R254 
Husband: Joseph Wood (Jr.) (Fig. R254a)
Father: Joseph B. Wood [R002]
Mother: Martha (Epperson) Wood [R002]
Born: 10/11/1786, Charlotte County Va.
Died: 6/16/1851 Buckhannon, Upshur County Va. (now W.Va.)
(Second?) wife: Amanda Jane (Haynes) Wood
Mother: Jennet Harriette (Haynes) Gilliland [R303]
Born: ~1810
Died: 7/30/1882 in West Virginia
Married: 4/10/1828, in Bath County. Surety, Shepherd Gilliland
[R303][S002]
Children:
William S. Wood, ~1829-10/27/1874
Mary Ann Wood, ~1830-11/28/1918, m. William E. Balsley
David M. Wood, b. ~1831
Harriet Wood, ~1833-6/14/1855
Susan Wood, b. ~1836, m. George H. Clark
Estaline Wood, b. ~1838
Francis Wood, b. ~1840
Granville Wood, b. ~1842, m. 1870 to __ P. Shreve
James R. Wood, b. ~1847
(1996) Joseph moved with his parents from Charlotte County to Botetourt County as a small child. The 1810 census suggests he was still living with his father (Joseph Sr., [R002]) at that time. During the War of 1812 he served in Capt. Joseph Johnson’s and Capt. John Pitzer’s Company of Virginia Militia, which were mustered in the summer of 1814 when he was 27 (see [S098]).
In 1816 Joseph’s father Joseph Sr. died, leaving him half of the home farm on the James River, tracts I2 and J2 of Fig. R002c. The 1820 census lists a Joseph Wood with 1 boy less than 10, 1 man 26-44, 2 women 26-44, and 13 slaves, which may have been this Joseph.
Joseph kept an interesting daybook (account book) [S102] during most of his adult life, which survives. Much of it records the inventory and settlement of Joseph Wood Sr.’s estate after his death in 1816 (Figs. R254b, c); Joseph Jr. was coexecutor of the estate, with his brother James [R253]. This section includes such entries as charges to the estate in 1816 for “1 Coffin—£1 10s,” and “May 27 2 Gallons of Whiskey—$2,” “May 28 3 Gallons Ditto for the sail—$3,” “July 5 Gallons Whiskey for reaping—$5,” etc. (Most pages use dollars and cents, but some lapse into pounds, shillings and pence.) Of special interest is a summary of legal expenses that suggests Joseph Sr. was involved, when he died, in litigation with the family of his wife Martha Epperson (Fig. R254c). The daybook becomes less tidy after Joseph Sr.’s estate was settled. There are disorganized entries as late as 1842 for debts owed by brothers James, Carlos, Thomas, and Edward; sisters Ann and Elizabeth; Thomas Davis (son of Samuel Davis [R268]), and Henson Douglas [R355] for farm commodities, labor, and household goods.
In 1820 Thomas Moore [R260] sold his farm, tract J4 of Fig. R002c, to Joseph Wood for $1500 (DB14-295). In 1823 Joseph sold the tract back to Thomas Moore for the same amount of money (DB14-487). The farm probably served as collateral on a loan Joseph made to Thomas Moore.
In 1828, Joseph married Amanda Jane Haynes in Bath County. This may have been his second marriage: first, he was much older than Amanda (44 vs. ~20 in 1830); second, the Botetourt County census in 1830 lists one male less than 5 years old and one between 15-20 in their household (plus 11 slaves). The 0-5 year old son would be their first child William, but who was the 15-to-20-year-old male? He is also with them in the 1840 census, in the 20-30 years age range. It seems possible he was the boy less than 10 years old in the 1820 census, a son by an unknown earlier wife who died. However, Amanda Jane testified in her application for a pension as a veteran’s widow (below) that she had been Joseph’s only wife.
About 6/20/1835 Joseph Wood Jr. sold tracts I2 and J2 of Fig. R002c (his bequest from his father’s will) to his brother Thomas [R252] for $6000. In addition, he and his wife relinquished “...all interest in a certain tract of mountain land adjoining the other land in our trust of 225 acres which land Thomas Wood was to make us a right to by the will of Joseph Wood dec’d.” (DB21-417). Thomas had been living in Bath County, next to his brother Edward Wood [R003]. On 4/11/1836 Thomas sold his Bath County farm to Joseph Jr. for $6000 (Bath County DB9-3). Effectively, the two brothers traded farms. In 1841 Joseph patented 600 acres of mountain land north of his Bath County farm, tract H in Fig. R003a (SB2-241).
In 1845 Joseph and Amanda had to pledge their farm as security on a debt owed to Joel Armentrout (DB10-364), but they managed to pay it off (DB11-101). On 10/18/1849 they sold their Bath County property to William Armentrout of Alleghany County for $6000 (DB11-116) and moved to Buckhannon (Upshur County, now West Virginia). The family was listed there during the 1850 census.
Joseph died in Buckhannon in 1851, age 64; his will was probated during the June 1851 court term. No executor was named in his will, so future son-in-law William E. Balsley was given that responsibility. Balsley married Joseph’s daughter Mary Ann Wood on 9/30/1851. Joseph’s widow Amanda Jane lived another 31 years, dying 7/30/1882. She applied for and received a pension for Joseph’s War of 1812 service; her application was supported by affidavits from Joseph Moore [R350] and Augustus Wood [R361] of Randolph County.
Source Earl Balsley [S101] is a great-grandson of daughter Mary Ann Wood. To the best of his knowledge, none of Joseph Jr.’s sons married and carried on the Wood name.
