George Ingersoll Wood Explained

George Ingersoll Wood (May 20, 1814 – January 9, 1899) was an American Congregationalist clergyman and a founding member of Yale's Skull and Bones Society.[1]

Rev. George Ingersoll Wood was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was the son of Hon. Joseph Wood and Frances Ellsworth, daughter of Supreme Court Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth.[2] [3]

He graduated from Yale College in 1833 and the Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1838. While at Yale he was a founding member of The Skull and Bones Society. He and his wife Susan, married in 1840, had four children.

Wood was ordained in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 1840, and pastored the Second Presbyterian Church there for a year.[3] He was then pastor in several of the Congregational churches of Connecticut: West Hartford (1842–1844), North Branford (1844–1850, 1855–1858), Ellington (1850–1854, 1869–1870), and Guilford (1858–1867).[2] During these years he had repeated bronchial sickness that required him to take leave from his pulpit.[2] Beginning in 1868, he took a year and a half of respite in St. Cloud, Minnesota, serving in the town's First Congregational church.[2]

He died at age 84 in Washington, D.C.

Family

He married Susan Townsend Merwin, daughter of Rev. Samuel Merwin and Clarina B. Taylor, on 28 April 1840 at New Haven, Connecticut.

Children of Rev. George Ingersoll Wood and Susan Townsend Merwin:

Notes and References

  1. Book: Fleshing Out Skull and Bones: Investigations into America's Most Powerful Secret Society . Trine Day . Millegan . Kris . 2003 . Walterville, OR . 597–690 . 0-9720207-2-1 . The Skeleton Crew. "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at Sterling Library, Yale University and other public records. The latest books available are the 1971 Living members and the 1973 Deceased Members books. The last year the members were published in the Yale Banner is 1969."
  2. Book: Smith, Ralph Dunning . The History of Guilford, Connecticut: From Its First Settlement in 1639 . 1877 . J. Munsell . Albany, NY . 114–115 . 5 November 2017.
  3. Book: Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University . Yale University . 1900 . Tuttle, Morehouse, & Taylor . New Haven . 590–591 . 5 November 2017.