reverend edson g. wood edson g...asbury memorial, richmond va two days rest. francis asbury himself,...

Reverend

EDSON G. WOOD (1811-1897)

&

CELINDA CHAPIN (1811-1864)

By Chris Mulholland

Revised 27 July 2012

EDSON G. WOOD and CELINDA CHAPIN

3

Edson George Wood (junior?) was born in Plattsburg, New York, on 27

October 1811. Nothing is currently known about his parents or background

although he listed his parents in the 1880 National Census as having been born in

New York. His 1897 death certificate listed his father’s name as “Edson G.

Wood”. An intriguing e-mail was received in 2009 which stated that ‘Wood’ is the

English translation for the French ‘Du Bois’ and that many residents of northern

New York were actually French-

Canadians. So could Edson 'Wood'

have possibly started out as Edson 'Du

Bois'?

In the same year that Edson was

born, King George III was declared

insane and regency was handed over to

his son, Prince George of Wales.

The area around Plattsburgh has been historically French due to the early

French explorers – Samuel de Champlain entered the Lake Champlain valley in

1609 – and its proximity to Quebec. While permanent French settlement was

hampered by the hostile Iroquois natives of the region, French missionaries did

create some initial inroads.

Around 1833-34, Edson met and married Celinda Chapin, probably in

Burlington, Otsego County, New York. She was born on 20 December 1811 as the

last of eight children to Daniel Chapin (born 1768) and Deborah Wright (born

about 1770). Celinda’s grandfather, Gad Chapin (1726-1813), was a veteran of

both the French & Indian and Revolutionary Wars and was one of the founders of

Otsego, New York. The Chapin family name traces back to the very founding of

America, including direct lineage to Deacon Samuel Chapin (1598-1675), the

founder of Springfield, Massachusetts whose spirit and personality were captured


4

“The Puritan”

Covered Wagon, Salem, Illinois

in the famous sculpture “The Puritan” by internationally acclaimed master

sculptor, Augustus St. Gauden.

The newlyweds moved to Cape Vincent, New York,

and their first child, a daughter they named Julia S., was

born there on 30 October 1834. In 1939, they left Cape

Vincent and moved west. Just before their departure, in

1838, a number of Canadian rebels who had fought in

the Patriot War of 1837-38 arrived in Cape Vincent after

their defeat by the British and were given shelter by the

Americans.

From his obituary in the "Elgin (IL) Daily Courier", 21 Sep 1897, pg 4, column

6: "Elder Wood was born at Plattsburg, New York, October 27, 1811, and after a

residence at Cape Vincent came west in 1839, settling at Marengo [Illinois], where

he located government land. He had married, in 1834, Lucinda [sic] Chapin, who

died thirty years later.”

Edson and Celinda traveled west to Marengo, probably via covered wagon,

along with a number of other settlers from New York. According to the “Early

History of Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois”, one of the founders of McHenry

County and his family, “…came from New York State and traveled to Crystal

Lake in a covered wagon.” These early settlers were guided by “Indian Trails:

“…roads traveled by their illustrious

predecessors called ‘Indian Trails.’ By

these they were guided to the best

places to cross creeks and sloughs.

These trails varied from 4 to 15 inches

in depth.” (“McHenry County in the


5

20th Century”) Oxen were used to pull the wagons because of their subsequent

value in tilling the fields and developing farms.

Another possibility is that the young Wood family traveled from New York to

Chicago via boats through the recently completed (1825) Erie Canal which

connected New York to the Great Lakes. Although less time consuming, it was

likely a more expensive journey than traveling overland via oxen-pulled wagons.

The first white man to arrive in Marengo, McHenry County, was Calvin

Spencer in 1835. He was originally from Auburn, New York. From there, he

moved to Seneca County in Ohio and then LaPorte, Indiana (50 miles east of

Chicago) before finally arriving in Marengo. His familial connections back to

New York may have been the impetus for the number of farmers who followed

him from New York to McHenry County.

The township was originally called Pleasant Grove but at a meeting called by

the citizens in 1847 or 1848, the name was changed to “Marengo”. The township

was organized in 1850 and was incorporated in 1857.

After their arrival in McHenry County (sometime in 1839), Edson made a claim

two plots of government land. The very first official record of Edson G. Wood is

found in the files of the Federal Bureau of Land Management of 10 March 1843,

when, “according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th

of April,

1820, entitled ‘the Act making further provision for the sale of public lands’”, he


6

was granted possession of 162 acres on the “South West quarter of Section thirty

five” and another 162 acres “and seventy seven hundredths of an acre” in “the

North West quarter of Section one” of Marengo County. These two plots, although

in different sections, were likely next to one another, making it easier for the Wood

family to farm.

