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John Wood (1582 - 1643) of England and America

John Wood, the oldest immigrant ancestor of the Wood family, and his wife Joan Coleson (1570 - 1 Jun 1654) came to Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the ship Matthew. Most of his adult children followed him to America soon after.

John Wood is also known as John Atwood in some records; his baptismal name is "Johanem Wood" according to E. F. Atwood; however, I have yet to locate that record, so it may be a mistake. In the Sanderstead parish birth records his name is recorded as "Johannes" (not Johanem) with a date of 4 Feb 1582. Johannes is the Latinized version of John, often used in official records. He was a twin to Dericke who died in infancy. His baptism was recorded in both Sanderstead and Gatton parishes. It is not known why his birth was recorded at Gatton (a parish that is also located in Surrey, about three miles from Reigate), but it leads me to speculate that John's mother may have originally come from that parish.

From the Sanderstead Parish Register of baptism records:

1582 Feb 4, Johannes t Dericke Woode gemille Nicholaj Woode

Translation: 1582 Feb 4, John and twin Derick Wood born to twin bearing (father) Nicholas Wood

Since John Wood was baptized in Sanderstead, Surrey, England on 4 February 1582, it is likely that he was born about that time because it was customary to baptize infant children. He was probably born in Sanderstead since that is where his father, Nicholas and mother Olive (Harman) had a home. The Wood family had been associated with Sanderstead since about 1400 and had constructed a manor house there known as "Sanderstead Court." The title to the lands in Sanderstead is somewhat confusing at this point in time and it is not entirely clear whether the family was actually living at Sanderstead Court or in one of the other houses in the parish.

John Wood married Joan Coleson of Saint Martin's Parish, London, in the summer of 1612. They had at least seven children, all born in England, five were sons and two were daughters. Johanna and Agnes are questionable children; they are included here until their ancestry is confirmed fully. Philip is sometimes included as a child of John and Joan; however, this is not the case. Most of the other children were baptized at St. Martins in the Fields church in London. E. F. Atwood believes that after the birth of his second son, John (in 1613), he and his family moved to Chancery Lane in London. He does not provide documentation for this assertion, however. Our ancestor line follows their son Henry Wood

John was a "leather seller" in England. A notation in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1848 indicates that John Atwood was a member of the Leatherseller's Company on 22 January 1628; he sponsored a man with a highly unusual name to membership in the guild--Praysgod Barbone. Leather sellers were involved in selling, whiting, sorting and staking leather, and they belonged to a guild in London that regulated the trade; their guild hall was a large and elaborate building and they derived both social and financial benefits from belonging to the guild. Leather craftsmen making leather goods and parchment could also belong to this guild. Leather was an essential product with many uses during this time.

When John's father, Nicholas, died in 1586, he left his estate to his youngest son Richard. Normally the oldest son would inherit his father's estate, so this was an unusual bequest. Richard died 17 years later in about 1603 and his estate was inherited by the oldest brother in the family, Harman. According to court documents summarized by E. F. Atwood in Ancestry of Harman Atwood, John sued his older brother on 1 Feb 1631 saying he should be the heir of the estate, not Harman:

"Harman Atwood doth confess that he hath a copy of a Court role, dated 37 Henry 8 (1546-47) which proves that Nicholas Wood was the heir, that Thomas Wood, a young son, had certain manor lands settled on him by his father, John Wood, and that on the death of said Thomas, Nicholas Wood was possessed of said lands, according to the custom of said manor."

Atwood maintains that this proceeding was used to simply sort out ownership of various Wood/Atwood lands, and that it was not filed in anger over John's perceived disinheritance. King Henry had taken some lands belonging to the Wood/Atwood family some years before when he dissolved the monasteries in England. The land the Wood/Atwood family owned had previously belonged to the monastery, and it may well have been a legal maneuver by the Wood/Atwood family to clarify their rightful ownership of lands in Sanderstead parish and elsewhere. It is probably from this incident that E. F. Atwood says that some of John's descendants claim he left for America after being disinherited.

I believe that Atwood is probably correct because if John was unhappy with his brother Harman after Richard's death it seems unlikely that he would have named his own son "Harman" in 1612. E. F. Atwood's conclusion is that this suit was merely a legal technicality to sort out ownership rights of Sanderstead. This conclusion would indicate that John did not leave England because of dissatisfaction with his inheritance, but for other reasons--possibly religious, possibly financial, or possibly for adventure.

It is not known what prompted John to leave England for the new colonies in America in 1635, but we can make a few guesses based on John's personal circumstances as well as the political and religious climate in England at the time. James I, the English King (1566 - 1625), faced opposition on many fronts. James did not trust the growing Puritan movement in England, and viewed it as a threat to his royal control of the church. Tensions continued to increase after James was succeeded by his son, Charles I, and finally reached a breaking point with the English Civil Wars.

