James Wood (governor)
James Wood (January 28, 1741 – June 16, 1813) was an officer of the U.S. Continental Army during the American Revolution and the 11th Governor of Virginia.
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Personal life [edit]
Born in Winchester, Virginia on January 28, 1741, Wood was from Frederick County, Virginia and represented the county in the House of Burgesses from 1766 to 1776. He married Jane Moncure and they had no children.
Wood was commissioned a Captain of Virginia troops by the Governor, Lord Dunmore, in 1774. He negotiated the Treaty of Fort Pitt with the Shawnee Indians the following year.
War of Independence [edit]
At the onset of the War for Independence, he was appointed Colonel of the 12th Virginia Regiment in 1776 and commanded that unit during the Philadelphia campaign and Monmouth campaigns of the next two years. In late 1777, he quartered at the house also occupied by the family of Sally Wister, who described him as "of the most amiable of men" although missing his wife and daughter.[1] His regiment was redesignated the 8th Virginia Regiment in September 1778 and Wood was appointed Superintendent of the Convention Army when the prisoners were moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, that year. He continued in that capacity until it was dissolved in January 1783, when he was promoted a brigadier of state troops. He continued in state politics after the war.
After the war, Wood became an original member of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati.
1789 Election [edit]
Wood was chosen as an elector for the 1789 election from Hampshire District.[2] That District consisted of Berkeley County, Frederick County, Hampshire County, Hardy County, Harrison County, Monongalia County, Ohio County and Randolph County, which cover the area which is now the eastern part of West Virginia and the northernmost county of Virginia, all within Virginia's 1st congressional district, which also included Shenandoah County.[3] Wood is described as a Federalist.[4] All of the 10 electors from Virginia who voted cast one of their two votes for George Washington. 5 of them cast their other vote for John Adams. 3 cast theirs for George Clinton. 1 cast his for John Hancock. 1 cast his for John Jay.[5]
Wood was elected as Virginia's fourth governor in 1796, serving until 1799. In addition to being an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, he was also a leading member of an early abolition society in Virginia.
James Wood High School and James Wood Middle School in Frederick County, Virginia are named after the famous Revolutionary War Colonel, as is Wood County, West Virginia. [1]
References [edit]
- ^ Sally Wister, ‘‘Sally Wister's Journal: A True Narrative: Being a Quaker Maiden's Account of Her Experiences with Officers of the Continental Army, 1777-1779’’. Applewood Books, Bedford, Massachusetts, 1994. Entry for Oct. 20, 1777.
- ^ The Documentary history of the first Federal elections, 1788-1790, by Gordon DenBoer, Volume 2, page 303
- ^ Parsons, Stanley B., William W. Beach and Dan Hermann. United States Congressional Districts, 1788-1841 (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1978) p. 7
- ^ http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/aas_portal/view-election.xq?id=MS115.002.VA.1789.00028
- ^ The Documentary history of the first Federal elections, 1788-1790, by Gordon DenBoer, Volume 2, pages 304-5
External links [edit]
- Archival Records
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Brooke |
Governor of Virginia 1796–1799 |
Succeeded by James Monroe |
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