Benjamin Wood
Benjamin Wood (October 13, 1820 – 21 February 1900) was a nineteenth-century American politician from the state of New York during the American Civil War.
Life and career [edit]
Wood was the brother of US congressional representative and New York City Mayor Fernando Wood. In 1860, he purchased the New York Daily News (not to be confused with the current New York Daily News, which was founded in 1919), of which he was the editor and publisher until he died in 1900.[1]
In 1861 the federal government effectively shut down the paper (by suspending its delivery via the postal service) as being sympathetic with the enemy. Wood was able to re-open the paper 18 months later. During the interval, he wrote one novel: Fort Lafayette or, Love and Secession.
Wood was elected as a Democrat to the 37th and 38th United States Congresses (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865.) He was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) in 1866 and 1867 and elected to the 47th United States Congress (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883)
His wife, Ida Wood, became a famous recluse and miser whose true identity of Ellen Walsh became the subject of a famous court case after her death in 1932,[2] the story of which is told in Joseph Cox's book The Recluse of Herald Square.
References [edit]
External links [edit]
- Mr. Lincoln and New York: Benjamin Wood
- Works by Benjamin Wood at Project Gutenberg
- Benjamin Wood at Find a Grave
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Daniel Sickles |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd congressional district 1861–1863 |
Succeeded by Moses F. Odell |
| Preceded by James Kerrigan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 4th congressional district 1863–1865 |
Succeeded by Morgan Jones |
| Preceded by Nicholas Muller |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 5th congressional district 1881–1883 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Muller |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by Christian B. Woodruff |
New York State Senate 4th District 1866–1867 |
Succeeded by William M. Tweed |
|
- 1820 births
- 1900 deaths
- People from Shelby County, Kentucky
- People from New York City
- 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
- Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Queens, New York)
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York
- People of New York in the American Civil War
- New York Democrats
- New York State Senators