After settling on his new land, Edson likely built a log cabin to house his

family. Almost every first building

built in McHenry consisted of logs

including the first church,

schoolhouse, and hotel. The

McHenry County Historical

Museum in Union maintains a

restored 1847 log cabin, “The

Gannon Cabin”, on its grounds.

“The homes of the pioneers were

crudely fashioned from rough logs, and the furniture was homemade. Glass was a

luxury, and stoves unknown. Clothing was made from cloth woven from flax and

wool spun and carded by the women, and all of the stockings and sox were knit by

them. The women generally planted and took care of the gardens; they made

medicines from berries and roots, and in the very earliest days had to minister to,

and nurse the sick. The men cut down the forest growths, grubbed out the stumps,

and then plowed the land and planted the crops. They also hunted and fished, for in

those days stock was too valuable to be killed to furnish meat, and when wild game

was plentiful, the pioneers did not suffer.” (“The History of McHenry County

Illinois”)


7

After their arrival, Edson began the work of building a farm. His family also

grew as they had two more daughters, Martha Ellen (1843) and Harriet “Hattie”

Josephine (1850).

The next official record of Edson comes from the “Second Quarterly

Conference meeting for the Crystal Lake Circuit for the year 1840-1841”. This

was a meeting of the fledgling Methodist Church in McHenry County and Edson

was listed as a “circuit steward” (“Marengo United Methodist Church History,

1837-1997”.) Apparently, Edson had become a minister within the Methodist

Church. He was later known as “Reverend Wood”.

From his obituary in the "Elgin (IL) Daily Courier", 21 Sep 1897: "AN EARLY

METHODIST MISSIONARY; Edson G. Wood Spread the Faith Here Nearly

Sixty Years Ago…When Mr. Wood came west he was a licensed exhorter in the

Methodist Episcopal church. Soon after arriving [in Marengo, Illinois] he joined

the Methodist conference and was given the Wheeling circuit, covering forty miles

each week in the course of his ministry. Thirty-two or 33 years ago [about 1864-5]

he joined the Free Methodists, on their organization in the west, and in this

denomination he remained until death. The family lived for twenty-eight years

near Marengo, on land taken from the government by Mr. Wood, and held until

about four years ago. Mr. Wood made many friends there, and here. He was the

last survivor of his family. He came to Elgin in October, 1867, and many here

have heard him preach…He had preached at Crystal Lake and South Elgin and

many other places, and for a long time ministered to the people of the Second


8

Baptist church here, who held him in most affectionate regard. He was earnest and

faithful in his work.”

Methodism was started in 1729 by a group of students at the University of

Oxford in England.

They were adherents

of the Church of

England, “Anglican

Church”, but fellow

students named them

“methodists”, a

derisive allusion to

the methodical

manner in which they

performed the various

church practices.

Methodism was

brought to American

prior to the American

Revolution by

emigrants from

Ireland and England.

In 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was formally organized as a separate

body from the English Methodist structure. American Methodism was spread by

circuit riders and revival meetings.

“During the early 19th century, the tolerant doctrinal positions of Methodism

and its stress on personal religious experience, universal salvation, and practical

ethics gave it a major role in religious awakening and attracted converts in large


9

numbers…The Marengo Methodist Episcopal Church had its origin in the fall of

1837…A circuit formed about that time, known as the “Sycamore Circuit”, was

nearly 300 square miles in size…During these early years this area was occupied

by Indians and was not officially open to

settlement, but a number of settlers had

actually moved in and built homes, most

likely log cabins. In was in these homes,

or later on, in public buildings if

available, that early church services were

held. Imagine for a minute, these early

members of the Marengo Class walking, riding a horse, of, if they could afford it,

riding in a horse drawn conveyance for miles to attend worship services held in a

members house, barn, shed or, if available a public building. From that time until

the present their courage and influence have been constantly felt…In 1838 the

Sycamore Circuit was divided and Marengo became a part of the Rockford Circuit.

IN 1839 the Rockford Circuit was divided and Marengo became part of the Crystal

Lake Circuit…” (“Marengo United Methodist Church History”)

Before congregations were well organized, traveling ministers would come

through an area and conduct services for a week or so. Circuit riding preachers

were one of the only forms of religious instruction that the far flung, small

communities of the wide open prairies enjoyed. The preacher would ride a horse

or pony in a large “circuit”, providing sermons to the prairie farmers and their

families as well as ministering their weddings, funerals, and baptisms.

