Michael Wood (abt. 1612 - 1674)

Born about 1612 in Matlock, Derbyshire, England

Descendants

Died 13 May 1674 at about age 62 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

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Michael Wood migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

"He was made a freeman in Concord May 31, 1640..."^[1]

"No record of... his marriage to his wife Mary. Neither can any record be found of the birth of any of his children, except two. It is probable that Abigail was the oldest and Jacob the youngest. In just what order they should come is entirely a matter of conjecture."^[2]

"His death must have been sudden, as he left no will. There is no record of his wife's death."^[2]

Michael was born in England, surely in South Wingfield, Derbyshire, soon after 1612. His parents were William Wood and his wife, Margaret Gibbens, who were married in South Wingfield. No record of Michael’s marriage has been found, but he was surely married in England, probably about 1637. His wife's name was Mary, her family name is unknown. The family came to New England in 1638, Michael, Mary, his parents and sister Ruth, settled in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Michael & Mary had at least eight children, probably all born in Concord. The birth record of only two of their children has been found. Those births were Abigail, in 1642 and Jacob, in 1662, possibly the first and the last of their children.

In the first settlement at Concord, Michael had a house near the common. He later settled his family on a farm further away from the town center. Concord's first major industry dates back to 1658 when the Iron Works Farm was established by the falls of the Assabet River. Michael was heavily involved in this iron works. Michael was also granted a license from the town "to sell strong liquours to the labourers about the Iron Works for their necessary releef and to no others." Michael died on May 13, 1674. His death must have been sudden, as he left no will, an uncommon thing in those days. Michael was probably buried in the Old Hill Burying Ground, as it was the only cemetery in use at the time of his death. There is no record of the death of his wife in Concord, but Torrey thinks that Mary might have had a second husband named Thomas Read, and there is a record of a marriage between Thomas Read and Mary Wood in Sudbury on March 7, 1678, and the deaths of Thomas Read on September 13, 1701, and Mary Read on February 21, 1707. That may very well be Mary, the widow of Michael.

Sources

1. ↑ Newhall, Charles Lyman. The record of my ancestry. Southbridge, Mass.: Herald Power Print., 1899, p. 147-8.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Holmes, Clayton Wood. A genealogy of the lineal descendants of William Wood who settled in Concord, Mass. in 1638: containing also revolutionary and other records. Elmira, N.Y.: Clay W. Holmes?, 1901, p. 8.

See also:

• Tolman, George. Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850. (Beacon Press, Boston, Mass., 1895).
• Cutter, William Richard. Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1908). Pages 857-858.
• Valentine, T. W. A genealogy of one branch of the Wood family: from 1638 to 1870. Brooklyn, N.Y.: E. Darber, printer, 1871, p. 5.
• Wheeler, Albert Gallatin The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America (American College of Genealogy, Boston, Massachusetts, 1914) [ Page ]
• The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America
• Holmes, Clayton Wood. A Genealogy of the Lineal Descendants of William Wood Who Settled in Concord Mass., in 1638 (Elmira, N.Y, 1901) Page 9

• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC9N-LPP : 13 July 2016), Mihel Wood, 13 May 1674; citing Death, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 892,249.