History of Swansea, Massachusetts, 1667-1917; - citizen hylbom blog

220 History of Swansea
1634 he published in London a book entitled "New England's Prospects."
Very meager records were kept in those days, and it is not positive how
many children this William Wood had, or what their names were, but after
consulting all available authorities relative to early genealogical data we
feel justified in stating as most probable that he had at least one son.
(II) John, who came to Plymouth Colony in the early days of that
settlement, married and had two sons. (Ill) John and Thomas, who were
great hunters, and possessed of that hardy adventurous spirit so characteristic
of our e£U"ly pioneers. In search of a country where game was plenty,
they first came to Seaconnet or thereabouts, and soon after went to Swansea
where Thomas settled. John, so tradition says, went still farther west into
Connecticut, which was then a wilderness.
(III) Thomas Wood was evidently a man of considerable consequence
in his town. He was a surveyor, and divided and surveyed much land. He
held in Swansea a large landed estate containing several hundred acres.
Records indicate that he had two sons, Thomas and John.
(IV) John Wood had two sons, Noah and John. By his will he
bequeathed the mill place to John his son; and to Noah he gave the landed
Eroperty west of the mill farm, consisting of three farms, one of which, the
omestead, is now owned by Midwood Brothers, George H. & James.
Noah had four sons, Nathaniel, Aaron, Levi, and Jonathan. He bequeathed
the homestead farm and the one adjoining to his son Aaron ; and
to the others he gave farms in the immediate vicinity.
Aaron Wood, son of Noah, had children, Nathan, Isaac, Levi, Aaron,
Noah, Mason, Freelove, Sarah, Elizabeth, Innocent, Mary, and Polly. In
the distribution of his property he bequeathed the homestead to his son
Aaron. This Aaron had seven sons, Le\a, John, Nathan, Benjamin, Ira,
Hiram, and Pardon, and two daughters, Polly and Sarah. Upon his
decease the homestead went to aU the sons, and to his wife, Polly, the use of
it during her Ufe. She died March 12, 1883, in her ninety-ninth year. The
homestead farm is now in the possession of Benjamin N. Wood, grandson
of Aaron Wood; and it has never been sold out of the family. This Benjamin
Nelson Wood was born Oct. 30, 1842, married Margaret Ehzabeth
Axford of Oxford, N. J., who was born March 17, 1858, in Scranton, Pa.
A son, Benjamin Axford was born of this union, Jan. 16, 1888, who died
Aug. 19, 1890. A daughter was born June 26, 1893, named Jean Isabel.
(V) John Wood who inherited the mill place from his father John,
had four sons, John, Isaac, Nathan, and Seth, and two daughters, Bethiah
and Penelope.
(VI) Seth Wood upon his father's decease, inherited the mill farm.
He was a man of consequence in his day; took much interest in pubhc
affairs, and during the war of the Revolution was commissioned directly
from the State authorities as collector of taxes. He had three sons, John,
Seth, and Haile, the latter by a second wife.
(VII) Col. Haile Wood was born in November, 1788, and inherited
the ancestral acres. He was one of the leading men of Swansea, holding
various town offices and positions of trust and honor. He was an enterprising
man, and one of the original founders of the Taunton Britannia
Works, now known as the Reed and Barton works. He was colonel of
militia, and took much pride and interest in military affairs. He was said
to be the best horseman in the county. A man of fine physique, he stood
over six feet high, and weighed over two hundred pounds. He was a Whig
and Republican in politics, and an ardent Prohibitionist. His wife, Mary,
daughter of Ebenezer Howard, of Woodstock, Conn., was born in March,
1785, and died in October, 1872. He died May 6, 1860. They had eleven
children: Haile N. married Marian L. Chace, and had one son; Mary A.,
deceased, married E. Brayman, and had six children, all of whom are