Many of the Puritans, (who became known as Dissenters), faced discrimination and persecution in England; they sought to "purify" the Church of England and objected to many of its ceremonies such as exchanging rings during marriage, inviting "evil doers" to share in communion, using the sign of the cross in baptism, etc. Many of the Dissenters' preachers were driven to ruin by the King through excessive taxation. These persecutions lead to the first of several exoduses of Puritans, the first of which was to Leyden, Netherlands in about 1605. Most Puritans only stayed in the Netherlands for 10-15 years, however, and many eventually moved to America. The first group of Puritans arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 and founded the Plymouth Colony. The Wood family is our link to the ship Mayflower

John may have well have been prompted by religious convictions to leave his English homeland and settle in the predominantly Puritan Plymouth Colony. We know that three of his sons married into staunch Puritan families after arriving in America. At least one leather seller in London was persecuted by the King for his beliefs and burned at the stake while John lived in London.

John may have also been motivated by financial considerations. As a younger son, John had been forced to fend for himself financially. It seems that his older brother, also named John (born 1576) had knowledge of the Plymouth Colony for he was recognized by the Treasurer of the stock company that funded the colony as a "special friend." John's brother's relationship to the Plymouth Colony may have had an impact on John. It is also possible that since he had not been successful in his law suit against his brother Harman for a share in his father's estate, John may have felt that the New World offered more opportunity than London.

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Our lineage through Gertrude Louisa Wood to Ebenezer:

From Ebenezer Wood to John Wood, who is our immigrant ancestor:

