My Genealogy Hound

JEROME WOOD. Several years have passed since all that was mortal of this well-known citizen of Cass County was laid to rest in the Summerville Cemetery. But, though the “workman dies, his work lives on,” and this is true in a peculiar manner of the subject of this biographical notice, who was for many years prominently identified with the farming interests of Howard Township, Cass County. Jerome Wood was born in New York, near the city of Buffalo, February 16, 1825. His father, Simon D., a native of the Empire State, was a merchant and clothier in Buffalo and a man of prominence and influence in that place. First as a Whig and later as a Republican, he took a prominent part in public matters and held many offices of trust and honor.

The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Salina Herrington, and was born at Cooperstown, Otsego County, N. Y. She was a woman of noble character, and trained her children, of whom there were four daughters and five sons, to habits of industry and probity qualifying them for positions of usefulness in the business and social world. Our subject was the third in order of birth, and was reared in his native place until the age of thirteen, when he came to Michigan in company with his parents. His occupation throughout life was principally that of an agriculturist, although for a time he was in the clothing business with his father.

After his marriage Mr. Wood located in Prairie Ronde Township, Kalamazoo County, where he engaged as a tiller of the soil for seven years. Thence he removed to St. Joseph, Mich., but shortly afterward, in 1852, came to Cass County. For fourteen years he resided in Silver Creek Township, whence in 1866 he removed to Howard Township and settled on section 6, where his widow still makes her home. Politically, he was a Republican and was an active member of the Grange. From the age of twenty-one years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he held the offices of Steward and Trustee and other important positions. For fourteen years he was Trustee of the Crystal Spring Camp Ground, in which he took a deep and abiding interest. A sincere Christian, he enjoyed the confidence of all with whom he associated, and his word was commonly said to be as good as his note. His death occurred January 4, 1888, and when a few days afterward the last services were held over his mortal remains, it was the sense of the citizens that one of the noblest men of the community had been removed from among his associates and friends.

This sketch would be very incomplete were no mention made of her who through sorrows as well as joys, through adversity and prosperity, sickness and health, was ever the cherished companion and devoted helpmate of Mr. Wood, and who now survives to mourn his loss. Iantha Cory, as she was known in maidenhood, was born in the town of Springfield, Otsego County, N. Y., August 20, 1828, and is the daughter of Capt. Samuel Cory, a native of Connecticut. At the age of about twenty-two years Mr. Cory accompanied his parents to Otsego County, N. Y., where he settled in Springfield. He served as Captain in the militia, and in that way gained the title by which he was familiarly known. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Wood, Benjamin Cory, was of English descent, and traced his lineage to one of three brothers who came to America in the “Mayflower.” Grandfather Cory served with distinguished valor in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and Capt. Cory was also a participant in the latter conflict.

The mother of Mrs. Wood bore the maiden name of Rachel Mallory, and was born in Bennington, Vt., whence at the age of eleven years she accompanied her parents to Springfield, N. Y., and there grew to womanhood and married. In 1841 she and her husband removed to St. Joseph County, Mich., and for a time resided on a farm there, but later removed to Silver Creek Township, Cass County, where they passed away, the father at the age of eighty-nine, and the mother when ninety-three years old. They were the parents of five daughters and seven sons, all of whom reached mature years with the exception of one son, who died at the age of thirteen years. At the present time (1893) only four survive, as follows: Mrs. Frost, who is now eighty-three; Galerd, sixty years old; Warren, who is fifty-eight years of age, and Mrs. Wood.

The eighth in order of birth in her father’s family, Iantha Cory gained the rudiments of her education in Springfield, N. Y., where, in company with seven of her brothers and sisters, she attended school. After coming to Michigan, she walked five miles each day to and from school and thus, amid many discouraging surroundings, she acquired her education. Subsequent reading has since broadened her knowledge, and she is a woman of unusual intelligence and information upon a wide range of subjects. She is the mother of six children; William S., Adelbert C., Lucius E., Edwin D., Samuel L. and Elva R., the latter being Mrs. W. D. Norton, of Pokagon Township.

The estate of our subject is now the property of Mrs. Wood, and consists of two hundred and twenty-eight acres of finely improved land. She possesses a rare capacity for business and a keen perception and discriminating judgment, which enable her to manage her farm successfully. Since she was fifteen, she has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has always been active and efficient in church work. When only seventeen years old, it was her custom to walk five miles to the church, where she led the singing. In her girlhood days religious services were often held in her father’s house, and for four years after her marriage meetings were frequently held in her home.