From a book about an Illinois circuit rider: “[he] met the hardships of frontier

preaching with apostolic faith and resolve. Working with a seldom kept promise of

eighty dollars support a year he spent days on the intrepid trail. It would take some

4 to 5 weeks to complete the excursion, preaching every day and night with only


10

Methodist Circuit Rider Medallion

found on some gravestones

Asbury Memorial, Richmond VA

two days rest. Francis Asbury himself, the founding bishop of American

Methodism, demonstrated the lifestyle of the circuit rider having traveled some

270,000 miles and preaching over 16,000 sermons.

“Peter Cartwright [an early Illinois Minister] wrote about the life of a circuit

rider in his autobiography: ‘A Methodist preacher, when he felt that God had

called him to preach, instead of hunting up a college or Biblical Institute, hunted

up a hardy pony, and some traveling apparatus, and with his library always at hand,

namely, a Bible, Hymn book, and (Methodist) Discipline, he started, and with a

text that never wore out nor grew stale, he cried,

‘Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the

sin of the world.’ In this way he went through

storms of wind, hail, snow, and rain; climbed

hills and mountains, traversed valleys, plunged

through swamps, swollen streams, lay out all

night, wet, weary, and hungry, held his horse by

the bridle all night, or tied him to a limb, slept

with his saddle blanket for a bed, his saddle-bags

for a pillow. Often he slept in dirty cabins, ate roasting ears for bread, drank butter-

milk for coffee; took deer or bear meat, or wild turkey, for breakfast, dinner, and

supper. This was old-fashioned Methodist preacher fare and fortune.’

“…unlike the preachers of settled

denominations, [he] possessed the needed

qualities to survive the harsh and dangerous

world of the American frontier wilderness. The

circuit rider had to fight and preach, oftentimes

dealing with ruffians, rowdies and disrupters


11

Asbury Statue in Washington DC

who attended their meetings.” (Jonas Clark, “Peter Cartwright: God’s Breaking

Plow”)

The most famous statue of a Methodist

circuit rider is that of Bishop Francis Asbury in

Washington DC. Asbury was one of the first

two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Another memorial to Asbury can be found in

Richmond, Virginia.

Edson was next officially recorded in the

1850 Federal Census. He was listed as a 38

year old white male farmer born in New York.

Living with him were his wife Celinda (age 38,

born in New York), and daughters Julia (15, born in New York), Martha (7, born in

Illinois), and Harriet (1, born in Illinois.)

1862 was a landmark year for Edson and Celinda when their eldest daughter,

Julia S., married John S. Woodard on 20 February 1862 in Boone County, Illinois.

On 17 October 1864, after 30 years of marriage, Celinda died and was buried in

Marengo City Cemetery. Before then, he had given up circuit riding and become

a “local preacher's relation” due to his wife’s failing health. Three years after her

mother’s passing, Martha Ellen married George W. Sears on 17 September 1867 in

McHenry County. George was as a decorated

veteran of the Civil War, having served with

Company A of the 123rd

New York Volunteer

Infantry Regiment at such famous battlefields as

Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Kennesaw Mountain,

the siege of Atlanta, and Sherman’s ‘March to the


12

Sea’ through Georgia. George likely marched with the regiment during the Grand

Review on 24 May 1865 when General Sherman led his Army of the Tennessee

and the Army of Georgia through Washington DC.

Around the same time as Martha’s marriage, Edson moved to Elgin, Kane

County, Illinois, 25 miles to the southeast of Marengo, where he met and, on 12

February 1868, married a Caroline who had once been married to a Jacob E.

Bigsby and had had five children. By 1860, she either left her family or her

husband took the children and left her because he remarried in 1861 and then

moved to Iowa with the children. Edson and Caroline received a marriage license,

number “6336”, in Kane County. Caroline was born on 1 February 1821 in

“Columbia”. Her Record of Death does not list which state Columbia is in (there

are currently 21 such named towns and cities in the United States) but since the

1850 census listed her – and her parents – as living been in Utica, New York, she

was likely born in Columbia, Herkimer County, just a few miles to the southeast.

Shortly after the Civil War, Edson’s youngest daughter, Hattie, met a young a

disabled veteran, Franklin Loomis, and they were married on 21 June 1869 in

McHenry County. Frank had served with the 15th Illinois Infantry Regiment and

been wounded at the Battle of Shiloh.