Ebenezer Wood: Ebenezer is the son of Jabez Wood (1690 - 1772) and his wife Mercy Fuller (1696 - 1737) Why this is important is, Mercy Fuller is our line to the ancestors of the passengers on the Mayflower. Mercy is the great, great granddaughter of Edward and Ann Fuller, as well as great, great granddaughter of passenger Elisabeth Tilley and her parents John and Joan Hurst, as well as her husband and passenger John Howland (6 in total, passengers on the Mayflower) Ebenezer WOOD Excerpts from Rev. David Cole D. D.'s book. This family became extensively interlocked with the Cole lines. Rebecca and Benjamin Wood, half sister and brother, married, respectively, Abraham and Catharine Cole, of the original fifteen; and, in addition to this, it will be seen that Ann Maria Shatzel, only child of Barbara Wood, full sister of Benjamin Wood, married Rev. Isaac D. Cole, of the next generation (see Part IV.), and that Jacob B. Wood and John Huyler Wood, sons of Benjamin Wood, further married sisters, grandchildren of David Cole of the original fifteen. These facts, together with the interest all feel in Capt. Benjamin Wood, whose life and name have been a special treasure to the family at large, call for a full notice here of the family of Wood. It is of Welsh origin. The name in the last century was indifferently "Atwood" or "Wood," as the Tappan Church records show and as the older members of the family in my early boyhood themselves remembered. In tins century, however, in America, "Atwood" has been given up. The following cut represents the family coat-of-arms, as taken from the records of heraldry. I accompany it with Burke's statement of the family, and also with his description of the coat-of-arms itself, as given in his "Encyclopedia of Heraldry, or General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland." The Family. "Wood, alias Atwood, Haiston and Brixton, County Devonshire : a family of antiquity, of which five descents had been seated at Haiston in 1630. The male line expired with John Wood in 1743. One of his sisters married Winter. In my '''Introductory Statement to the Family" I stated that I have transcribed and indexed two Tappan records, one of the regular congregation, and another of an irregular organization that existed from 1767 to 1778 only. The latter contains the baptism of my maternal grandmother, Barbara Wood, referred to above. In the entry the clerk has put her down as Barbara Etwood, and her father as Ebenezer Etwood. The same clerk wrote Pel 111 er for Palmer. In the same way, he wrote Etwood for At wood. This entry shows that Atwood was used in America. Sheriff Ebenezer Wood had a brother Henry who wrote the name Atwood; and his children, to some extent at least, did the same. From the beginning of the present century, as far as I know, the only form used in the family has been the form "Wood." The earliest member of the Wood (or Atwood) family in America whose name with place and date of birth I can give is Ebenezer Wood, father of Rebecca, Barbara, and Benjamin, above-mentioned. He was born in Massachusetts on the 6th of October, 1729. When I began to compile this record it was too late for me to get the link of connection between this Ebenezer Wood and the ancestry in Wales. His own immediate family record I have looked for in vain. Captain Benjamin Wood, before I thought of asking him about this matter, was 92 years of age, and his memory had failed him here. All he recalled was what we had always known, viz., the fact of the Welsh connection. Burke says above: "The male line expired with John Wood in 1743." He speaks, of course, of the family in Great Britain. But one of the line had come to some place in Massachusetts, and had this son, Ebenezer, born Oct. 6, 1729, and through this son the male line is perpetuated to day in generations the fourth and fifth from himself (see line of Benjamin Wood and Catharine Cole in Part IV.). It would probably be possible to find Ebenezer Wood (born Oct. 6, 1729) and his parents on the baptismal register of the parish in Massachusetts, where the former was born, but I had no clue to this parish, and have not been able to give the time which such investigation would require. It may still be done. Our knowledge of Ebenezer Wood begins with his appearance at Tappan, precise date not known, but not earlier, probably, than 1750. He was Deputy Sheriff of Orange Co. (then covering all the territory of the present Orange and Rockland Counties both) for many years, beginning long before the American Revolution, and ending with Feb. 23, 1798, when Rockland County was formed out of Orange. The Court House of Orange County, when he entered upon his office, stood upon the now open plain adjacent to the Reformed Church of Tappan. During the Revolution, it was set on fire and destroyed. The county town being afterwards changed to "New City," the new Court House was erected there. This occasioned the removal of the family to that place, and the change of their church relations to Clarkstown, where their later children were baptized. Sheriff Wood was a man of incorruptible integrity, and of exalted nobility of character. Some are still living who remember him, as he lived till 1810. He made no profession of religion till he reached old age. But he had through all his life the keenest sense of right between man and man, and scorned everything unmanly or wrong. One who knew him well, said to me in recent years, "He could not be made bad." It is said that he was never known to be surprised into a sudden excitement of passion. " His uprightness and his mental and moral balance appeared conspicuously during the trying times of the Revolution, when every effort was made to entice him, as a conspicuous public man, into the support of the British cause. Deeply devoted as he was seen to be to the American interest, he was approached first from the stand-point of corruption, and then from that of intimidation, and when neither of these could move him, he was thence forward, in consequence of his fidelity, bitterly hated, sharply marked, and actively abused by the enemy. The end to him was the loss of all he had. The accumulations, such as they were, of his industry and prudence during the preceding 20 years and more, and even his official papers, were all carried off by a raid. At the close of the war he found himself with about $1600 in Continental money in his hands, which was soon found to be entirely worthless. The country was inundated with counterfeit money by the British, and this quickly depreciated the money of Congress to nothing, because the one could not be distinguished from the other. Sheriff" Wood threw his paper at once into the lire, and quietly remarked, We have our independence and I am satisfied." His subsetpient life was spent at New City till 1806, when he removed to New York, and lived with his children (Benjamin and Catharine) till his death. He died April 18, 1810, aged 80 years, 6 months, and 10 days, greatly beloved and respected by all who knew him. His children and descendants for many years found his name a sure passport wherever they went in Rockland Co. He belonged to a long-lived race. He had a brother Henry who lived to be 98 years old. There is an excellent miniature portrait of Sheriff Wood still in the family. It was painted by his son, Joseph 2nd (see below), when its subject was about 78 years old. A large oil painting has been made from it. It has also been multiplied in photographs which are in extensive circulation. I am happy to be able to furnish a copy of it with these lines, and to assure the family of its exact correspondence with the original miniature, and this was always said, by those who knew the Sheriff well, to be a perfect picture. Sheriff" Etwood married twice. His first wife was Christiana or Christina Tremper (or Trumper), daughter of Johannes Tremper (parents unknown) and Alarretje Felten (daughter of Willem Felten and Christina Smitlin). Johannes Tremper and Marretje Felten had eight children, all born and baptized at Tappan. Th* oldest was Christiana (first wife of Ebenezer Wood), born Oct. 31, 1733, and baptized Nov. 11, 1733. The others with their dates of birth were Anna Catrina (Sept. 13, 1735), Margrietje (Feb. 8, 1737)5 John Jacob (April 28, 1739), Elizabeth (April 5, 1741), Willem (July 13, 1743), Harmanus (Sept. 15, 1745), and