HENRY C. WOOD. It has been said that merit is the only distinction, and none will deny that those who have been industrious, frugal and honest, are deserving of recognition by their fellow-men. These qualities have characterized Mr. Wood in his dealings with mankind, his labor for personal advancement and his connection with social affairs. He has for many years been numbered among the influential farmers of Moultrie County, having a goodly tract of land on section 10, Lowe Township. He raises on his two hundred acres crops of various grains, equal in quality and quantity to any in the neighborhood, and has also erected good barns and commodious out-buildings for the storage of grain and shelter of stock.

Mr. Wood is the son of Eli and Nancy (Moon) Wood, natives of North Carolina and Virginia respectively. Very early in life they came to Indiana, whence they removed to Illinois in 1847, locating in what is now Douglas County. They there remained until called hence by death. The father was an energetic and upright man, universally esteemed and respected. The parental family included five daughters and two sons, our subject being the sixth in order of birth. Knox County, Ind., was his birthplace and his natal day November 9, 1845. When he was one and a half years old he was brought to Illinois by his parents and grew to a vigorous manhood amid the pioneer scenes of Douglas County.

When our subject was about fifteen years old he was bereaved by the death of his father, after which he made his home with an uncle, Martin Wood, for two years. He then worked out as a farm laborer for three years and gained a practical knowledge of the best way of carrying on a farm. He was less than twenty when he enlisted, April, 1865, in Company F, Eighteenth Illinois Infantry, and served until the close of the war. When peace was declared he returned to Illinois and once more resumed the pursuits of civil life. He first located in Piatt County and for one year worked out by the month, after which he engaged in agriculture on his own account in Moultrie County, of which he has since been a resident. On Octob

er 20, 1866, in Piatt County, Ill., Henry C. Wood and Miss Ann Shultz were united in the holy bonds of wedlock. This lady, who was a native of Kentucky, died in Lowe Township, August 26, 1885. Their four children were named as follows: Ida M., now the wife of George H. Erhardt, Eva, Lucy B. and Robert W. Mr. Wood was again married, choosing as his wife Miss Martha A. Thurman, who was born in Pulaski County, Ky., August 15, 1845. The marriage was solemnized in Somerset, Ky., November 10, 1889, and has proved a congenial union. Mrs. Wood is a lady whose intelligence is universally recognized and whose hospitality and geniality are well known.

A man of unblemished reputation and sound understanding, Mr. Wood occupies a place in the community among the very best citizens. He is a member of the New Light Church, to which his first wife also belonged. His present wife is a member of the Baptist Church. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat and has served as School Director two terms. He has always followed agricultural pursuits and in his chosen avocation has accumulated the means which enable him at the present time to surround himself and family with the comforts justly the reward of those who work industriously and studiously.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 1891 - p. 384/387

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