Patrick County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Biographies.....Wood, Daniel Hillsman November 3, 1860 - January 22, 1954 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ron Martin cindyandron@bellsouth.net December 13, 2025, 2:25 pm Author: Ron Martin Daniel Hillsman Wood was born on November 3, 1860, the fourth child of Richard Johnson Wood and Judith Ann Short who resided in Patrick County. His father Richard was a Justice of the Peace and was known as a man of the strictest integrity and noted for faithfulness to every duty. His mother Judith was thrifty and quite industrious. Both of his parents were obviously a huge influence on all of their children judging by their commitment to excellence. Much like every young man that was born during this era, he worked on the farm to help support the family until such time as he married. On April 14, 1881, 20-year-old Daniel and 16-year-old Malinda Ruth Corn, the daughter of the Elder Peter Corn, a Primitive Baptist Elder and Nancy Clementine Jane “Tinie” Turner Corn exchanged marital vows in Franklin County, Virginia in a ceremony performed by Asa D. Shortt. The couple made their home in Floyd County. In March 1882, the Wood family welcomed their first daughter Susan Audella “Della” Wood. In November 1884, the family welcomed their first son George Cleveland Wood. By the time, their second daughter Katharine Wood was born in October 1887, the couple had moved to Patrick County, Virginia. The couple’s last daughter Isabella Mae was born on May 31, 1889. Unfortunately, Malinda contracted tuberculosis and she passed away on November 26, 1892 due to scrofula which is a form of this insidious disease. In 1894, he married 40-year-old Judith Frances ”Fannie” Stovall who was Daniel’s first wife’s second cousin. It was whispered through the community as well as written in a book titled “Poems by Bradley” which is a book dedicated to his poetry that his first wife Malinda had picked her unmarried cousin as his second wife. Sometime during this period, he became quite active in the Patrick County Democratic Party as he was named a delegate to the Democratic convention several times beginning in May 1901. He was also named Justice of the Peace during the early part of the 20th century as his name appears as justice as early as 1906 on deeds. Back in those days, the Justice of the Peace also served as a local judge and had the normal responsibilities associated with the position which included sentencing people to jail terms. In 1907, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served during the 1908 session before returning home to his family in Patrick County as he did not seek re-election. After he returned to life in Patrick County, he held several positions in the county. In 1925, he was elected as the Commissioner of Revenue from the Smith River District. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Patrick County Democratic Party. He was an election judge for over fifty years. During this time, he built a beautiful two-story home several miles from Fairystone State Park. During the 1920’s he became a contributor for the Dodson, Route 2 news for The Enterprise, a weekly newspaper that has been “The Voice of the People Since 1876” in Patrick County and has been delivered via mail since that point. In some of his columns, he began using the pen name of Bradley. He had also written some poetry under the pen name of Bradley. It is also believed that me might have written some “community news” columns for The Martinsville Bulletin. Many of the stories during the 1920’s through the 1940’s included the details of visits at his home from family and friends which usually appeared in the opening or second paragraph of the story. On January 30, 1936, his second wife Fannie passed away after a bout with pneumonia. She had suffered with rheumatism for years but had been relatively healthy prior to her death. Her husband was also sick with pneumonia hence there was no service at the home but only at the gravesite. She was buried at the family cemetery which is just over the knoll from the home place along with her husband and his first wife. That same year he became a member at Stuart Primitive Baptist Church as he was previously a member and deacon at Goblintown Primitive Baptist Church. After her death, he continued to be quite active in the Patrick County Democratic party and was very active in the Patrick County School Board electoral board. He was eventually named as the chairman of this board. Just seven months prior to his death on June 21, 1953, he was selected by the Patrick-Henry Allied Families Association for special honors. This gathering historically took place at the picnic shelter at Fairy Stone State Park. On January 22, 1954, Daniel Hillsman Wood passed away at the age of 93. He was active up until his death as he served as the election judge in the previous election in November. His funeral was held at Stuart Primitive Baptist Church with music provided by the Stuart Baptist Church quartet. The service was presided over by Elder Joel E. Marshall and D.P. Helms. He was buried in the family cemetery along with his two wives which was located just behind his beautiful home at the time. As of 2025, the cemetery which sits behind an old, abandoned restaurant/apartment building off to the right of the previous location of his home has basically been abandoned and neglected as nature has taken over. Additional Comments: This is an update to a biography that I previously wrote but more information has been located which necessitates the update. Can you please remove the current biography and replace it with this one? File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/patrick/bios/wood240gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/vafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb