{genealogy} Wood ancestry part 4 - Peleg Wood (b. 1779)

Peleg Wood (b. 1779)

Heather’s 4th great grandfather

When Peleg Wood was born on September 24, 1779, in Little Compton, Rhode Island, his father, Reuben, was 27 and his mother, Ruth, was 21. He had six sons and two daughters with Amy Palmer. He died on October 25, 1848, in Herkimer, New York, at the age of 69, and was buried in German Flatts, New York.

At this point in the Wood biographies I am totally indebted to professional researchers Dorothy Wood Ewers, Benjamin Franklin Wilbour, and Bertha Winifred Clark. Since Peleg’s son Tillinghast eluded documentation so well, I would otherwise have had no idea that Peleg was his father. In this case it was Dorothy Wood Ewers who made the connection between Tillinghast and Peleg, and I am relying on her research because I have found no other evidence of this connection.

There were a lot of men by the name of Peleg Wood who lived in the New England area. At one point I tried to document them all to keep them separate, and my list had 30 Peleg Woods before I abandoned the idea. My point being that although this is an unusual name today, one must not assume that any document mentioning Peleg Wood is “our” Peleg Wood.

Rhode Island Vital Extracts have recorded Peleg’s birth on 24 Sep 1779 to Reuben and Ruth Wood, in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

He married Amy Palmer of Little Compton, but we’re not sure when. Sometime around 1800.

In 1802, Ewers reports that she examined records in the Little Compton Town Clerk’s Office that indicated that Peleg and Amy (husband and wife), well, I can’t understand the language but they either bought or sold land. “Eighteen acres more or less” the book said. It looks like they are the sellers, and they got $370 for it. This makes sense that they’d be selling, since they later move to New York.

I don’t find Peleg in the 1800 or 1810 censuses, but as I said, there are a lot of Peleg Woods in this area. I just don’t know which one he is.

But I do find him in 1820 in German Flatts, New York. There are 9 living in the house. That would be Peleg, Amy, 2 daughters, and 5 sons. This means that one of his sons has passed away by 1820. It’s not Lemuel, Tillinghast, or Peleg Jr. But there were 3 other sons (Ace, Borden, and Reuben). Ewers research doesn’t give birth dates for any of the children so they are hard to research.

I lose him in the 1830 census, but he’s back again in 1840, still in German Flatts. It’s now a family of 4. Peleg, Amy, and 2 sons under age 29.

Peleg died on 25 Oct 1848 and is buried in Dennison’s Corners Cemetery in German Flatts.

The grave marker indicates military service, but I haven’t confirmed it. His name is just too common. Ewers research said “possibly” 1^st Lieutenant.