Johannes (Nov. 21, 1^747). No one now living remembers Christiana Tremper, and the family have no traditions of her. She was born and baptized as above, married Ebenezer Wood (date of marriage lost through the break in the Tappan records). It was probably in 1754 or 1755, and died March 15, 1768, She was the mother of seven children, one of whom, Elizabeth 1st (see below), preceded her to the grave. The second wife has always been known in the family as Margaret Hubbard. She is on three baptismal records (two at Tappan and one at Clarkstown) with seven of her children, and it is remarkable that the entries give her naine in seven different ways, viz., Hobert, Hoebert, Hoeberdt, Hotter, Hoober, Hopper, and Hubor. (See "Remarks on Holland Names.") The name was properly Hubbard. For all I can get of this lady's parentage and ancestry, see sketch of the "Palmer Family." She was born at Kakiat, Jan. 27, 1746. She had a sister Sarah, who married John Palmer, and another sister Barbara, who died unmarried. Her mother was married a second time to Abraham Snyder. Margaret Hubbard was a woman of characteristics similar to those of her husband. She brought him eight additional children, to whom as well as to the children from the first marriage; the parents were always unspeakably dear. They were both peculiarly tender and affectionate in the home, and both commanded profound respect and deference in society. Margaret was a clear, consistent, and courageous Christian, and distinguished for her calm trust in God. At the time of the sweeping away of her husband's property and papers in the war, she said, "What matters what we have lost, since our country has been saved?" This remark indicated her natural courage and her patriotism, and it was made under the impulse of a lively gratitude to God. The date of her marriage to Ebenezer Wood is lost through the break in the church records. The date of her profession fails for the same reason. The marriage probably took place about the beginning of 1769. She died of yellow fever, Sept. 11, 1798. Her son Ebenezer (her oldest child) had died Aug. 24th, and her daughter Barbara (Mrs. John Michael Shatzel, Jr., my mother's mother) had died Aug. 28th, both of the disease. Thus, within less than three weeks, son, daughter, and mother were all carried away by the fearful pestilence to the grave. Two of her children had died in infancy. Four only survived her. These lived into the present century, one of them down to Oct. 9, 1875. (See personal sketch of Benjamin Wood.) The children of Sheriff Wood, as we have seen, were fifteen in number. The baptisms of the first seven I cannot find. The birth days of these I give from family records. The baptisms of the last eight, except that of Benjamin 1st (who died in infancy, and probably without baptism), are all on the records I have mentioned. Ebenezer and Sarah (the two oldest who received baptism) are on the regular Tappan record. Barbara was baptized by Domine Mutzelius, and is on the record of the irregular congregation. The last four are on the record at Clarkstown, The fifteen are as follows: Fifteen Children of Sheriff Ebenezer Wood By Christiana Tremper. (first wife) Mary Wood, was born Nov. 7, 1755; Married John Town, Jr., son of John Town and Susanna Weaver. Date unknown. Have five children on the Clarkstown record. They are Susanna (born Jan. 25, 1778), Ebenezer (July 31, 1779); Christina (Dec. 22, 1780), Elizabeth (May 14, 1783), and John (Nov. 16, 1791). Mary (sometimes called Maria in the records) died Oct. 9, 1795, aged 39 years, 10 months, and 22 days. Joseph Wood (1st), born March 13, 1757. Never married. Died Aug. 12, 1776, aged 19 years, 4 months, and 30 days. Elizabeth Wood (1st), born July 29, 1758. Died Sept. 26, 1759, aged I year, 1 month, and 28 days. Jacob Wood, born Feb. 22, 1760. Married Nancy Shaw (I cannot find her parents, nor the date of the marriage). If there were children, they are not on my records. Died March 9, 1827, aged 67 years and 15 days. Elizabeth Wood (2d), born July 4, 1762. Married Jonathan Palmer (1st), son of John Palmer and Martha Brown. Date of marriage unknown. Died Dec. 10, 1832, aged 70 years, 5 months, and 6 days. John Wood (1st), born April 3, 1764. Never married. Died Nov. 20, 1781, aged 17 years, 7 months, and 17 days. Rebecca Wood, born March 1, 1766. Married Abraham Cole at Tappan, Dec. 1, 1785. Died Feb. 27, 1837, aged 70 years, 4 months, and 27 days. Children by Margaret Hubbard (2nd wife to Ebenezer Wood) Ebenezer Wood, Jr., born Oct. 24, 1769; baptized Dec. 25, 1769. Never married. Died of yellow fever in New York, Aug. 24, i 798, eighteen days before his mother died of the same disease. His age, at death, was 28 years and 10 months. Benjamin Wood (1st), born May 15, 1771. Probably not baptized Died Feb. 29, 1772, aged 9 months and 14 days Sarah Wood, born Aug. 15, 1773; baptized Sept. 5, 1773; Married at Tappan, Sept. 12, 1794, Isaac J. Blauvelt, son of Jacobus Blauvelt and Chertje Vervelen), born March 1772. Ceremony performed by Rev. Nicholas Eansing. The children are not on my records. Died Dec. 20, 1862, aged 89 years, 4 months, and 6 days. Buried in Rockland Cemetery, Piermont, N. Y. Barbara Wood, born Oct. 20, 1775; baptized at Tappan, Nov. 26, 1775, by Rev. Frederick Matzelius. Married in New York, Nov. 12, 1796, John Michael Shatzel, Jr., son of John Michael Shatzel and Anna Maria Tremberiii.* Barbara died of yellow fever in New York at l0 a.m., Aug 28, 1798, aged 22 years, 10 months, and 11 day. Her brother Ebenezer had died but four days before, and her mother, Margaret Hubbard, died but fourteen days after, of the same fever. Barbara left but one child, Ann Mary (or Anna Maria) Shatzel, born Nov. 3, 1797, and but 9 months and 25 days old at her mother's death. This child afterwards married Rev. Isaac D. Cole, son of David Cole of the original fifteen. She was my own mother. All Barbara's descendants will come into the line of David Cole and Elizabeth Meyer in Part IV. Joseph Wood (2d), born July- 6, 177S; baptized Aug. 9, 1778. Married Margaret Haring (1 do not know the wife's parentage). Died at his residence in Washington, D. C, June 15, 1830, aged 51 years, 11 months, and 9 days. By profession he was a miniature painter. By universal consent he was a man of very uncommon genius. In his department of art he was eminent. In social life he was a brilliant. An article published in a Washington paper the day after his death, by one who knew him well, but sustained no relation to the family, and who may therefore be regarded as impartial, is in my possession now. It speaks in extraordinary terms of him as a man and as an artist, while it deplores his convivial weakness, which seems to have been the special cause of his early death. Benjamin Wood (2d), born July 30, 1780 ; baptized Aug. 17, 1780. Benjamin married Catharine Cole in New York, Oct. 18, 1806. Died Oct. 9, 1875, at the age of 95 years, 2 months, and 9 days - Buried in Rockland Cemetery, Piermont, N. Y. For particulars of him and his line, see sketch of Catharine Cole in Part II., his own personal sketch. No. 13, below, and the line of Benjamin Wood and Catharine Cole, thirteenth and last, in Part IV John Wood (2d), born Feb. 24, 1783; baptized April 6, 1783. Married Isabella Herbert, whom 1 cannot trace. Date unknown. They, with their children, must be on records later than any in my possession. Died Dec. 28, 1867, aged 84 years, 10 months, and 4 days. Jabez Wood, born Jan. 2, 1786; baptized Jan. 22, 1786. Died Dec. 24, 1787, age 1 year, 11 months, and 22 days. Note. The family records give the birth of Sarah Aug. 14, 1773, and that of Barbara Oct. 27, 1775. The above, of course, is from the church records. It is thus seen that of these fifteen children, nine only were married. Three of these Rebecca, Barbara, and Benjamin will come up in the Cole lines in Part IV. The fourth Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Palmer (ist) will appear in "The Palmer Family". Her line is perpetuated through her daughter Sarah, in Michael S. Allison, Esq., of Jersey City, and his brothers and sisters, and through her son Benjamin, in Prof. Joseph H. Palmer, of Yonkers, and his brothers and sisters; and the other five children, as I have shown, are more or less represented to-day in Rockland County, New York City, Brooklyn, and California.

