Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/633

Rh began practice at Huntington, N. Y. He was after- ward elected to congress as a Democrat, serving from 6 Dec, 1819, till 3 March, 1829. He is the author of " Sketch of the First Settlement of the Several Towns on Long Island, with their Politi- cal Condition to the End of the American Revolu- tion " (Brooklyn, 1824 ; with a biographical memoir and additions by Alden J. Spooner, 1865). WOOD, Thomas John, soldier, b. in Munford- ville. Ky., 25 Sept., 1823. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1845, assigned to the topographical engineers, and then transferred, at his own request, to the 2d dragoons, becoming a 2d lieutenant there on 2 Dec, 1846. fie took part in the war with Mex- ico, being present at the battles of Palo Alto, Mon- terey, and Buena Vista, served sub- sequently in Lou- isiana and Texas, as aide-de-camp to Gen. W'illiam S. Harney in 1848-'9, and as adjutant of the 2d dragoons till 1854. He was promoted in succession to 1st lieutenant in 1851, and to captain in the 1st cavalry in 1855, serving in Kansas during the border troubles and on the Utah expedition under Albert Sidney Johnston till 1859. He became major, 16 March, and lieutenant-colonel, 9 May, 1861, and in October of the same year was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers and placed in command of a division in the Tennessee and Mississippi campaigns, taking part in the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Cor- inth. During the remainder of the year he was engaged in guarding railroads in Alabama and Tennessee, in Oen. Don Carlos Buell's operations in Kentucky, the pursuit of Gen. Braxton Bragg's forces, and in the battle of Stone River, 31 Dec, 1862. where he was wounded. He commanded a divis- ion in the 21st corps, Army of the Cumberland, during the operations in Tennessee, being pres- ent at the battles of Chickamauga and Mission Ridge, till November. 1863. and was engaged in operations for the relief of Knoxville and the in- vasion of Georgia, including the principal battles, to the action of Lovejoy's Station in September, 1864, where he was severely wounded. Gen. Wood took an active part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, where he commanded the 4th corps, and in the pursuit of the enemy to Tennessee river in December, 1864. He was promoted major- general of volunteers in January, 1865, and com- manded various districts and departments in Ten- nessee, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi until he was mustered out of the volunteer service, 1 Sept., 1866. Gen. Wood received the brevet of 1st lieu- tenant, U. S. army, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Buena Vista, that of brigadier -general for Chickamauga, and major- general for Nashville. He was promoted colonel of the 2d cavalry, 12 Nov., 1861, and retired from service, with the rank of major-general, 9 June, 1868, and that of brigadier-general, 3 March, 1871. WOOD, Thomas Waterman, artist, b. in Mont- pelier, Vt., 12 Nov., 1823. He studied portrait- painting with Chester Harding in Boston during 1846-'T, and executed likenesses in Quebec, Wash- ington, and Baltimore until 1858. In that year he went abroad for further study, remaining about two years. After his return he was engaged in portrait-painting in Nashville, Tenn., and Louis- ville, Ky., until 1866. He then removed to New York, where he has since resided. He soon devoted himself almost entirely to genre painting, in which he has chosen familiar subjects in American life. Mr. Wood became vice-president of the National academy in 1878, and from 1878 till 1887 was presi- dent of the Water-color society. He was one of the founders, in 1878, of the New York etching club, and is a regular contributor to its exhibitions, most of his etchings being after his own paintings. His three paintings, " The Contraband," " Recruit," and " Veteran," exhibited at the Academy of design in 1867, gained him his election as associate the following year, and in 1871 he became an acade- mician. These three pictures now belong to the Metropolitan museum, New York. Among his other works in oil are " Return of the Flag " (1870) ; " The Yankee Peddler " (1873) : " The Village Post- Office " (1874) ; " His own Doctor " and " His own Pipe " (1879) ; and " Uncle Ned and I " (1882). At the Water-color society he has exhibited " Nom- inated " and " Elected " (1875) ; " Arguing the Question" (1877); "Dull Times" (1879); "The Doubtful Coin " and " The Cup that Cheers " (1881) ; " Seeking Advice " (1882) ; " His First Business Venture " (1884) ; " For Thanksgiving-Day " (1885) ; " The Lost Stitch " (1886) ; and " W T hen we were Boys Together " (1888).

WOOD, Walter Abbott, inventor, b. in Mason, N. H., 23 Oct., 1815. He is the son of Aaron Wood, who early settled in New York state and was among the first to manufacture the cast-iron ploughs invented by Jethro Wood. The boy had a natural fondness for mechanics, and continued in his father's shops till he was twenty years old. In 1835 he settled in Hoosick Falls, N. Y., where he entered the works of Parsons and Wilder, and. after acquiring a small capital, began business on his own account. He studied the mechanism of farming-implements and soon introduced the Manny harvesting-machine with Wood's improvements, of which in 1852 he made and sold nearly 200. Mr. Wood continued to improve and invent better forms of mowers and reapers, and in 1853 his sales amounted to 500 machines. These were so well received that he determined to increase his works and manufacture on as large a scale as possible. In 1869 he disposed of 6,000 machines, and in 1884 of 48,300. In all, nearly 600,000 machines have been manufactured and sold by him since he established his business. About thirty patents have been taken out by Mr. Wood, and his works are probably the most extensive of their kind in the world. He conducted his business alone until 1866, when it was organized into a stock company called the Walter A. Wood mowing and reaping company, of which Mr. Wood has since been president. Mr. Wood early recognized the importance of furnishing the markets abroad with his machines, and his foreign sales have steadily increased until it is estimated that ninety per cent, of the machines that are sold abroad are made by him. The value of his inventions has been recognized by the award of first prizes at the World's fairs in Paris in 1867, in Vienna in 1873, in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Paris in 1878, as well as by medals at local fairs. He has received the order of Francis Joseph from the Austrian government, and is an officer of the Legion of honor in France. In 1878 he was sent as a Republican to congress, and he served from 18 March, 1879, till 4 March, 1883.