Read more about the article American Independence – Truly Honoring Those Who Sacrificed
That's O.K. / WOOD

American Independence – Truly Honoring Those Who Sacrificed

Americans celebrate July 4th with fireworks, parades, barbecues, and gatherings with family and friends.  Let us all take a moment to honor all those men and women who sacrificed their livelihoods and lives to gain independence from England's control and unfair taxation.My Wood family heeded the call to action the day after the British fired on the Concord Massachusetts Militia on April 18, 1775.  Direct descendant Daniel Wood, aged 18, and older brother Ezekiel, aged 21, lived near Springfield, Massachusetts, and joined thousands of other Massachusetts men racing by horse or foot to protect Boston from invasion.  On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, comprised of representatives of the 13 American colonies, adopted the Declaration of Independence of Independence.  http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document     The Declaration summarized the American colonists' motivations for seeking independence and declared themselves an independent nation, thus separating from England's rule.With war against the British a near certainty, Stephen and Daniel Wood previously enlisted March 17, 1775, as  Minuteman in Colonel Tupper's Regiment…

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July 4, 2018
Read more about the article PROVIDENCE ON LONG ISLAND
Family Roots / WOOD

PROVIDENCE ON LONG ISLAND

8 November 2017 Do you believe in providence, fate, destiny, karma?  A serendipitous moment occurred yesterday while researching my Wood ancestors who, with other English colonists, founded Hempstead and Huntington, Long Island in the mid-1640s and early 1650s. My sister and I traveled from Michigan to Long Island to research Edmund Wood and his children—Martha, Jonas 'Oram', Susannah, Jeremiah, and our direct ancestor, Timothy.  We are visiting historical societies, archives, churches, cemeteries, and touring the island. The Wood family immigrated to the New World from Yorkshire, England in 1635.  They were the founders of Springfield, Massachusetts in 1636; Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1635; and then moved across the Long Island Sound in 1644 to settle in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.  On the near western end the island, the Dutch settled, leaving the vast eastern side inhabited by a few Indian families.   Why move to Long Island?  Simply, the economic advantages proved limitless.  The Stamford settlers learned the island had a grassy plain…

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November 8, 2017
Read more about the article Nurturing Family Connections
Brother Bill Wood as teenager in 1957.
Family Roots

Nurturing Family Connections

My older brother, Bill Wood, tragically died in 2008.  His son and daughter are now in their mid-40s.  Chuck, who closely resembles his grandfather Donald, and wife Jeanie had three boys and a girl.  Mimi, who looks so like her dad and Grandma Mary Ann Wood, had two girls.  Each year the Wood family gathers together for food and fun, but the few hours together prevents deeper connections.  So I enjoy visiting them as often as possible each year. Recently I spent time with Mimi's girls, Ada and Chelsea.  My main reason is to foster in each one the adventurous and fun-loving Wood traits of my father and the creative and commonsense traits of my mom.  My personal philosophy is that each of us needs to reach out to family members not closely connected and relate stories that both entertain, but also to inspire and enlighten.  All the grandnieces and grandnephews love hearing the stories, such as:   How desperately poor Mom…

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September 25, 2017