Favorite Photo...Week 2

Nathan Wood, circa 1865

Since I am a scrapbooker, I LOVE PHOTOS!  I love studying them. I love the feelings they bring. I love the memories they conjure.  I love the history captured in an instant.  The oldest picture I have in my picture collection is one of Nathan Wood, and the picture fascinates me.  The picture is in his Civil War uniform circa 1865. 

Interestingly enough, I received the picture from a long lost relative half way across the country! I had been searching Google for any information about the Wood family from Surry County, North Carolina in the late 1800’s and saw a post on a message board from 2001. I did some sleuthing and found the cousin through Facebook and started conversing about the Wood family. Through our conversation she sent me this most treasured photo in my collection for the Woods family! 

Let me tell you a little bit of history on Nathan Wood. You may first notice his name does not contain an “s” at the end like our name. Rest assured we are directly related to him, and this will be another blog post altogether!  Also, in today's post I will tell you some basic facts about his life and will later dig into a lot of these facts in future blog posts. 

Nathan Wood is Brian’s great-great-great grandfather. He was born in North Carolina in 1839 to John and Martha (Bray) Wood. I believe John and Martha and their family moved to the Owen County, Indiana area around 1846. Nathan was the oldest son of the couple who had four other children. The other siblings were: Thomas Hardin, Hiram King, Martha E. and Henry F. Wood. 

Nathan married Sarah Amanda May in July of 1860.  In addition, according to his Civil War pension file I secured from the National Archives in Washington D.C., he was enlisted into the Civil War in February 1865 in Owen County, Indiana when he was 25 years of age. Nathan served in the Army of the 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D.  He only served in the war for a few months and was honorably discharged on May 15th, 1865.  He died on July 1st, 1886 when he was 47 years old.  

Nathan Wood, Civil War Pension File, Discharge Certificate, May 1865 

If you look at the Discharge Certificate picture towards the end of the document, you will notice it gives some physical characteristics for Nathan. It states he was five feet six inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, light hair, and by occupation when enrolled a farmer.  

I have stared into those light eyes of the photo a thousand times and wished he could speak to me.  I dearly cherish this photo and hope to share more of his history in future blog posts.  

Sources:

Owen County, Indiana, United States, Owen County Deed Records, Bk. 8, 1843-1846, Page 484, Microfilm No. IND 1-060A4, 16 January 1846; Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Owen County, Indiana, Court of Common Pleas, Vol 2, 1856-1862: Page 203-204, John Wood Estate Petition to Sell Land; Ancestry.com. Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432,), Year: 1850; Census Place: Clay, Owen, Indiana; Roll: M432_164; Page: 71B; Image: 147.

"Civil War Pension Application File,'" Discharge Certificate, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Soldiers Who Served in Both the Mexican War and the Civil War, ca. 1847 - ca. 1888, Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs,National Archives,Washington, D.C., United States.Certificate Included with Original Invalid Claim,15 May 1865,Application No. 439.771,Certificate No. 345.827.

Nathan Wood and Sarah Amanda May, (19 July 1860), Owen County, Indiana, Marriage Record, Book D, 1854-1863: 450; Owen County Courthouse, 60 S Main St, Spencer, Indiana.