James (Bushy) Wood--Mary Potter - Douglas County, MO ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** File ontributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Jay Gentry USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. Unauthorized use for commercial ventures expressly prohibited. All information submitted to this project remains - to the extent the law allows - the property of the submitter who, by submitting it, agrees that it may be freely copied but NEVER sold or used in a commercial venture without the knowledge & permission of its rightful owner. The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** "Bushy" Wood was born February 5, 1812 in Tennessee. He is considered one of the most legendary individuals of Eastern . It is said, by some, he was an Indian scout for the Trail of Tears March in the early 1830s. Others say he was a part of the "March" but escaped from the authorities and with his family hid out in the hills of Eastern Douglas County until the transfer of the Cherokees to Oklahoma was completed. Nevertheless, according to all available public records, James and Mary (Potter) Wood settled in the Topaz area in the early 1840s. Little is known of the ancestry of James, but it is thought by family researchers that he is the son of Hiram and Nancy Wood, also early pioneers of the area. Hiram Wood is buried on land originally owned by James Wood, now owned by the U. S. Forest Service. James got his nickname for his full beard described as being heavy and "Bushy". Mary (Potter) Wood was born March 7, 1819, the daughter of Joel and Polly Potter who settled in the Western Howell County area, circa 1839, establishing a trading post later named Pottersville. She and Bushy Wood were married about 1837 in Jackson County Alabama. At the time of the Trail of Tears March, James and Mary had one child, Nancy. The Wood family became quite prosperous and influential in the area. James Wood was the first County Surveyor of Douglas County and also was Probate Judge for some time. He also served as the first Postmaster of Phlegeton, in Wood township, from November 1 1887 until June 20, 1890. For the era, James Wood was quite well educated. It is said he had studied Law in Alabama, and also had experience in geographical engineering. In later life he drafted his own Will which was executed uncontested. The War Between the States erupted and James joined the military to help defend the Union. He served in Co E, Phelps Co Infantry, stationed at Rolla, MO. After the War, James and Mary continued to prosper, later selling their homestead on North Fork River and moving to the Clifty Creek area to be near their children. Here they lived out their lives and bequeathed all their real and personal property to their children, equally divided. Mary died September 3, 1889 and James succumbed September 30, 1891. They are both buried in the Wood/Penner Cemetery. James and Mary's family consisted of Nancy, who married James Garrett; Dennis who was a prosperous farmer of the area who donated the land for the Wood/Penner Cemetery in Eastern Douglas County; Caroline, who married Peter Nicholas Coble; Elizabeth who married Felix Groves; Martha who married William Wrinkles; Mary Jane who married John Marion Coble; James apparently died young; Robert married Lucinda Groves; Daniel married Mary Groves and Xeraviah (Sis) married Alfred Luther Coble. Three of the Wood sisters married three Coble brothers! Submitted by: James E (Jay) Gentry, Jr