Catharine Cole and Husband Benjamin Wood   Click here to read Captain Benjamin Franklin Wood's Auto Biography Benjamin Wood was a Silver Smith and later Inspector of Customs Born: 30 Jul 1780, Tappan NY Marriage: Catharine Cole on 18 Oct 1806 in New York City NY Died: 9 Oct 1875, Brooklyn NY General notes: Silversmith & Events in his life were: Apprenticed from 18 Dec 1794 to Jan 1799 to Jeronimus Alstyne in New York City NY In his autobiography, Wood recorded that he first approached Cary Dunn, who was preparing to retire and recommended Alstyne instead. Reluctantly accepted by Alstyne to serve a term until 1801, he left early after contracting yellow fever. He later described his old master as ". . . lacking energy, his father was wealthy, and his expectations high, he became indolent and neglected his business." He worked from 1799 to 1806 as a journeyman silversmith in New York City NY first as a spoonmaker in Daniel Van Voorhis' shop and then with John Wolfe Forbes. He worked from 1807 to 1819 as a silversmith in New York City NY initially, he rented tools and bench space in John Wolfe Forbe's shop, producing contract work for city retailers. In 1810, he opened his own shop at 47 Beaver Street. The next year he moved to a larger shop at 96 Reed Street. Following extended service during the War of 1812, he returned to his business and soon after moved to 265 Greenwich Street. After the financial panic of 1818-1819, he closed his business and returned to Reed Street, where he was listed at the same address as Ebenezer Cole. By 1820 he had abandoned the trade, turned over his shop to his apprentices Timothy Herbert and Benjamin Gurnee, and gave his tools to his nephew, Joseph Blauvelt. Appointed from 1820 to 1821 as Inspector of Customs in New York City NY He was a partner from circa 1821 to 1830 with Ebenezer Cole in New York City NY as COLE & WOOD Benjamin married Catharine Cole on 1 Nov 1806 in New York City NY. (Catharine Cole was born on 26 Feb 1788 in New City NY, christened on 2 Mar 1788 in Clarkstown NY, died on 26 Dec 1850 in New York City NY and was buried in Piermont Rockland NY.) War of 1812: "Captain Wood" Benjamin's account of his participation in the War of 1812: We now endeavored to adopt the scripture rule owe no man any thing, and to be at peace with all men, and with good health & plenty of work, a selection of choice Christian friends, we knew little, and cared little, about the tumult & confusion of the world, but we learned before long, that we were not only in the world, but of the world also. Great Britain had ever treated us, as a nation, with arrogance, after being obliged to acknowledge our Independence in 1783. Our Government had patiently borne insult after insult, till endurance ceased to be a virtue, when on the 18th of June 1812 Congress on deliberating a message from our Patriotic President Madison, strongly recommending the measure, declared war against Gt. Britain, who had doubtless determined to force us into a war for their immense fleets of armed vessels were strewed along the whole seacoast of the U.S. blockading immediately all our harbours, bays, & rivers; and our Country, unprepared and almost wholly defenseless, by fortifications, implements or munitions of war generally, a considerable panic manifested itself, for a time business, especially in our line being considered a luxury, soon became very dull. I had now accumulated something like 1000 dolls, and my patriotism being somewhat stirred, concluded to raise a company of volunteers (12 month men) for the defense of the City, Congress, having passed a Law for that purpose. I commenced recruiting about the first of October, but in consequence of the great number of recruiting officers, I did no complete my company until the 20th of January 1813 when I received my commission and entered the service with 121 men, rank & file and three lieutenants. We were stationed two months on Eli's Island, three months at New Utrecht narrows, and about nine months at Sandy Hook, having served 14 months instead of 12. When before I had scarcely time to survey the desolation of our house and shop at home, I received unsolicited on the 21st of April 1814 a Captain's commission in the 27th Regiment U.S. Infantry, was stationed again at Sandy Hook, and served till the 15th of June 1815 when the Army was disbanded. Excerpts from Rev. David Cole's book on Benjamin and the War of 1812 Captain Benjamin Franklin Wood, We now endeavored to adopt the Scripture rules, ' Owe no man anything,' and ' Be at peace with all men,' and with good health and plenty of work, and a selection of choice Christian friends, we knew little and cared little about the tumult and confusion of the world. But we learned before long that we were not only in the world, but of the world also." . . . Rev. David Cole D. D., "The reference of this last remark is to the war between the and Great Britain, which, breaking out in the year 1812, broke in upon the even life of Mr. and Mrs. Wood, changed their whole career for a time, and probably gave shape to their subsequent history as long as they lived. Patriotism with Benjamin Wood came in with the blood. I need not myself say a word about the causes of the war or its history. These are written in many forms, and accessible to all. The government offering a captain's commission to any one who would enlist a company for the service, Mr. Wood raised one hundred and twenty-one men (sixty-nine of whom he equipped at his own expense) for the defense of the city. He completed his company on the 30th of January, 1813, received his Captaincy, and entered the service. He was stationed first two months on Ellis' Island, then three months at New Utrecht ("The Narrows"), and afterwards nine months at Sandy Hook, making fourteen in all. He had enlisted for twelve months. On the 14th of April, 1814, he received unsolicited and at once accepted a Captain's commission in the 27th Regiment, U. S. Infantry, was stationed again at Sandy Hook, and served till June 15, 1815, when the army was disbanded. From this time to the end of his life he was known as "Captain Wood." Being boarding officer of the day when it arrived at Sandy Hook, he was the first American to receive the "Declaration of Peace." It was one of the incidents of his life, the date of which I cannot give, that he mounted and fired the first gun that was placed in Fort Lafayette at the "Narrows." He never resumed military life, but abandoned it forever at the close of the war." The Narrows and Fort Lafayette, Ships Coming Into Port (1868), by Samuel Colman

