Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood Family Papers
Scope and Contents
Papers of the Dr. T. F. Wood family of Wilmington, NC. Includes Dr. Woods's Civil War recollections, correspondence, writings of Dr. Edward Jenner Wood, and genealogy of the Wood family.
Dates
- Undetermined
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is unprocessed. Contact staff at the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History (csencah@uncw.edu) for information on access to this collection.
Copyright Statement
Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Biographical Note
The Woods were a prominent family in nineteenth century Wilmington, North Carolina. Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood was born in Wilmington in 1841, and studied botany. By the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Dr. Wood joined the Wilmington Rifle Guards, which later became the 18th Regiment of the North Carolina Infantry. In the infantry, Dr. Wood served as a surgeon's assistant. In 1863 he became certified as a surgeon, and he served in this capacity until the end of the war. After the war, Dr. Wood became an influential local physician; he published the Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery, printed in Wilmington, and started the city's Board of Health. He died in 1892 at the age of 51. Other prominent members of the Wood family include John Coffin Wood, born in 1809, and Robert Barclay Wood, born in 1815. They were two brothers and architects who were some of Wilmington's leading builders in the nineteenth century. The brothers built several churches, including St. James Episcopal Church, St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, and Front Street Methodist Church; five Italiante style houses: the Edward Savage House, the Donald McRae House, the Duncan K. McRae House, the H.B. Eilers House, and the Zebulon Latimer House. The Wood brothers also constructed the New Hanover County Jail and Wilmington's city hall and opera house, Thalian Hall. John Coffin Wood died in 1873, and Robert Barclay Wood constructed the Grace Street Methodist Church four years before his death in 1890.
Extent
8 Linear Feet (Contains 12 document boxes, 4 photo albums, and 2 map case folders)
Language
English
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by the descendants of Thomas Fanning Wood.
Digital Access
Portions of this collection have been digitized and/or are born-digital. For access to these digital materials, please browse the finding aid via the "Collection Organization" tab and select an individual file or item to see if it contains a linked digital record.
- Families -- North Carolina -- New Hanover County
- McCarthy, Gerald, 1858-1915
- North Carolina -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
- Physicians -- North Carolina -- New Hanover County
- Physicians -- North Carolina -- Wilmington
- Religion
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
- Wood, Edward J. (Edward Jenner), 1878-1928
- Wood, Thomas Fanning, 1841-1892
- Title
- Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood Family Papers
- Status
- Partially Processed
- Author
- Colleen Griffiths
- Date
- 2010 March
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Randall Library Special Collections Repository