Reuben Wood

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Reuben Wood
21st Governor of Ohio
In office
December 12, 1850 – July 13, 1853
Lieutenant William Medill (1852-1853)
Preceded by Seabury Ford
Succeeded by William Medill
Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office
February 6, 1833 – February, 1847
Preceded by Peter Hitchcock
Succeeded by Edward Avery
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the Cuyahoga & other counties district
In office
December 5, 1825 – December 5, 1830
Preceded by Jabez Wright
Samuel Wheeler
Aaron Norton
Succeeded by John W. Willey
Personal details
Born 1792 or 1793
Rutland County, Vermont
Died October 1, 1864
Cleveland, Ohio
Resting place Woodland Cemetery, Cleveland
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mary Rice
Children two
Signature

Reuben Wood (1792 or 1793 – October 1, 1864) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. He served as the 21st Governor of Ohio.

Wood was born near Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont. While living with an uncle in Canada, he was conscripted into the Canadian Army at the outset of the War of 1812, but escaped across Lake Ontario and briefly served in the U.S. Army. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio – then a tiny village of 600 residents – in 1818 with his wife and infant daughter. He reputedly arrived with only $1.25 left to his name to work as a lawyer. He served in the Ohio State Senate from 1825to 1830. In 1830, he was elected president judge of the third judicial circuit.[1][2] He was elected in 1833 to the Ohio Supreme Court, and served two seven-year terms from 1833 to 1847. He was defeated in a bid for a third term by a Whig candidate. He took office in late 1850 as Governor. His first term was cut short by the implementation of a new state constitution, and he was re-elected in late 1851, re-inaugurated in early 1852. He resigned on July 13, 1853 to take a position as the American consul in Valparaíso, Chile. He remained there until 1855, when he retired to Cleveland.

Wood died at his farm, Evergreen Place, eight miles west of Cleveland, on Saturday, October 1, 1864, from bilious colic.[3] He was initially interred on the farm, and was later reburied at Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland.[2]

Wood married Mary Rice of Clarendon, Vermont in 1816 or 1817. They had two daughters.[2]

Wood was known as The tall chief of the Cuyahogas,[4] or Cuyahoga Chief,[1] or Old Cuyahoga Chief,[3] or Old Chief of the Cuyahogas.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Rice, Harvey (May–October 1885). "Western Reserve Jurists". In Williams, William W. Magazine of Western History. 2. Cleveland. pp. 203. http://books.google.com/books?id=mW4FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA203. 
  2. ^ a b c d The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System - Reuben Wood
  3. ^ a b Cleave, Egbert (1875). City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County: taken from Cleave's Biographical Cyclopaedie of the state of Ohio. Cleveland: Fairbanks, Benedict & Co.. pp. 35–36. http://books.google.com/books?id=84pDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA35. 
  4. ^ Upton, Harriet Taylor (1910). Cutler, Harry Gardner. ed. History of the Western Reserve. 1. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 521. http://books.google.com/books?id=xEsbLFoBttYC&pg=PA521. 
Political offices
Preceded by
Seabury Ford
Governor of Ohio
1850–1853
Succeeded by
William Medill
Legal offices
Preceded by
Peter Hitchcock
Ohio Supreme Court Judges
1833-1847
Succeeded by
Edward Avery
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