Biographical Sketch of R. H. Wood, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** R. H. Wood, ex-judge of Johnson county and a member of a pioneer family, is a citizen of real worth. He was born March 22, 1841, in what is now Simpson township, Johnson county. He is the son of James M. and Angel- ine (Thornton) Wood, natives of Virginia. James M. Wood was born Janu- ary 8, 1812. He came from Virginia to Missouri in 1831 and located temporarily in Saline county. In 1833 he moved to Johnson county and settled on a farm of 80 acres eight miles north of Warrensburg, which land he entered from the government. This farm is now owned by his son, R. H. Wood, the subject of this review. Angeline (Thornton) Wood was born in 1817 in Orange county, Virginia, and when she was six years of age came with her parents, John and Elizabeth Thornton, to Missouri. In 1833, they settled in Johnson county. Mrs. Wood was a writer of liter- ary ability and in an article written relative to life in Missouri in the early days states that her father and mother lived in a tent on their land, which they entered from the government, until the double log cabin was built. James M. and Angeline (Thornton) Wood were the parents of eight children: Mary Susan, died at the age of twelve years; John William, died in infancy; Thomas, died at Virginia City, Montana; George Lewis, died in infancy; R. H., the subject of this sketch; Ben- jamin, died in the Confederate service at Springfield, Missouri; James Leonidas, died in infancy; and W. W., a graduate of the Lexington Law School, Lexington, Kentucky, attorney, Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The death of James M. Wood occurred in 1851 and interment was made in a private cemetery belonging to John Thornton, the father of Mrs. Wood. She sur- vived her husband forty-seven years, and died January 8, 1908 at the age of ninety-one years. Her remains were interred in the Warrensburg cemetery. R. H. Wood attended the public schools of Johnson county. At the age of twenty years he enlisted in the Confederate army with a com- pany formed at Lonejack which went south under the leadership of Col. Cockrell, and which was reorganized at McKittrick Springs, Arkansas, August 16, 1862, and served throughout the remainder of the war in Capt. Crispin's Company, Colonel Gordon's regiment and General Shelby's brig- ade. His regiment took an active part in the battles of Prairie Grove, Shelby's Ridge, Mark's Mill and Saline River, Arkansas. They were after General Steel on his raid and participated in many skirmishes. Mr. Wood was in Louisiana when the war ended. After the war closed, R. H. Wood returned to Saline county, Missouri, and at the expiration of two years returned to Johnson county and engaged in farming in Simp- son township, where he resided until ten years ago, when he moved to Warrensburg. He was elected county judge of Johnson county, from the eastern district, and served two terms at the time Judge Stevens was the presiding judge, with I. G. Farnsworth as associate. During his term in office, the first concrete culverts were built in Johnson coun- ty. One culvert north and one south of Warrensburg were built to test their durability and to ascertain the cost. The experiment proved so satisfactory that no other kind are now built and the county road plan was adopted whereby three hundred miles of good roads were built and more than a thousand concrete culverts on the different highways. On December 3, 1867, R. H. Wood was united in marriage with Sarah D. Pem- berton, of Saline county, Mo. To this union were born seven children: James Madison, died in infancy; Edward R., resides in Colorado; Mrs. Sarah A. Foster, Warrensburg; R. H., Jr., farmer in Simpson township; Thomas P., Parkin, Arkansas; James Madison, farmer, Simpson township; and Leslie M., Birmingham, Alabama. May 24, 1887 Mrs. Wood's death occurred and burial was made at Fair Oak cemetery. Later, R. H. Wood married to Mrs. Agnes J. Foster, of Simpson township. She is a native of Indiana and was reared and educated in Iowa.Mrs. Wood attended the public schools of Ft. Madison, Iowa, and the Congregational Church school at Denmark, Iowa. By her former marriage she has four children now living: Mrs. James R. Brown, Chickasha, Oklahoma; Mrs. Minnie Fry- rear, Simpson township; D. E. Foster, Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Nannie Taggart. Two children are deceased: James M., and George S. Mr. and Mrs. Wood reside in Warrensburg in their home, on Grover street which they purchased in 1911 from Judge Bradley. Besides the city res- idence, Mr. Wood is owner of the home place of 80 acres of land in Simpson township and an adjoining farm, comprising 420 acres in all. Mrs. Nannie Taggart is a resident of Simpson township. For seventy-six years, R. H. Wood has been a resident of Johnson county. He has seen all the changes incident to the growth and development of the county and has always done his part in advancing the interests of his county and state. No man in Johnson county is more deeply interested than he in movements which have for their object public improvement and moral uplift and to them he has ever given his most earnest support and en- couragement. Mr. Wood is a fine conversationalist, possessing a fund of interesting stories of pioneer and war days. He recalls the time when but two residences were between his old home and Warrensburg, a distance of eight miles, and there were only two stores in the old town one of which was conducted by Mr. Tilford. In the early days, every country store kept a barrel of whiskey in stock as one of the staple articles and retailed it from the barrel by the drink, pint, quart or gallon. The sales were almost invariably made in quantities, for if a man just wished a drink he helped himself or was invited by the merch- ant to take one. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. 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