In 1870, Edson and Caroline were enumerated in the Federal Census of

Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois. Edson was listed as a as a 59 year old

“farmer” and Caroline as a 48 year old “keeping house.”

10 years later, Edson and Caroline were in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois and he

was listed in the Federal Census as being age 67 [sic] and a clerk in a grocery

store. Caroline was listed as age 58 and “keeping house”. Edson’s work in the

grocery store was likely in support of the Methodist churches since his obituary in

the “Elgin Courier” states that, “After coming here [Elgin] in 1867 he often acted

as supply for near churches.”


13

Sear’s home at 164 N Gifford Street, Elgin, Illinois

About 1890 or ’91,

Edson retired from the

ministry. By this time,

he and Caroline were

living in their home at

164 North Gifford

Street in Elgin. They

were only able to enjoy

their retired life

together for about 5

years for Caroline succumbed to “heart disease” on 29 August 1896. She was

buried in Elgin at the Bluff City Cemetery.

Caroline’s obituary was run in the “Elgin Every Saturday” of 5 September

1896, page 8, column 4, and read, “Mrs. Caroline, wife of Edson G. Wood, died of

heart disease at her home on

Gifford street, Aug. 29, aged

75 years. She came to Elgin

over forty years ago and was a

faithful member of the First

M.E. church. Her husband and

one step-daughter, Mrs. Geo.

W. Sears, survive her, also

several brothers and sisters, of whom two, Mrs. John Huntington and C.L. Bigsby,

live in Elgin.”

A little more than a year after Caroline’s death, Edson himself succumbed to

“old age and general disability” and died on 20 September 1897.


14

From the “Elgin Every Saturday”, 25 September 1897, page 8, column 4: "Rev.

Edson G. Wood died suddenly at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Geo. W. Sears,

Sept. 20, aged 86 years. He was up and about all day, but at midnight attempted to

get up and fell dead. Three daughters survive him, Mrs. Geor. W. [Martha] Sears

and Mrs. John [Julia] Woodard, of Elgin, and Mrs. Frank [Hattie] Loomis of

Marengo. He was buried at Marengo, near his first wife."

From the "Elgin (IL) Daily Courier", 21 Sep 1897, pg 4, column 6: "AN

EARLY METHODIST MISSIONARY; Edson G. Wood Spread the Faith Here

Nearly Sixty Years

Ago.

"Edson G. Wood

died at midnight,

Monday, at his home,

corner Park and

Gifford streets, of old

age and general

disability.

"Elder Wood was born at Plattsburg, New York, October 27, 1811, and after a

residence at Cape Vincent came west in 1839, settling at Marengo, where he

located government land. He had married, in 1834, Lucinda [sic] Chapin, who

died thirty years later. In 1868 he married Caroline Bigsby, who died here August

29, 1896.

"Mr. Wood lived at Marengo for twenty-eight years. He had been a Methodist

exhorter in the east and traveled the circuit in pioneer days in this vicinity until at

last his wife's health compelled him to take a local preacher's relation. When the

Free Methodist church was organized he joined that body and traveled the Crystal


15

Lake circuit. After coming here in 1867 he often acted as supply for near

churches.

"Of his three daughters Mrs. George W. Sears and Mrs. John Woodard live here

and Mrs. Frank Loomis, at Marengo. He leaves also nine granddaughters and

seven grandsons. The latter will be his pall bearers.

"Funeral services will be held at 164 North Gifford street on Friday, at 10:30

a.m. The remains will be taken to Marengo, where services will be held at 1

o'clock, at the Methodist church, and where he will be laid at rest by the side of his

first wife, the mother of his children. Rev. W.D. Atchison will conduct both

services."

From the "Elgin (IL) Daily News", 21 Sep 1897, pg 3, column 2: "FATHER

WOOD DEAD; Aged Preacher Dies Suddenly Monday Night.

"About midnight Monday night Geo. W. Sears was awakened by a sudden

noise, and hastening to the room occupied by his father-in-law, Rev. Edson G.

Wood, he found the old gentleman stretched upon the floor, dead.

"Mr. Wood had been failing for some time with softening of the brain, but was

not considered in an especially dangerous condition. He was up and about the

house each day. Death ensued from the forming of a blood clot on the brain. Mr.

Sears hastily summoned a doctor, but medical assistance was of no avail as death

came almost instantly.

"The deceased was born at Plattsburg, N.Y., Oct. 27, 1811, and came west in

1839 from Cape Vincent, N.Y. Jan. 14, 1834 he married Celinda Chapin, living

happily with her until her death, Oct. 17, 1864. On the 12th of February, 1868, he

married Caroline Bigsby, who departed this life Aug. 29, 1896.

