Yolo-Butte County CA Archives Biographies.....Wood, Henry B. 1828 - 
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Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891)

HENRY B. WOOD, one of the representative citizens of Yolo County, is a native of
Rhode Island, born in Newport County, August 8, 1828. His parents, Borden and
Harriet (Gray) Wood, were also natives of that State. Late in life they moved to
New Bedford, Massachusetts, where they passed the remainder of their days. Of
their two children, the daughter is living in New Bedford, and their son, Henry
B., is the subject of this notice. In his youth he spent four years in New York
State, and at the age of seventeen or eighteen years he accompanied his parents
to Massachusetts.

  During the height of the gold-mining excitement he left New Bedford, February
22, 1849, as a member of an organized party of thirty persons, and sailed on the
old whale-ship William Henry around Cape Horn, and their first stop was at San
Francisco, September 10, when the band was disorganized: Mr. Wood came up toward
Sacramento as far as Benicia, the highest point reached by that ship, and thence
on a launch to Fremont, a small village that had just sprang into existence. Mr.
Wood and a part of the ship's company bought a lot and put up a residence. He
and a few others went to the mines at Bidwell's Bar, and, leaving his friends
there engaged in mining, he returned to Fremont. The next spring he went up on
the Feather River, and followed mining a year, on that river and places on the
American River, Dutch Flat, etc., meeting with fair success, in placer mining.
In 1852 he returned to the Eastern States by way of Panama and New York city. In
January following he came again to the coast, by way of the Nicaragua route,
arriving here in February. He was then in the mines on the north fork of the
American River until 1859, when he bought a ranch near the Sacramento River in
Yolo County, and began farming. The place he still owns, but he discontinued
agricultural pursuits in 1870. The ranch comprises about 500 acres, and is
situated between Fremont and Knight's Landing. In 1870 he moved into Woodland
and engaged in the hardware trade established by Gray & Freeman, purchasing the
interest of Mr. Freeman. After a partnership with Mr. Gray for three years, he
bought him out and has since conducted the business alone. In this he has had
growing success, commensurate with the rapid growth of the beautiful city of
Woodland, in whose interests and enterprises he has taken great delight. In
politics he has been a Republican ever since the party was organized. From 1863
to 1866 he was under Sheriff for the county, being appointed by C. H. Gray, and
this is the only position of public trust he has ever held. He is conservative
and retired in his manner, preferring to devote his whole attention to the
management of his own business. He was united in matrimony, 1861, to Julia L.
Hannon, native of Massachusetts, and they have four sons: John B., Henry J.,
James A. and Augustine.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California.

Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast
from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with
Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of
Prominent Citizens of To-day.

"A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendents." – Macauley.

CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1891.

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