Wood, Jesse D.
Birth
JESSE D. WOOD was born in Bern at 26 Stranahan Lane on August 11, 1846.[1][2] He was the son of General John M. Wood (B. Oct 24, 1811, D. Nov 1896) and Orpha Denison (B. Aug 31, 1807, D. April 18, 1874).[2][3] He was the youngest of five children.[2] He was named after his paternal great uncle Jesse Wood (B. Oct 22, 1769, D. July 23, 1853).[4] His siblings were:[5]
- Mary Wood (1831 – )
- Thomas J Wood (1835 – 1920)
- Eugene Wood (1839 – )
- Elizabeth Wood (1841 – 1925)
Military Service
| Residence: | Berne[3] |
| Place of Birth: | Berne, NY[3] |
| Date of Birth: | 11 Aug 1846[3] |
| Names of Parents: | Gen. John M. Wood and Orpha Denison[3] |
| Marital Status: | Single[3] |
| Occupation: | Farmer[3] |
| Term of Enlistment: | 9 months[3] |
| Bounty Received: | $100.00[3] |
| Enlistment Date: | 1 Oct 1862[1][6] or 26 Oct 1862[3] or 13 October[7] |
| Enlistment Place: | Albany, NY[8] or Knox[3] |
| Enlistment Rank: | Private |
| State Served: | New York |
| Regiment: | 10th Regiment[1][9] or 177th[3][6][9] |
| Company: | Company C[1] |
| Death Date: | 13 August 1863[1][3][6][6] or 14 Aug 1863[8] |
| Death Place: | Port Hudson, LA of disease[1][6][6] |
| Place of Burial: | Berne, NY[3][1] |
| Additional Remarks: Enlisted at age 18.[8] "Died of sickness while in service at Port Hudson on Aug 13, 1863. Remains brought home by Capt. Morgan L. Filkins Buried at Bern"[3] |
| Sources Used: Ancestry.com, American Civil War Soldiers; 1865 census, Berne, Albany Co., NY; Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War; Civil War Pension Index, www.ancestry.com |
Life
Jesse D. Wood was born and raised in Berne, Albany County, NY. He lived among his extended family. In 1850, he and his parents were living with his great uncle and aunt, Jesse Wood 1769 (B. Oct 22, 1769, D. July 23, 1853) and Rene Warner Wood (B. Oct 17, 1770, D. May 8, 1852), as well another great aunt Phoebe Wood Wakely (B. Nov 16, 1795, D. Dec 22, 1874).[4][2] Jesse's father was a successful farmer and in 1855 the house where Jesse was raised was valued at $1000, which was a nice house for the day.[10] Jesse's aunt Phoebe continued to live with them in 1855 and 1860.[10][11] In 1855, Jesse's maternal grandmother Elizabeth Denison was also living with his family.[10]
Death
He died of disease while in service at Port Hudson, August 13, 1863.[6] His remains were brought home and buried in Berne[1] in the Wood Family Burying Ground.
Postscript
After Jesse's death, in March of 1865, his older brother Thomas J. Wood (B. Nov 30, 1835, D. Oct 7, 1920) and sister in law Libenia Whipple (B. Jan 1839, D. July 6, 1930) named their new baby Jesse D. Wood.[6]
On May 2, 1891, Jesse's father John M. Wood applied for Jesse's Civil War Pension.[9]
Obituary
Additional Research Notes
New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900 about Jesse D Wood[5]
Name: Jesse D Wood
Age: 18
Birth Year: abt 1844
Birth Place: Berne, New York
Enlistment Year: 1862
Enlistment Location: Albany, New York
Muster Year: 1862
Separation Details: Died
Separation Date: 14 Aug 1863
U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles about Jesse D Wood[5]
Name: Jesse D Wood
Age at enlistment: 18
Enlistment Date: 18 Oct 1862
Rank at enlistment: Private
Enlistment Place: Albany, NY
State Served: New York
Survived the War?: No
Service Record: Enlisted in Company G, New York 177th Infantry Regiment on 18 Oct 1862.
Mustered out on 14 Aug 1863 at Port Hudson, LA.
Birth Date: abt 1844
Sources: New York: Report of the Adjutant-General
Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War
New York, Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865 about Jesse D Wood[5]
Name: Jesse D Wood
Birth Date: 11 Aug 1846
Birth Place: Bern, New York
Father: John M Wood
Mother: Orpha Denison
Residence Place: Knox
Enlistment Date: 1 Oct 1862
Enlistment Location: Berne, Albany, New York
Regiment: 10th Infantry
Company: C
Rank: Private
Marital Status: Single
Died of sickness while in service at Port Hudson on Aug 13, 1863. Remains brought home by Capt. Morgan L. Filkins. Buried at Berne
Heroes of Albany
JESSE D. WOOD was born in Bern, August 11, 1846, and enlisted in Company C, Tenth Regiment, October 1, 1862. He died of disease while in service at Port Hudson, August 13, 1863. His remains were brought home and buried in Bern.
Census Records
| 1850 United States Federal Census about Jesse D Wood[5] Name: Jesse D Wood |
1860 United States Federal Census about Jesse D Wood[5] Name: Jesse D Wood |
Additional Media
Altamont Enterprise
Letter to the Editor, 30 Jun 1983
VETERAN'S GRAVE VIOLATED
To the Editor:
My name is Jesse Wood; I am 17. I died in the Civil War on Aug. 14, 1863, three days after my birthday. I did not want to go to war. I was not drafted. At 16 I volunteered because it seemed necessary for me to help keep our country, not yet 100 years old, whole and free, for you.
I saw death, disease, and starvation before I died at Port Hudson, La. A family friend, Morgan Filkins, an officer, brought my body home to Berne. My mother, sister, and brothers gently buried me in the tiny family plot on our farm. They tended my grave, planted roses, and every year since then the veterans come and bring me a bright new flag. For 120 years I have rested here quietly in the place I love best on earth. A week ago you came and violated my grave.
Why did you push over my small monument and the others of my family? I do not understand. Destruction is not fun. War, the ultimate destruction, is horrible. I know. Didn't you see my flag, even if it was too dark to read my name?
You do not know me at all. I know you but I bear you no hate. Rather, I pity you. Already you have begun to lose the joy of laughter, the beauty of mountain and flowers, the dignity of life and death. Please cherish our resting places. You will grow old and all too soon you will join me in eternity. Then you will understand how I feel now. I am 17.
(I wrote the above after seeing the vandalism at the Wood Cemetery just outside Berne. Somehow I felt I must speak for the boy who gave his life for all of us — Euretha Stapleton, historian, Town of Berne.)
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Heroes of Albany Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "Heroes" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Bernehistory.org
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 1850 US Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 www.Ancestry.com
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 1865 NY State Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY
- ↑ Warner, George H. - Diaries - Monday 13, Went over to the Vilage. George A Simons came down for the purpose of Enlisting. We hitched up his horse to [Rev.] A P Luddens wagon and started for Knox ( Jesse included) in a heavy shower. Got thare 12 oclock. Filled out our papers and were all sworn in for the Town of Knox. 7 of us.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Ancestry Military Databases
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Civil War Pension Index, www.ancestry.com
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 1855 NY State Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY
- ↑ 1860 US Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY
