Stanislaus
County
Biographies
AMOS A. WOOD
In no profession has there been
greater advancement during the past fifty years than in dentistry. One of the ablest and most prominent
exponents of this profession in Stanislaus County, California, is Dr. Amos A.
Wood, of Modesto.
Dr. Wood is a native of Parke
County, Indiana, and was born September 7, 1839. His ancestry was English and his progenitors
in different lines settled in New England and were all members of orthodox
churches. His parents were Amos and Sarasila Wood, and he was orphaned by the death of his
father when he was only six months old, and when he was seven years old his
mother died, leaving five children, and the oldest of whom, Mary, now Mrs. Baker
and a widow living near Linden, cared for the others. Dr. Wood’s eldest brother, John, came to
California in 1849 and now lives in Nevada.
Another brother, Zachariah, lives near Fresno, California.
Dr. Wood received his education in
public schools in Indiana and Iowa and at the outbreak of the Civil War
responded to President Lincoln’s initial call for troops by enlisting in
Company H, Nineteenth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, of which he was elected the first sergeant. His first experience under fire was the
battle of Prairie Grove. He had not at
that time yet fired a gun in the war.
His regiment unexpectedly met an overwhelming force of Confederates and
was driven back after a few minutes’ fighting, with the loss of one hundred and
eighty killed or wounded, including Colonel McPherson and other officers. From Prairie Grove he regiment went to Van
Buren, Arkansas, and thence of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where it participated in
operations against that Confederate stronghold until it fell. At Vicksburg he suffered sunstroke which
necessitated absence from his regiment for three months, during which time the
regiment participated in several engagements and was captured at Baton Rouge. When he rejoined his regiment it was
stationed at New Orleans, but it soon afterward embarked for Texas on board the
old ship Banks. The vessel carried
fifteen hundred men altogether and on the Gulf of Mexico encountered a severe
storm which came near wrecking it. The
ship sprang a leak and it was difficult to keep it afloat even after the
artillery and other heavy material had been thrown overboard. The storm lasted twenty-four hours and at
times the sea ran so high that every life onboard was imperiled. The regiment remained several months in Texas
and late went to Alabama and fought at Mobile, where it was stationed when
General Lee surrendered and the war ended.
Dr. Wood was mustered out September 18, 1865, after a continuous service
of only eighteen days short of the three years for which he had enlisted. He was so fortunate as not to receive even
the slightest wound and was promoted to the office of second lieutenant by the
governor of Iowa in recognition of faithful service rendered his country.
After the war Dr. Wood became a
stock raiser and ranchman in Kansas, but was obliged to give up the work of
such an occupation on account of the sunstroke he had received in the war, the
effects of which had remained. He
studied dentistry and practiced his profession in Kansas until 1886, when he
came to Modesto, where he has continued the practice of his profession with
such success that he has gained a high reputation and acquired considerable
property. He is one of the owners of
Horseshoe mine in Tuolumne County and owns a stock ranch in Stanislaus County,
which he is conducting successfully. In
partnership with his son and another gentleman, he has a prospector in the
Klondike, where they have several valuable mining claims. He has taken an interest in every public
enterprise at Modesto and is one of the leading and progressive citizens of the
town. He is an active Republican, a
member of the Republican county central committee and of the Republican county
executive committee. He is an Odd Fellow
in high standing and is a past commander of Grant Post, No. 9, Grand Army of
the Republic.
Dr. Wood was married in 1860, to
Miss Catharine Byers, a native of Ohio, a daughter of Samuel Byers and a
descendant of an old and honorable family, and they have three sons and two
daughters; their son, George F. Wood, is the postmaster at Modesto. Minnie married James G. Smith, of San
Francisco, California, and is now a member of her father’s household. C. C. Wood is a dentist at Oakdale,
Stanislaus County. Jessie Kate married
S. L. Hanscom, of Stanislaus County. Edward E. Wood is a popular jeweler at
Modesto. Dr. and Mrs. Wood have a
pleasant home at Modesto and are active and influential members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church in which Dr. Wood has for many years held the office
of steward.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 365-367. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.