WILLIAM WOOD, a prominent pioneer of 1827, resides on section 17, Huntsville township. He is the son of Mitchell and Nancy (Skiles) Wood, and was born in Wayne county, Missouri, March 8, 1824. His mother was born on the 27th of May, 1802. Her father, William, lived in Maryland and was the son of John and Lizzie Skyles. He was married in North Carolina, and went from there to Jasper county, Tennessee, resided there a few years and then moved to within forty miles of Nashville. There he lived until 1817 and then moved to the Territory of Missouri, remaining there until 1827, when he came to Schuyler county, Illinois, and became one of the first settlers of Rushville township. He resided there until 1844, when he went to Madison, Iowa, and remained there with his sons until his death in 1845. His wife's name was Lydia Chaddick, of North Carolina, and she also died in 1845. Mr. Wood's mother was first married at nineteen years of age, to Mitchell Wood of Kentucky. They were married in Missouri, went from there to Arkansas, but after his death in 1825 she returned to her parents in Missouri. In 1827 she married Jonathan Smith. They lived in a log cabin near Rushville. At that time Rushville consisted of three log houses. She now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Teel. During her married life she dressed her children in homespun, and she raised the flax and spun and wove the cloth out of which they were made.

In 1827 Mr. Wood came with the family to Illinois and grew to manhood in the vicinity of Rushville. He was raised a farmer and embraced all the advantages for learning that was possible in those early days. In the fall of 1848 he married Hulda Ann Teel (see sketch of James A. Teel in this book). After his marriage he continued to live on the home farm.

In 1853 he crossed the plains to California and engaged in mining. After an absence of fourteen months he returned via Isthmus of Panama and New York City. In 1854 he purchased eighty acres of his present farm and settled on same. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served three years, going through many serious battles, and was mustered out with the rank of Corporal. After the war he resumed business on his farm and now owns 240 acres of land and follows stock raising.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood have seven children: William H., Ann Elizabeth Wilson, Mitchell C., Dora Josephine, John R., Calvin Mead and Ella Alice. Mr. Wood is a Republican in politics and has been honored with all the local offices and is a member of Cyclone Lodge, I.O.O.F.