Rev. David Cole D. D. is the author of the following book: Since Benjamin F. Wood married Catherine Cole, the Wood family, Beginning with Ebenezer and his son Captain Benjamin, is covered in David's book.

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Henry Wood of England and Plymouth Colony (1615-1670)

Henry Wood's parents were John Wood and Joan Coleson, of Sanderstead Court, Sanderstead, Surrey, England. This was a village located about 15 miles southeast of London. The Wood family had been in Surrey for at least five hundred years by the time Henry was born.

His father was a "leather seller" in London and most of his brothers and sisters were baptized at St. Martin in the Fields church in London. His baptism record has not been found, but it is probably safe to say he was born about 1615-1620 based on the dates of his marriage and death. From the baptism records his siblings, it seems likely that the family lived in St. Martin's parish in London, which was a rapidly growing suburb on the edge of the city at the time. It is not known what Henry's occupation was while he lived in England.

Events occurred when he was a young man that caused Henry, his father and mother, and three of his brothers to leave England for America. Harman, Henry's uncle who was an attorney of Clifford's Inn, London, inherited the family estate which included the manor house known as Sanderstead Court as well as other lands in Sanderstead. In 1631 Henry's father, John, sued Harman for what he believed should be his portion of the estate. John lost the law suit and within four years had left England for America (in 1635).

Henry married Abigail Jenney (1619 - 1690) who was born in Leyden, South Holland, Netherlands. They were married on 25 Apr 1644 in Plymouth Colony, Mass. about three years after he purchased John Dunham's house. Abigail was the daughter of John Jenney and Sarah Carey who had been important Puritan leaders in Holland and continued to be influential in America after they moved to Plymouth in 1623. In all likelihood Abigail shared her familiy's Puritan convictions.

Henry was admitted a "freeman" in 1647--he is listed next to John and Stephen Wood on the list of freemen for that term. A "freeman" was able to vote and participate in the government of the colony--since taxes were also levied; some colonists chose not to become "freemen." Henry served as a grand juror in 1648-56-59-68, and was often on other juries, including one infamous case where a Alice Bishop was indicted for murdering her daughter by cutting her throat (Alice was found guilty and hanged).

Henry and Abigail first moved to Yarmouth, Mass. where his first two children, Sarah and Samuel, were born. He returned to Plymouth before 1649 where his other children were born. In 1665 he settled at Middleborough, Mass. In Weston's History of Middleborough we find "he was an original proprietor in Little Lotmen's Purchase." His home was near the General Abiel Washburn place [Abiel Washburn was a later owner who lived from 1763 - 1843]."

In Weston's History of Middleborough and in Hurd's History of Plymouth County, Henry's purchase of land from the Indian known as the "Black Sachem" or Tispequin and his wife Anny is documented in a deed dated August 9, 1667. Tispequin was an important warrior and played a role in the Indian wars known as King Philip's War in 1675-1677. Henry paid Tispequin 4 for the land. In the sale document Tispequin is granted the right to gather cedar bark from the swamp after the sale. This tract of land became known as Wood's Purchase.

In 1665 Henry had one share of thirty acres on the west side of the Nemasket River. On 1 Jun 1669, the court granted township status to "Namassakett" and changed its name to Middleborough, its bounds being set between Plymouth, Taunton, and Bridgewater, and touching unincorporated land on the south. Middleborough had only six freeman residents as of 29 May 1670: John Morton, Henry Wood, Jonathan Dunham, Francis Coombe, William Nelson, and Samuel Eaton.

Click here to see the book published in 1888 called Hitory of the Attwood Family in England and United States by Charles Atwood

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Henry' s Will

Henry died in 1670 and is buried in Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Plymouth Street, Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

Henry Wood, born in abt 1619 died in 1670. Alicia Crane Williams describes Henry's estate in detail in documents taken from Plymouth Colony Records:

His son Samuel and son-in-law John Nelson were appointed administrators of his estate, October 29, 1670. At that time his estate totaled �63-03-03.

