Muhlenberg County Kentucky


Biographies W

John H. Wood

John H. Wood, a native of Muhlenberg County, was born May 4, 1846. His father, Zilman Wood, was also a native Kentuckian, a farmer and a boatman. He died in 1858, aged sixty years; his widow, Mary (Kirtley) Wood, of Muhlenberg County, still survives him, aged fifty-nine years; she was born in 1826; her children were seven in number, four are living: James W., Elias, Sarah E. and John H.

After the death of his father, John H. remained with his mother, and worked on the farm for her support, until after the close of the war in 1865. On the 25th of October, of that year, he married Mattie B., a daughter of William H. and Melissa C. Summons, of Muhlenberg County; she was born March 22, 1846. One daughter, Ida, a young lady of seventeen, is their only child.

Mr. Wood, in early life received a good education. After marriage he bought 240 acres of land in the county of Muhlenberg, and continued farming, in connection with the log and lumber trade, in which he has been very successful. He is an energetic man of business; his farm and buildings are among the best in this section; his dwelling, an excellently built frame, is the work of his owns hands, he having acquired the carpenter and joiner's trade, which he followed during the Rebellion.

Mr. Wood is a Republican; he has no political aspirations, however, and has but little time outside of his business to devote to political affairs. He is a member of the Baptist faith, while his wife and daughter are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Wood is an advocate of the temperance cause, though his views on the subject are not severe.

Source: Battle, J.H., W.H. Perrin, and G.C. Kniffen. Kentucky: A History of the State. Louisville, KY: F.A. Battey, 1885. Page 926.

Updated July 9, 2018