"When Mr. Wood came west he was a licensed exhorter in the Methodist

Episcopal church. Soon after arriving he joined the Methodist conference and was

given the Wheeling circuit, covering forty miles each week in the course of his


16

ministry. Thirty-two or 33 years ago he joined the Free Methodists, on their

organization in the west, and in this denomination he remained until death.

"The family lived for twenty-eight years near Marengo, on land taken from the

government by Mr. Wood, and held until about four years ago. Mr. Wood made

many friends there, and here. He was the last survivor of his family. He came to

Elgin in October, 1867, and many here have heard him preach. For the last six or

seven years he had been unable to occupy the pulpit, and had lived with his

daughter, Mrs. George Sears. He had preached at Crystal Lake and South Elgin

and many other places, and for a long time ministered to the people of the Second


17

Baptist church here, who held him in most affectionate regard. He was earnest and

faithful in his work.

"He leaves three daughters, Mrs. Geo. Sears and Mrs. John Woodard of Elgin,

and Mrs. Frank Loomis of Marengo. Nine granddaughters and seven grandsons

also survive him, and the latter will act as pall bearers. The funeral will be held at

10:30 Friday from 164 North Gifford street and at 1 p.m. from the Methodist

church at Marengo, where the remains will be interred beside those of his first

wife, who was the mother of his children. Rev. W.D. Atchison will conduct the

funeral services here and at Marengo."

His death certificate states that he died on 20 September 1897 at 2:30 pm due to

"old age"; that he was aged 85 years, 10 months, and 20 days; that he was a

widower; that his father's name was Edson G. Wood; that he was born in

Plattsburg, New York in 1811; and that he was buried on 24 September at the City

Cemetery, Marengo, Illinois. Edson's Probate is on file with the Historical Society

of Elgin, Kane County, Illinois.

Edson’s two sons-in-law, George Sears and Frank Loomis, were appointed as

the executors of his will. One of his debts was to Doctor W.C. Bridge “for medical

attendance and services” between 7 May and 21 September 1897 for a total of

$3.25. His total estate was worth $6269.85 and the three daughters were each

awarded $1626.23. The estate was finally settled on 14 January 1902.


18

Six months after his death, on 29 March 1898, Edson’s eldest daughter, Julia,

died and was buried beside her parents in Marengo City Cemetery. The cause of

her death was listed as “Marasmus” which is generally known as a gradual wasting

away of the body due to severe malnutrition or inadequate absorption of food.


19

References:

1. 1850 Federal Census; page 324 of the 26 August 1850 Census of the Town of Marengo,

McHenry County, Illinois (http://genealogytrails.com/ill/mchenry/cens324.html)

2. “Marengo United Methodist Church History, 1837-1997”

(http://issuu.com/dawnydawnh/docs/mumc_history__all_)

3. Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900

(http://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/MarriageSearchServlet)

4. Federal Bureau of Land Management records (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov)

5. 1880 Federal Census of McHenry County, Illinois

(www.mcigs.org/1880_FC_Index/1880FC_Co-Cy.htm)

6. Jonas Clark, “Peter Cartwright: God’s Breaking Plow” (Spirit of Life Ministries;

Hallandale Beach, Florida)

7. Roger A. Bruns, “Billy Sunday and the Big-Time American Evangelism” (W. W. Norton,

New York; 1992)

8. “Elgin Every Saturday” 5 September 1896, page 8, column 4

9. "Elgin (IL) Daily News", 21 Sep 1897, pg 3, column 2

10. "Elgin (IL) Daily Courier", 21 Sep 1897, pg 4, column 6

11. “Elgin Every Saturday”, 25 September 1897, page 8, column 4

12. “Record of Deaths, Internments, and Permits for Removal”; City of Elgin, Kane County,

Illinois (Gail Borden Library, Elgin, microfilm #929.377323, Vol I

13. “Find A Grave” website (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-

bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=wood&GSfn=edson&GSmn=g&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&G

Sob=n&GRid=47636581&df=all&)

http://genealogytrails.com/ill/mchenry/cens324.html

http://issuu.com/dawnydawnh/docs/mumc_history__all_

http://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/MarriageSearchServlet

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

http://www.mcigs.org/1880_FC_Index/1880FC_Co-Cy.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=wood&GSfn=edson&GSmn=g&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=47636581&df=all&



reverend edson g. wood edson g...asbury memorial, richmond va two days rest. francis asbury himself,...

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