Benjamin Wood

For the American architect, see Benjamin T. Wood.

Benjamin Wood, Congressman from New York

Benjamin Wood (October 13, 1820 – 21 February 1900) was a nineteenth-century American politician from the state of New York during the American Civil War.

Life and career

Wood, the son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Lehman) Wood, was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky on October 13, 1820, and was the brother of US congressional representative and New York City Mayor Fernando Wood. The Wood family moved from Kentucky to New York City, and Benjamin Wood was educated in New York City. He entered the mercantile and shipping business, and in 1860, he purchased the New York Daily News (not to be confused with the current New York Daily News, which was founded in 1919), of which he was the editor and publisher until he died in 1900.

In 1861 the federal government effectively shut down the paper (by suspending its delivery via the postal service) as being sympathetic with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Wood was able to re-open the paper 18 months later. During the interval, he wrote a novel: Fort Lafayette or, Love and Secession.

Wood was elected as a Democrat to the 37th and 38th United States Congresses (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865) He was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) in 1866 and 1867 and elected to the 47th United States Congress (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883).

He died in New York City on February 21, 1900 and was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

His wife, Ida Wood, became a recluse and miser and was the subject of a famous court case after her death in 1932, when her true identity of Ellen Walsh came to light.

External links

• Benjamin Wood at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Mr. Lincoln and New York: Benjamin Wood
• Works by Benjamin Wood at Project Gutenberg
• Benjamin Wood at Find a Grave

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Daniel Sickles	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd congressional district 1861–1863	Succeeded by Moses F. Odell
Preceded by James Kerrigan	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 4th congressional district 1863–1865	Succeeded by Morgan Jones
Preceded by Nicholas Muller	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 5th congressional district 1881–1883	Succeeded by Nicholas Muller
New York State Senate
Preceded by Christian B. Woodruff	New York State Senate 4th District 1866–1867	Succeeded by William M. Tweed