Page:Memoir of George B. Wood, M. D., LL.D.djvu/7



With a long life, not much varied in events, nor brilliant in deeds that meet the public eye, Dr. George B. Wood may be named as one who, in the main features, and, indeed, in almost every particular of his career, has left an example worthy of admiration and emulation. It will be acknowledged by the least enthusiastic of his friends and associates, that he was one of the most useful men of his generation.

He was born at Greenwich, in New Jersey, in the year 1797. His own memoranda of his ancestry are not devoid of historical interest in connection with the early settlement of this city, as well as that of our neighboring State. It appears that Richard Wood, a member of the Society of Friends, came to this country with William Penn in 1682, bringing with him his son James, and settled in the northern part of the then new city of Philadelphia; where Wood street probably received its name from him. There is reason to believe that while James Wood remained in the city, another younger son or sons of Richard Wood went to New Jersey, locating themselves in Salem and