Walker Wood Explained

Office:Secretary of State of Mississippi
Order:30th
Party:Democrat
Birth Date:23 April 1874
Governor:Henry L. Whitfield
Dennis Murphree
Theodore G. Bilbo
Martin Sennet Conner
Hugh L. White
Paul B. Johnson Sr.
Thomas L. Bailey
Fielding L. Wright
Termstart:April 7, 1926
Termend:January 1948
State House1:Mississippi
District1:Tate County
Termstart1:January 1908
Termend1:January 1912
Birth Place:Vicksburg, Mississippi
Death Place:Jackson, Mississippi
Predecessor:Joseph Withers Power
Successor:Heber Austin Ladner

Walker Wood (April 23, 1874 - February 3, 1957) was an American journalist and politician from Mississippi. He was the 30th Secretary of State of Mississippi, serving from 1926 to 1948.

Early life

Walker Wood was born on April 23, 1874, in Vicksburg, Mississippi.[1] He was the son of William Menefee Wood and Josephine (Kendrick) Wood. He was educated in the public schools in the Vicksburg area.

Newspapers

At the age of eighteen, he began a career in journalism. He was in charge of the Oxford Eagle from 1892 until he purchased the Senatobia Democrat and started being the editor of that newspaper in 1899. He edited the Winona Times until 1940.[2]

Political career

A Democrat, Wood was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives representing Tate County in 1907 for the 1908-1912 term. On April 7, 1926, he was appointed to the position of Secretary of State of Mississippi by Governor Whitfield after the death of Joseph Withers Power.[3] In 1945, he was the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[4] He stopped being the Secretary of State of Mississippi in 1948.[5] He was the president of the Mississippi State Microfilm Department from 1950 until his retirement in December 1956.

Death

Wood died after a long illness on February 3, 1957, in a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.[6]

Personal life

Wood married Susie Garrott Meacham on February 19, 1902. They had at least three children, Olivia Elizabeth Wood, George Meacham Wood, and another daughter. Wood was a Methodist.

References

  1. Book: Rowland, Dunbar. The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. 1908. Department of Archives and History. 1081. en.
  2. News: 1957-02-08 . Obituary for Walker Wood . 1 . The Clarke County Tribune . 2023-02-06.
  3. News: 1926-04-30 . Appointment Walker Wood Endorsed by Press . 7 . The Winona Times . 2023-02-06.
  4. Web site: Enterprise-Journal from McComb, Mississippi on February 4, 1957 ยท Page 1. 2021-04-11. Newspapers.com. 4 February 1957 . en.
  5. Web site: HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION . 2023-11-25.
  6. News: 1957-02-04 . Obituary for Walker Wood . 11 . Hattiesburg American . 2023-02-06.