first named Edward Arnold, but later changed to
Arnold, was born at 129 East 6ist Street, New York
City, on September 23, 1872, In 1896 he was admitted
into partnership in the publishing house of William
Wood & Co, On November 11, 1896, he was married
to Ethel Hartshorne, daughter of James Mott Harts-
horne, of New York City, by the Rev. D. Parker Mor-
gan.

62 Eighth Generation

U\)c "Ibartsbonxe ifamU^

Richard Hartshorne, ancestor of the Hartshornes
of Old Monmouth, was a Quaker of good reputation
and benevolent disposition. He came to this country in
September, 11669, ^^^ ^^^^^ located at the Highlands,
where his descendants have since lived. The celebrated
George Fox visited him in the spring of 1672, on his
way to Friends' Meeting at Oyster Bay, L. I., In the
latter part of June of the same year, Fox again visited
him. Richard Hartshorne says he was then seventy-five
years old, by which it would seem he was born about
1 64 1, and was twenty-eight years old when he came to
this country. He was named for High Sheriff of Mon-
mouth in 1683, but declined the office. He held various
positions of trust : was Town Clerk of Middletown,
1675-7 ; Member of the Provincial Assembly, 1683 and
in other years; in Council, 1684, 1698-9; was Speaker
of the Assembly, 1686, etc. In 1670, William Golding
sold all his claims for land in Monmouth to Richard
Hartshorne. He also owned a large tract of land at the
Highlands. In the year 1703, Richard Hartshorne
made a deed of gift of the Highlands estate, including
Sandy Hook, to his son William. The will of Richard
Hartshorne, founder of the family, was dated at Middle-
town, May 14, 1722, and proved May 22, 1722. He
was born in Heatherne, in the northern part of Leices-
tershire, England. He married Margaret Carr, and had

Eighth Generation 63

a son, William, who had by his third wife, Elizabeth
Lawrence, Esek, who married Elizabeth Salter and had
Richard, who married Hannah Stevenson and had James
Mott. He married Jane A. Bowne and had James Mott,
Jr., who married Sarah L. Taylor and had Ethel, who
married Arnold Wood.

CHILDREN:

43 I. Arnold Wood b. Aug. 27, 1899.

44 II. CoNGDON Wood b. April 3, 1903.

NINTH GENERATION

Cbilt>ren ot BrnolD TMoo^ [42]
43. ARNOLD WOOD was born at Winter Harbor,
Hancock County, Maine, on August 27, 1899.

44. CONGDON WOOD was born at 40 East 35th
Street, New York City, on April 3, 1903.

Surna??2es mentioned in the Wood
Pedigree :

BALDWIN

BARKER

BENNETT

BILES

BIRDSALL

BOWNE

BRIDGES

BROCK

CARMAN

CHAPIN

COLEMAN

COCK

CONGDON

De MOTT

GODFREY

HARTSHORNE

HASTINGS

HATCH

HICKS

WRIGHT

HUNT

IVES

MERRITT

MORGAN

MORRELL

MOTT

ROBERTS

ROGERS

RYDER

SEARING

SEYMOUR

SIVERTS

SKIDMORE

SMALLEY

TABER

UNDERHILL

WARD

WATSON

WOODRUFF

REFERENCES

1 Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newtown Township, West New Jersey.

2 Book of Arrivals, Register's Office, Doylestown, Pa.

3 Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newtown Township, West New Jersey.

4 West Jersey Deeds. Liber B, Part I., folio 98.

■'' Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newtown Township, West New Jersey.

^ Battle's History of Bucks County. Page 114.

" Battle's History of Bucks County.

' Battle's History of Bucks County. Page 366.

' Davis's History of Bucks County. Page 102.

1" West Jersey Deeds. Liber B, Part L, folio 123.

1 1 Davis's History of Bucks County. Page 70.

1- Davis's History of Bucks County. Page 77.

1^ Pennsylvania Archives. 2d Series, Vol. IX.

!■* Deed on File, Doylestown, Pa.

' 5 Some Material Toward a History of American Baptists.

^ '^ See Ship-book of " Shield."

1 ' Records of Pennepek Baptist Church.

1' Some Material Toward a History of American Baptists.

' ^ Some Material Toward a History of American Baptists.

- •> Some Material Toward a History of American Baptists.

- 1 Some Material Toward a History of American Baptists.

22 Deed on file at Doylestown, Pa.

2 3 Davis's History of Bucks County.' Page 658.
2 4 Davis's History of Bucks County. Page 658.

^s Pennsylvania Archives. 2d Series, Vol. IX., page 744.

2 6 Battle's History of Buck's County. Page 266.

2 '^ Records of Pennepek Baptist Church.

2 8 Town Records of Hempstead, L. I.

2 9 Baptismal Records at St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I. General Records,

Note b, 34A, page 132.

3" Baptismal Records at St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I.

3 1 Oyster Bay Records.

3 2 Will on file. Surrogate's Office, New York City.

