Thomas Bond Wood papers

Collection

Identifier: MSD-1863-001

Staff Only

Collection Statement

The Thomas Bond Wood Papers, 1860-1940, consist primarily of letter press volumes of copies of Rev. Wood's outgoing correspondence. The letters cover the period when he was engaged in missionary activity throughout South America. Other manuscripts include diaries and journals from Thomas Wood's student days at Indiana Asbury University, through his time at Wesleyan University and into the 1880s when he was in mission work. Also included are obituaries of Wood family members, Wood and Hitt genealogies, and publications relating to Methodism and South America.

Letter Press Volumes, 1870-1913

The 53 letter press volumes, or copybooks, number approximately 25,505 pages. They contain the family and business letters and reports of T.B. and Ellen Dow Wood. In order to make these copies, a piece of damp felt was evidently pressed over the original and it then pressed on a fresh piece of paper. Most of the letters are in English, but many are in Spanish. Reports of various kinds are included. Some volumes should be read from back to front. Pages are missing in some volumes.

Dates

1835 - 1982
Majority of material found within 1870 - 1913

Creator

Wood, Thomas Bond (class of 1863) (Person)

Access Restrictions

Papers are to be used only for scholarly purposes.

Usage Restrictions

Biographical Sketch

Thomas Bond Wood was born March 17, 1844 in Lafayette, Indiana to Aaron and Maria Hitt Wood. His father, Aaron, was a Methodist Episcopal preacher in Indiana. He received his A.B. from Indiana Asbury University in 1863, traveled to Connecticut to attend Wesleyan University where he received his license to preach in 1864 and an A.M. in 1867. While a student at Wesleyan University, Thomas Wood taught German and natural sciences at the Wesleyan Academy. Following graduation, he accepted the position as president of Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana until 1869. Thomas Wood began his career in mission work with an appointment to Rosario, Argentina in 1870. He remained there until moving to Montevideo, Uruguay in 1877. From 1879-1887, he was superintendent of all work in South America under the Board of Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church. He continued in his South American mission work until 1915 when he retired due to ill health. He died in Tacoma, Washington in 1922.

Extent

6.88 Cubic Feet (16 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Baker, Franc. Historical Sketches of the Northwestern Branch of the W.F.M.S. of the M.E. Church, 1887. DC 527

Bixby, William, Mrs. An Outline History of the Foreign Missions of the M.E. Church, 1876. DC 527

Christendom Anno Domini MDCCI, ed. by Rev. William D. Grant. 1902, Vol. 1 (see pp.449-461, "South America," by Elsie Wood, daughter of T.B. Wood) DC 328

Cox, Sandford. Recollections of the Early Settlements of the Wabash Valley, 1860. DC 328

Drees, Charles W. Thirteen Years in Mexico, ed. by Ada M. C. Drees, 1915 (see Chapter IX, p. 163, etc.) DC 328

Holliday, F.C. Indiana Methodism, 1873.

Lee, John. Religious Liberty in South America ..., 1907 M ackay, John A. The Other Spanish Christ ..., 1933

Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. Protestant Missions in South America, 1900.

Stuntz, Homer C. South American Neighbors, 1916. Zion's Herald, January 13, 1870 - January 18, 1872; March 23, 1871 - November 16, 1871

Maps: Gracey, W.R. & Co. Lima en 1902. 39x53"

Muller & Woelflin. Plano de la Ciudad Rosario de Sta. Fe, 1886. (Contains marks by T.B. Wood family.) 17 1/2 x 25"

Ultimo Plano de Montevideo ampliado segun los datos oficales con la delineacion proyectada para la novisima ciudad, 1877. 21x22 1/4"

Wyngaert, Ed. V.D. Provincias de Lima y Callao, 1902. 27 1/2 x 32"

Indiana State Library: "A Family of Methodist Preachers, Isaac Wood, Aaron Wood, ..." (as cited by the Hoosier Genealogist, May-June 1968, Vol. 8, No. 3., pg. 33)