Brief Life History of Willis H
When Willis H Wood was born on 12 December 1829, in Kentucky, United States, his father, William Wood, was 39 and his mother, Sarah Harrison, was 39. He married Eleanor G Wilson on 3 December 1850, in Marshall, Tennessee, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Marshall, Tennessee, United States in 1850 and Hickman, Tennessee, United States in 1860. He registered for military service in 1863. He died on 1 April 1864, in Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois, United States, at the age of 34, and was buried in Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois, United States.
Photos and Memories (3)
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Family Time Line
Sources (24)
- Willis H Wood, "United States Census, 1860"
- Willis H Wood, "Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950"
- Willis H. Woods, "Find A Grave Index"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (7)
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World Events (8)
1830 · Louisville and Portland Canal Opens
The Louisville and Portland canal opened in 1830. It was a 2 mile canal. It helped with the barrier caused by the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville by making a route around them.
1832 · Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of other tribes, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, into Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but records show that he was hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on tribal land that had been given to the United States in the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis.
1839 · From Swamp to Beautiful Place
By 1829 Venus, Illinois had grown sufficiently and in 1832 was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. But during late 1839, arriving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Jr., who led the Latter-Day Saints to Nauvoo to escape persecution in Missouri. The name Nauvoo is derived from the traditional Hebrew language. It is notable that by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to around 12,000 residents, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time. After the Latter-Day Saints left the population settled down toward 2,000 people.
Name Meaning
English: mainly a topographic name for someone who lived in or by a wood, from Middle English wode ‘wood’ (Old English wudu). In North America, the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, such as French Bois and Polish Les .
English: in a few cases, a nickname for an eccentric or perhaps a violent person, from Middle English wode ‘frenzied, wild’ (Old English wōd).
Americanized form of French Gadbois .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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