In the division of his estate:

• Samuel Wood was given the house and land "his father dwelt on when hee deceased...it was agreed that his mother would live in the house as long as she pleases.
• Jonathan wood was given twenty acres of land in the Twenty Acre Lot and ten acres called by the Indians Asminnascassett pond as long as he paid his mother 10 shillings per year for the rest of her life.
• David, Joseph and Benjamin were to divide the remainder of Henry's land at Asminnascassett pond along with six acres of meadow he acquired from Tispequin as long as they contributed 10 shillings each to their mother each year.
• Abiel and James were given Henry's land at Goospoint in Plymouth as well as two acres of meadow in the South Meadow and two acres in Doty's meadow with the understanding that their mother would have the use and benefit of the land until they came of age.
• Sarah Nelson, wife of John Nelson, Abigail Wood, Jr., Susannah Wood and Mary Wood, "daughters of the said Henry Wood, shall have the parete of the mill which appertained unto Henry Wood att theire mother's decease, with the lands appertaining thereunto in equall and alike proportions."
• Samuel was to receive all other lands not mentioned.
• It appears that presumed children Abigail and John did not inherit anything in the will.

On March 4, 1673, four of his children, with his wife Abigail, were summoned into court to dispose of lands that they might contribute to the support of the widow Abigail. The parcels of land were identified as follows:

• Sixteen acrees of upland and eight acres of meddow
• One hundred acres of upland
• 40 acres of upland
• 13 acres of land his house stands on
• Twenty acrees of land att Strawberry Hill
• Eight acrees of meddow in Plymouth bounds
• The quarter part of the mill and the land about it

Henry's death untimely death at about age 50 left his wife Abigail with 12 children.

Daughter Sarah had married in 1667 three years prior to Henry's death, but most of the other children were probably still living at home. It would have been very difficult for Abigail to raise all of these children by herself, and there is no record that she ever remarried. In 1670, after their father's death, his sons David, Joseph and Benjamin chose as guardians John Morton and his brother, Lt. Ephraim Morton. It is not known if this was simply a legal requirement or if the boys actually took up residence with the Morton's. John Morton died in 1673. The other children apparently continued to live with Abigail until they could set up their own homes.

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The Voyage to America 

It is believed that John left England on 21 May 1635 aboard the Matthew.

John's name appears in the ship's register in London, with 131 others; they were first transported to Saint Christopher's Island (now known as St. Lucia), an island in the Leeward chain in the Caribbean. Richard Goodladd, owner and master of the Matthew per a warrant from the Earl of Carlisle. Before they were allowed to leave England they were compelled to take an oath of allegiance that they would be loyal to their King and their mother country.

John Wood and Joan Coleson and their four boys, (Including Henry) left for America over the next five years: (John, came to America in 1635 and his wife Joan followed later--they went to Plymouth, Mass. )

1. John, went to Plymouth, Mass.;
2. Harman, went to Boston, Mass.,
3. Stephen, went to Eastham, Mass.
4. Henry went to Plymouth, Mass 1635-36

- Replica of the Ship Matthew

It is possible that, William, also came to Charleston, Mass. (this is based on speculation by E. F. Atwood in Ye Atte Wode Annals). The brothers do not appear to have all come over at the same time, but seem to have come at different times. It is possible that his possible sisters (Johanna and Agnes) also came to America but there is no record of them, and in fact, their relationship to the family has never been firmly established.

The precise date of Henry's arrival in the Plymouth Colony is unknown. E. F. Atwood thinks he may have come in 1635-36, but there is no certain proof for this as his name does not appear on surviving ship passenger lists. What is certain is that he was in Plymouth Colony by 16 September 1641 when Henry Wood and Stephen Wood were given 8 acres each at Loute Pond, Plymouth. Plymouth Colony Records provides a copy of a deed for a land purchase. Henry bought John Dunham, the Younger's house, buildings, and land at Plymouth for 7 10 shillings on 27 March 1642. Interestingly, Henry's brother, Stephen Wood, would later marry John Dunham's daughter, Abigail. E. F. Atwood states that on August 16, 1641, Stephen and On 31 Dec 1641 Henry and Stephen were "granted a garden in the neighborhood of Wellingsley, ag'st Francis Goulder's fence." Henry is also listed among the Plymouth men reported as "able to bear arms" in 1643; all able-bodied males were required to help provide for the defense of the colony, and their names were recorded as being "able to bear arms."

Shortly after arriving in Plymouth, he was admitted as a freeman on 3 Jan 1636 which meant that he took an oath of allegiance to the Colony and could vote in elections and participate in the governmental life of the colony:

"Mr. John Atwood, John Jenkin, John Weekes, Josiah Cooke, Willm Paddy, Robte Lee, Nathaniell Morton, Edward Forster, Georg Lewes, and Barnard Lumbard were made free this Court and sworn accordingly." (The Wood family relationship with the Morton family would continue for many years.)

John's wife, Joan, also came to America, but it appears that she did not sail with him on the Matthew since her name is not listed on the ship's manifest. She came over on a later voyage, however, it is not clear which ship brought her.

