Ancestors of Alonzo Wood

If you can't get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well make him dance.

-George Bernard Shaw





Ancestors of Alonzo Wood: a branch of the Wood Family Tree

Alonzo Wood

February 22, 1888 - January 16, 1970

Son of George William Wood and Elizabeth Grella






Alonzo, probably around 1930.





Marriage Certificate of Florence Howell and Alonzo Wood


Some information about Florence's family can be found here.





A few documents concerning Alonzo.


Census records

Alonzo's paternal grandparents

Henry Wood was born about 1835 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the son of Samuel and Eliza (Godfrey) Wood from Connecticut; they made their way to Wayne County around 1836. On July 2, 1857 Henry married Prudence Adaline Cade. Their first son, and our ancestor, George William, was born on April 30, 1858. Another son, Alonzo, was born on May 28, 1861. Henry left for the Civil War the following year. He joined Company I of the 84th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers September 30, 1862. For several months in 1863 he served as a member of the Pioneer Corps. Henry was captured by the Confederacy on August 16, 1864 at the second Battle of Deep Bottom in Deep Bottom, VA. He was taken to Belle Isle Prison near Richmond, VA and then to Salisbury Prison in Salisbury, NC. By November 1864 he was among 10,000 men living in a prison built for 2,500. He died there on in early 1865 but the exact date has yet to be determined. While his headstone in Hillside Cemetery in Damascus reads "Died in Salisbury Prison NC January 9 1865," the pension records give dates of death of January 31 and February 9. However, his body is not at Hillside: it was not brought back and he is presumably buried in a mass grave at the prison. Behind the fountain in Honesdale is a monument for Wayne County soldiers lost to the Civil War. Among the names, on the back of the monument facing the courthouse, you will find "H.B. Wood."

Go here for scanned portions of Henry's military records.








Henry is listed in the column on the far right:

Photos that may be Henry Wood:

Prudence Adaline Cade was born about 1835 in Pennsylvania. She and her twin sister Lucinda Caroline (known as Carrie, and who later married Holland Groom) were the first known children of George Cade and his wife Dorcas (possibly Dorcasina) Smith. From the "Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe" we know that Dorcas's father was named William Smith, who was a founder of Berlin township and of German descent. George Cade was from Dutchess County, New York. George died July 15, 1842 at the age of 31 after he was after being struck by a fallen log. Dorcas remarried by 1850, to Levi Tuttle. They did not have any children and Dorcas passed away July 23 1851 at the age of 36. All three are buried in the Schoonover Cemetery in Honesdale. Dorcas and George also had two sons, Erastus and Charles. Prudence never remarried. Adding to tragic nature of her life is the fact that her youngest son Alonzo passed away on October 31, 1885 at the age of 24. Not much else is known about her yet, except that she received Henry's pension of $8 per month and successfully requested it be increased to $12 per month based on the cost of raising two children. The "Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe" lists her date of passing as November 18th, 1899 but family record says she died on the 16th. I have yet to locate an official record of her death but it is likely accurate: she received her last pension payment of $12 on November 4, 1899 and her death was reported to the U.S. Pension Agency on January 18, 1900.

Some other family photos.


More about the book "Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe" can be found here.


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