The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-12-26
Death Of Hon. Iohn N. Wood.

sorrow In this community. 1t was not gener-
ally known that he had been i'll. He was
seized with pleurisy on Saturday, the 18th In
stant.. and after short illness Of one week,
died at the Revere House in Boston at
o'clock Saturday morning. His wife was with
him in his last moments. having gone 20 'nat
city on Monday--as soon as she heard tnas ne
had been taken Ill. 4 Az 800 tLNt -
Mr.. Wood was born in Mianfink oranse
county, New York, Noveweer inu' 'oA., Anu
was little over 81 year o. az a. n,s u.aln'
He received good cannon scnool euuca',on'
| but his natural tsIsnts were of high order.
| On attaining bS, majority he turned bis atten-
t,o, - o;.,, sagineering, and subsequently be-
$3.50 .antractor in building the Erie and
go ..droads in New York and some other
60 c. and when the Directors Of the Attain
~ and St. Lawrence Railroad advertised for
proposals for building the first division of theiy
road--from this city to Yarmouth-be came
here and secured two thirds of the division to
build. Subsequently he obtained the contract
to build the second division Of the road-from
Yarmouth to the Hotel road in Danville-and
afterwards the contract to build the remainder
Of the road from the Hotel road to South
Paris.
On account OF want Of funds, 1t was the
policy of the Directors of the railroad not to
could be sure of the means to build it through
to the Canada line. At this juncture Mr..
Wood came forward and offered to build the
road, furnish the iron, &c, ant have II In COM
plete running order from South Paris 70 the
Canada line for stipulated sum per mile, .
large portion Of the pay for which, was to be
taken in stock and bonds of the company
His offer was accepted, after some modifca-
tons being made to it by the Board of Direc
tors, and he pushed forward with energy and
completed the road to Island Pond. He also
built the sixteen miles of the road from Island
Pond to the boundary line for the Cansdian'
Corporation-they having agreed to build
that portion. of it, provided the American
Corporation would consent to change in the
route. ~ 1oe eQuiAs u1 Tov5oL
The energy with which Mr.. Wood pushed
forward this important work established his
character as one of the first railroad builders
in the country, and various contracts were Of
fered him by corporations in the Western
States, all of which he felt himself obliged to
declined, as he had taken other in this State
the York & Cumberland, which he built from
Gorham to Saco River - South Berwick
from Bangor up river, on which he did great
deal of work, but the road has never been
opened. BE also built Commercial street In
this city, For several years past he has been
President of the New York & Boston Air Line
Railroad Company, and had a contract for
building that road. he performed large
amount of labor upon 1t between Boston and
Woonsocket, r. l., but subsequently surren-
dered his contract to the company. s1ei
On obtaining his first contract with the At
lantic & ST. Lawrence Company in lS46. Mr.,
Wood removed to Maine and established bis
residence in this city. His contract to COM
plete that road from South Paris to Island Pond
was made at period when rails cost from Sos
to $50 per ton. By the falling in price of iron
ITO about $40 per ton, he amassed fortune by
! his contract, and, having made it here, was
disposed to use 1t in such way az would
benefit and adorn the city of his adoption. He
built several blocks of stores on Middle street
and contemplated the erection Of others. BE
also erected the splendid marble hotes which
when completed, will be an ornament TO to our
city and lasting honor to his name. Had
not financial difficulties interviewed, Portland
long ere this would have boosted ofpossessine
the handsomest hotel in New England. But
the litigation In which the York & Cumber.
land Railroad company was involved, affected
him, in that the stock and bonds Of that cor.
poration, which he had received in pay, entire
tor the work he did upon that road, were rem
dersd worthless. This put stop to work up.
on the hotel and obliged him to abandon many
projects for the improvement and ornaments
ton of our city. One of these was the pur-
chase Of the Cumberland & xford Canal, fol-
the purpose of supplying the city with pure
water by laying down pipes in the bed of il
from Sebago Lake, and then building rail
road, either on the tow path or the bsrme OF
It, extending the road as far as Fryeburg.-
This latter project was urged upon capitalists
Dy MIN years ago. but wac not received with
much favor. How much it would have bene-
fitted the city, had it been adopted, time has
since shown. 3
The public spirit manifested by Mr.. Wood
gave him strong hold among the people, and
In 1852 he was elected one Of the Representa-
tives from this city to the State Legislature,
and reelected in 1853. In 1854 he was elected
a Representative from this district to the 34th
Congress by the largest majority ever given
to any candidate-his competitor being Hon.
Samuel Wells. he was also reelected In
1855 to the 35th Congress. He was emphati-
cally, scorking, not speaking man in Con-
gress. After returning from Congress he de-
voted his time to extricatiag his affairs from
the endorsements into which they had been
thrown, and was just emerging into brighter
days when he was unexpectedly called to his
everlasting home in the prime of his years.
The genial disposition OF Mr.. Wood gather
ed for him host of friends. He was always
pleasant and possessed most charitable heart.
In close intercourse with him for ten years
we never saw him in an angry mood, though
we have seen him placed in circumstances
where 1t would seem impossible almost to quell
the rising temper. Yet he was calm and com
placent-Tecer uttered an oath for he detested
profanity. The city of Portland never pos
sessed man of more public spirit, or one
more devoted to her interests than John M.
Wood, and well may the citzens mourn his
loss. BE leaves widow, but no family. In
this hour Of severe bereavement she will ie-
celve the sympathy of the whole community.
The remains of Mr.. Wood will be taken to
his native town, Minnisink, to be deposited in
the family vault. The funeral will take place
tomorrow in that town.
Our Female Painters. 81
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