RECORDS

..^-'

WILL OF JOHN WOOD

To all Christian People unto Whome these may Come
Greeting Know Yee that I John Wood of Crookhorne in the
County of Bucks, in the Province of Pensilvania, Yeoman, be-
ing at this time weake of Body, but of good and perfect mem-
ory (Blessed be God) do make this my last Will and Testament,
(revoking all fFormer Wills and Testaments) in mannor and
fForm fFollowing. That is to say

Imprimis I give unto my sonn Joseph Wood one ffull half
part of all the Crop now upon the ground and Six pounds
out of the Estate of Manby — And all the reversions, and
remainders of my Lands in West Jersey Saving one hun-
dred Acres upon Cresswicks Creek. And three hundred
Given to my daughter Hester, togeather with the Land
Purchased of Remsdall and Champeon.

Item I give unto Hester Smalley my Eldest daughter the Sum
of Tenn pounds, to bee first paid out of my Personal Es-
tate— before any division bee thereof made, And three hun-
dred Acres of lying 'in West Jersey yet untaken up And
also the Lands Purchased of Richard Remsdal and John
Champeon.

Item I give to Charles Biles the Sum of Twenty pounds and
Tenn shillings, to pay for one hundred Acres of Land
Bought of John Tatham, and this to bee paid out of my
personal Estate before division.

Item I give to Mary the Wife of Thomas Coleman and her
heirs for ever, one hundred Acres of Land lying in West
Jersey upon Cresswick Creek —

And the Residue of my Personal Estate (my Just debts and
funeral Expenses discharged) bee if in Whatsoever kind,

72 Will ofjohn Wood

As Cattle Horses hoggs. Timber boards, Joyner Ware,
And all utensils both for House and Husbandry Within
and Without dores, with all Bills Bonds, Credits Reckon-
ings and Accounts Whatsoever Justly due unto mee, I
give to bee Equally divided Amongst my three daughters,
to wit. Ester Smalley Mary the Wife of Thomas Coleman,
And Sarah the Wife of Charles Biles.

And lastly I give to my Sonn Joseph Wood, and my Sonn in
Law Isaac Smalley each and either of them Twenty shil-
lings Whome I make Executors of this my Last Will and
Testament. In Wittness whereof I have hereunto Set my
hand and Scale the Seven and Twentieth day of May
Anno 1692. his

Acknowledged in the Presence JOHN f^ WOOD

of us as Wittnesses ,

Roger Parke William Emley
William Taylor

',:AAtnn^r.r&—

in. ^^ St%T. ff^ -h^ '^'

ytc'ttrnn"''^

{Lw^9,v.^ kja^d^4'^4^^ ^f^r.H=W^S^5^g^c^-y--

^Sfa>^

(facsimile of bond given by JOSEPH WOOD ET AL., REDUCED ONE-HALF)

INVENTORY OF JOHN WOOD'S
PERSONAL ESTATE

A TRUE and perfect inventorys of the Goods Chattels &
Credits of John Wood late deceased, valued and appraised the
17th day of the 8th month 1692 by Thomas TunniclifFe,
Richard Hough, Thomas Wood and Wm Emley, Appraisers —

IN THE HOUSE.

I large chest at

I small at

5 pewter dishes & one basin

I smooth iron and heater. i 5 p

I Skillet

I Candle Stick, i Salt Sellar .

I Iron Pot, one Iron Kettle, and hangers

I Frying Pan

I Small Iron Kettle

I Churne and Staff .

I Small Pale

1 Half Bushel . .
4 p house chains, 30 lb in weight

2 Sheres, 2 Coutters, 2 p plough Buckles

2 Hows at 2 sh

I Cross cut Saw

I Pad-2s, 6d . .

IN THE CHAMBER.

Bareley 8 Bushalls at 2/6

Oats 12 Bushalls at i8d

Leather, 8 pds at i 2d

I Bed & Bedstead, 2 Pillows, i Rugg .
I Large Wimble, i hand Saw, 3/4 Wimble

1 Ax, I drawing Knife, i Syth .

2 Push Plows

Inventory

In the Chamber — continued

3 p Bands and Hooks for Doors

I Square ....

I Share Mould . . .

I Old Stone Ax . .

I Sling for Yokes

3 Horse Collares

3 Blind Halters, i Bridle

1 Coard

2 Door Locks
I Cart Sadie Pannel
I Chest

IN THE BARN.

Oats 8 Bushals at i8d per B

Chest

7 Bushals Oats at i 8d per b
I Ox Chain ....
In Timber Hewen & Sawen
In old Lumber ....

QUICK GOODS.

2 Steers |
2 Cows j
6 Cows .
2 Yearlings .
2 Calves .

07 : 13

2 Barrels

I Bolster of Bed

I Pr Oxen, i Wain Buckles, 2 Yokes, i Plough
& Chain for which Charles Biles is debtor
to Executor 09

Inventory

Debts Due the Deceased upon Specialty.

Due from Samuel Burges, Remaining on Bill
Due from Wm Taylor on Bill under hand
fFrom Andrew Heath on Bill ....
fFrom Thomas Tunniscliffe on Bill
ffrom Henry Crabb remain-on Bill

fFrom James Sutton on Bill

fFrom Charles Pickering on Bond remaining

This wee subscribed under our hands to bee

elFerted fo ye best of our Understanding

s OI

• 07

. 06

• 03

■ 27

THOMAS TUNNISCLIFFE
RICHARD HOUGH
THOMAS WOOD
WILL'M EMLEY

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