Drury Wood

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Drury Wood

Drury Wood (March 11, 1821 – October 29, 1901), born at "Park Hill" in Albemarle County, he was an attorney active in local politics. Wood was one of the first four members elected to the the Board of Aldermen (the forerunner of the present-day City Council) in the early 1850's. In 1853, Wood (aged 31) was elected the second mayor for Charlottesville, succeeding James A. Leitch. The following year Wood was re-elected mayor - receiving all 75 votes. Seven months later Wood quit, and his post went to the first seated aldermen, R. T. W. Duke and then to the second seated John B. Dodd. Wood's son, Robert Hancock Wood, was a member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

On February 28, 1852, in the first council election, Wood (aged 30) won the third seat on the Board of Aldermen, Charlottesville's governing body.[1]This was the first Charlottesville council election under the first charter granted by the Legislature in 1851 (previously Charlottesville was governed by an appointed board of trustees). The following year Wood (aged 31) was elected the second mayor of Charlottesville.

Wood was a prominent member of the Albemarle BAR association (1843 to 1901).[2] His resident was located on the road to Cochran's Mill. A public graveyard is said to have existed near his residence and from this place stones were removed and placed at the new city cemetery of Maplewood after it was established as the town of Charlottesville's first official resting place for the dead in 1827.

On February 26, 1853, Drury Wood (aged 31 years, 11 months) was elected mayor of Charlottesville by popular vote. The following year, February 25, 1854, Charlottesville held an election for mayor and six aldermen. Drury Wood received 75 votes for mayor and was declared the the winner.[3]Seven months later Wood quit, and his post as went to one of the aldermen, R. T. W. Duke and then John B. Dodd. Council voted to present the town's mayor with "properly engraved" silver plate worth $250. In the early 1850's successor came and went to frequently that Wood was the only man so honored. Dodd won election as mayor in his own right in 1855 but soon quit again and was replaced by Wood. A year later Wood re-resigned and was replaced by Eugene Davis. [4]

In 1855 the town was granted liberty to erect an engine house on the west side of the Square, in a line with which Drury Wood and W. T. Early were allowed to build offices on the east side. [5]

Family

Drury Wood was the son of Drury F. and Caroline Wood, the youngest of his family. His two brothers, Rice and Thomas Wood, were prominent members of the Albemarle Bar and members of the Virginia Legislature, the former serving in the 1830’s and the latter in the 1840’s.

His father, Drury F. Wood (d. 1841), was a businessman and landowner in Albemarle County, Virginia. The family home, "Park Hill", was just north of Charlottesville, near Stony Point. Wood was one of the initial subscribers to the Central College (which would later become the University of Virginia), pledging $100 to fund the new institution.[6]

Drury Wood married Laura Thornton Poore (April 20, 1825 – July 20, 1904). They were the parent of five children. Their son, Robert Hancock Wood, was a member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. [7]


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References

  1. Web. DOMESTIC SUMMARY, Richmond daily times, March 08, 1852, Image 2 About Richmond daily times. (Richmond Va.) 1850-1853, retrieved November 7, 2022.
  2. Web. Twelve Virginia Counties: Where the Western Migration Began, John Hastings Gwathmey, Book, Google, retrieved February 15, 2018.
  3. Web. CORPORATION ELECTION, The daily dispatch. (Richmond, VA), March 04, 1854, retrieved November 7, 2022.
  4. CDC February 26, 1984 |Historical Society newspaper clipping
  5. Web. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Albemarle_County_in_Virginia/oX3hxtr5L24C?hl=en&gbpv=1 Albemarle County in Virginia: Giving Some Account of what it was by Nature, of what it was Made by Man, and of Some of the Men who Made it, 1901
  6. Web. [1]
  7. Web. Twelve Virginia Counties: Where the Western Migration Began, John Hastings Gwathmey, Book, Google, retrieved February 15, 2018.

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