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Wood, Anson Sprague, was born in Camillus, Onondaga county, October 2, 1834. His father, Alvin, was of English
ancestry, and his mother, Fanny Woodworth, of New England descent Early in the forties Alvin Wood removed with
his family to Butler, Wayne county, where he continued to reside until his death in 1874. Anson S. was the youngest
of a large family of children, three others of whom are still living and residents of Wayne county: Mary, wife
of William Fowler; Frances, wife of Christopher C. Caywood, of Butler; and Benham S. Wood, of Wolcott. Anson S.
Wood was educated in the district schools, and also attended the Red Creek Union Seminary. In 1853 he began the
study of law in Syracuse, which he continued later in Clyde in the office of C. D. Lawton. and afterwards of Judge
L. S. Ketchum. In the winter of 1854 he engaged in teaching. In the fall of 1855 he attended the Albany Law School,
and was admitted to the bar in December of that year. During the early part of 1856 he resided at South Butler,
and was elected town superintendent of common schools. In July, 1856; he removed to Lyon; where he formed a copartnership
with Hon. William Clark. He continued to practice law in company with Mr. Clark and Hen. Dewitt Parshall until
September, 1862, in the meantime (1858-1859) serving two years as town clerk of the town of Lyons In the fall of
1862 he responded to the call for volunteers to defend the Union, and was commissioned as first lieutenant in the
138th N. Y. Volunteer Infantry, afterwards known as the 9th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. After the regiment reached Washington
Lieutenant Wood was assigned to duty as adjutant. In June, 1863, he was promoted to a captaincy and detailed to
.duty at the draft rendezvous at Elmira, N. Y., and was for some time assistant adjutant general at that post.
In May, 1864, at his own request, he was returned to his regiment and to the command of his company. He was engaged
in the battles of Cold Harbor, Petersburg. Monocacy, Winchester, and Fisher's Hill. In October, 1864, he was placed
on the staff of General J. B. Ricketts, who commanded the third division of the famous Sixth Corps. General Ricketts
was severely wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, and was succeeded in command by Gen. Truman Seymour, with whom
Captain Wood continued as judge advocate of the division. In February, 1865, he was promoted to major of his regiment,
and as such participated in the taking of Petersburg and the capture of Lee's army. For meritorious service before
Petersburg he was brevetted lieutenant colonel. The regiment was mustered out in May, 1865, when Colonel Wcod returned
to Wayne county, purchasing a farm in Butler. In 1866 he was elected supervisor of that town. In 1867 he became
assistant assessor of the United States Internal Revenue, a position which he resigned in the fall of 1869 to accept
the Republican nomination for member of assembly from the first district of Wayne county. In the meantime he had
removed to Wolcott and resumed the practice of law. Colonel Wood was elected to the Assembly that fall, and reelected
the following year. January 1, 1872, he was appointed deputy secretary of state under G. Hilton Scribner, holding
the office two years, when he again returned to his home at Wolcott and his law practice. In 1879 Gen. Joseph B.
Carr was elected secretary of state, and he called Colonel Wood back to Albany to his former desk as deputy secretary,
where he continued six years. In 1883 he was one of the secretaries of the Repuolican State Committee. In 1885
Colonel Word was the unanimous nominee of the Republican State Convention for secretary of State, but was defeated
with the rest of the Republican ticket. He remained in Albany for over a year engaged in the practice of law, when
he again returned to Wayne county, taking up his residence at Wood's Island, Port Bay, in the town of Huron, and
resuming his law practice at Wolcott, which he has continued since. At present he is associated with Hon. George
S. Horton. Colonel Wood, in addition to the other public positions, has filled the office of president of the village
of Wolcott, trustee of the Wolcott Union Free School, justice of the peace, and supervisor of the town of Huror.
He was the moving spirit in the orginization of William Dutton Post No 55, G. A. R., at Wolcott (subsequently changed
to Keesler Post No. 55), of which he has been commander several terms. He has also served as assistant quartermaster
general of the G. A. R., department of New York, and has been a member for many years of Wolcott Lodge No. 560,
F. & A. M. Colonel Wood has been repeatedly a delegate to Republican State Conventions, and his services as
a speaker have long been in great demand in political campaigns. He has spoken in every county in this State, and
has been called upon by the National and State Committees to make speaking tours of Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont,
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In 1858 Colonel Wood married Martha Louise Vickey, of Youngstowb,
Niagara county. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have two children living, William Clark Wood, M. D., and Robert Alvin. Dr. Wood
is a graduate of the Albany Medical College (1880), and is a successful practitioner at Gloversville, N. Y. Robert
A. is a graduate of Union College (1881), a lawyer and newspaper contributor, and resides at Albany.
From:
Landmarks of Wayne County, New York
Edited by: Hon. George W. Cowles
Assisted by: H. P. Smith and others
D. Mason & Co., Publishers
Syracuse, N. Y. 1895
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