William W. Wood

William W. Wood
William W. Wood
Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering
	In office; March 31, 1873 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	James Wilson King
Succeeded by	William Henry Shock
Personal details
Born	William Willis Wiley Wood; May 30, 1818; Wake County, North Carolina
Died	August 31, 1882 (aged 64); off Point Lookout, Maryland
Spouse(s)	Fanny Henderson
Children	8
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1845–1880
Rank	Engineer-in-chief
Conflict	American Civil War

William Willis Wiley Wood (May 30, 1818 – August 31, 1882) was an engineer of the United States Navy, who served as Engineer-in-Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering from 1873 until 1877.

Biography

Wood was born in Wake County, North Carolina, and after graduation obtained a position at the West Point Foundry.[1]

He was appointed to the Navy from New York on March 15, 1845, with the rank of chief engineer.[2][3] He spent his first two years in the navy stationed at the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida.[2] He briefly did special duty at Boston, and then from 1850 to 1853, served on the paddle-sloop Saranac in the Home Squadron.[2]

From 1854 to 1857, Wood superintended the constructions of the engines of the screw-frigate Merrimack at Cold Spring, New York.[2] His next appointment was for two years serving in the screw-sloop Lancaster on the Pacific Squadron.[2] From 1862 to 1866, Wood spent most of his time on special duty in Philadelphia, New York and Boston.[2] Wood was assigned to the United States Naval Academy from 1866 to 1867.[2] Wood was Inspector of Machinery Afloat in New York from 1870 to 1872.[2]

Wood was promoted to engineer-in-chief in 1872,[2] and was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering on March 20, 1873,[3][4] his successor was appointed on March 3, 1877.[3] Wood was assigned to special duty in 1878,[2] and was placed on the retired list on May 31, 1880.[3]

Death

On August 31, 1882, Wood was drowned in a boating accident off Point Lookout, Maryland.[2]

Family

At the time of his death, Wood was married and had six children:

Fanny Henderson, wife of Lt. Conway Hillyer Arnold, USN
Mary Eliza, wife of Lt. Eugene DeForest Heald, USN
Leiley Weir, wife of Lt. Charles Allston Stone, USN
Lt. Thomas Newton Wood, USN
Emily Grace, wife of Lt. Henry Frick Reich, USN
Master Francis Gregory Wood

Two more, William Willis Wood and Charles Gillespie Wood, had died young.

References

"Chief-Engineer W. W. Wood". Harper's Weekly. VIII (413): 764. November 26, 1864. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
"Chief Engineer Wood drowned" (PDF). The New York Times. September 2, 1882. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
"Officers of the Continental and US Navy and Marine Corps 1775–1900 (W)". Naval Historical Center. 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
"Bureau of Steam Engineering - Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy". Navy Department Library. 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2012.

External links

William W. W. Wood papers at the University of Maryland libraries

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[harpers-1] "Chief-Engineer W. W. Wood". Harper's Weekly. VIII (413): 764. November 26, 1864. Retrieved March 23, 2012.

[NYTObituary-2] "Chief Engineer Wood drowned" (PDF). The New York Times. September 2, 1882. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 23, 2012.

[Promotions-3] "Officers of the Continental and US Navy and Marine Corps 1775–1900 (W)". Naval Historical Center. 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2012.

[4] "Bureau of Steam Engineering - Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy". Navy Department Library. 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2012.