From records of land transactions we know that John purchased land in Plymouth next to John Dunham shortly after his arrival. The land was granted to John Wood on 7 November 1636:

"had divers porcons allowed them, 3 acres in breadth & two in length, next to the land of John Dunham the elder..." The others were John Dunham Jr., John Wood, Samuell Eedy, Web Addy, Josiah Cooke, Thomas Atkinson, and Joshua Pratt, "All wch psons haue or are to build in the towne of Plym., and these lands to belong to their dwelling howses there, & not to be sold fro their howses."

Citation: 7 Nov 1636 Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 1:46

The following summer, in 1638, William Bradford describes an interesting incident that undoubtedly would have made an impression on John:

"This year, aboute the 1. or 2 or June, was a great and fearfull earthquake; it was in this place heard before it was felte. it came with a rumbling noyse, or low murmure, like unto remoate thunder; it came from the norward, and passed southward. As the noyse aproached nerer, they earth began to shake, and came at lenght with that violence as caused platters, dishes, and such like things a stoode upon shelves to clatter an d fall downe; yea, persons were afraid of the houses themselves. It so fell oute that at the same time diverse of the cheefe of this towne were mett together at one house, conferring withsome of their friends that wre upon their removall from the place, (as if the Lord would herby shew the signes of his displeasure, in their shaking a peeces and removalls one from an other.) How ever it was very terrible for the time, and as the men were set talking in the house, some women and others were without the dores, and the earth shooke with that vilence as they could not stand without catching hould of the posts and pails that stood next them; but the vilence lasted not long. And about halfe an hower, or less, came an other noyse and shaking, but nether so loud nor strong as the former, but quickly passed over; and so it ceased. it was not only on the sea coast, but the Indeans felt it with in land; and some ships that wre upon the coast were shaken by it. So powerfull is the mighty hand of the Lord, as to make both the earth and sea to shake, and the mountaines to tremble before him, when he pleases; and who can stay his hand?"

Citation: Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation

Three of John's sons married into prominent Puritan families:

• John Wood married Sarah Masterson in 1642 in Plymouth. She was the daughter of Richard Masterson who had been a Deacon at Leyden, Holland, the first home of the Puritans.
• Henry married Abigail Jenney in 1644 in Plymouth. She was the daughter of Capt. John Jenney and Sarah Carey who had first gone to Leyden, Holland before coming to America.
• Stephen married Abigail Dunham in 1644 in Plymouth. She was the daughter of John Dunham and Abigail Barlow who had originally gone to Leiden, Holland and married there on 22 Oct 1622.

John only lived eleven years in his new American homeland. He died on 27 Feb 1644 in the Plymouth Colony. His will is dated 20 Oct 1643, and was proved on 5 Jun 1644.

E. F. Atwood in Ye Atte Wode Annals (1930) has provided a copy of the suit John filed against Harman in London in 1631. In this suit he is identified as the son of Nicholas and is also identified as a "leather seller:"

Charles iw. 15-33. Wood Alias Atwood Vs. Atwood. Feb 1, 1631.

Humbly comlayning, your orator, John Wood, alias Attwood, of the City of London, leather seller, that whereas Nicholas Wood, alias Attwood, late of Sanderstead cum Longhurst, County Surrey, deceased father to your orator, was siezed of lands, etc., in Sanderstead, and did, about 28 Elizabeth [1586], convey on parcel of lands called Mancocke and another parcel lying by Parkland, in the bottom towards Comes Wood Head, and a parcel lying by Mitheley, Great Burye, called Opeley, and one close lying at Ledowne, and one parcel abutting upon the house of Henrie Best, all which lands, the said Nicholas Wood alias Atwood, did convey for the use of Oliphe, his wife, for her life, and for the use of Ritchard Wood alias Attwood, his youngest sonne, and after the death of the said Nicholas and Ritchard, the said Oliphe, about 1603, also died; after whose death, the lands descended unto your orator, as youngest sonne of the said Nicholas. But now Harman Wood, alias Attwood, being the eldest son of your orator's father, and lord of the said manor of Sanderstead cum Longhurst, hath entered the said premises and pretends to disenherit your orator of the same.

ANSWER of Harman Atwood, Gent., Says bill of complaint it devised by the complainant without just cause and denies that he combined with Thomas Collett, the steward of said manor, concerning any controversy and says the complainant has no right or title to said premises. he doth confess that he hath a copy of a Court Role, dated 37 Henry 8 (1546-7) which proves that Nicholas Wood was the heir, that Thomas Wood, a younger son, had certain manor lands settled on him by this father, John Wood, and that on the death of said Thomas, Nicholas Wood was possessed of said lands, according to the custom of said manor.

Note [by E. F. Atwood]: "The above is merely an abstract made for genealogical purposes, hence does not always conform to exact wording of the original. It seems clear that the leather seller was never meant by Nicholas to inherit these lands, but thence comes our traditions of disinheritance, etc. As (Sanderstead manor was confiscated a few years earlier, yet John and Nicholas were left undisturbed in possession of lands bought by Peter in 1346, a Court Roll was necessary to avoid confusion as to titles of the two lands called Sanderstead Manor, one owned by the Greshams and one by the Wood-Atwoods."

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