The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-01-12
GOSSIP FOR HOME PEOPLE


dock. when appealed 10. verified the state
DR.. Wood was still alive. why said
Col Murdoch. he was an old man when
I knew him 50 years ago"
a day or two afterward Clarence Smith.
then City Clerk. .breathlessly called the
reporter TO his Office. "a man just reg
istered here a few minutes ago that
gave his age as g." he said. He did
the three flights of stairs easier than
you or I could
He was the same man-Dr. John P.
Wood
IN last Mondays Eagle it was noticed
that the same DR.. Wood had rounded
out his one hundredth birthday at Cof-
feyville still hale and hearty.
The day of the baptizing. he told an
Eagle reporter something about himself.
but had made objection against its pub
ication as it was always distasteful 10
him to figure in print. IN substance
the story is this:
Mr.. Wood was born in Ireland. jan
uary (. 1872. His father, uncle and his
grandfather participated in Robert EN-
nett's rebellion the year following. His
uncle and grandfather were hung but
his father made his escape to France.
his mother following him with her chill
dren. In 1S0s. he saw the great Napo-
leon at Paris during fete. About this
time he emigrated to America and was
a good chunk of boy at New Orleans
when Andrew Jackson gained his great
victory there. He visited the battle
field the following day and saw cotton
bale breastworks Old Hickory had used
for his protection. In 1896. Dr. Wood
published a paper in Kentucky in connec-
ton with, and in the interest of Henry
Clay. but previous to that he had gradu-
ated form the pioneer medical college
of that state. 1t was this same DIR.
Wood who invented and first used the
rooster as an emblem Of Democracy
and he told the Eagle reporter how the
idea struck him. He was running a
paper in indianapolis during the cam
paign of 1910 \ man kept a tavern there
which was called The Rooster. In front
of the door a pole was erected and a
tin rooster was placed OF top of it. 1t
was merely 4 sign. The tavern was
Democratic headquarters, and every time
the Democrats were beaten the Wings
would turn out with that tin rooster. DR..
Woods, TO give his readers an idea of
how the election of 1910 had gone made
a cut of a rooster turned over out of sole
leather and run it in his paper. It was
a clever and well understood expression
of Democratic defeat and the rooster
gradually became the party emblem from
that date.
Dr. Wood came 10 Leavenworth about
1913 or and to Lawrence in 1854. He
started a rival tow nsite to that OF the
Massachusetts colony in charge OF the
late Governor Robinson, bit both are
embraced in the present town OF Law
renee. In those days he was known as
J. n o. p. Wood. from circumstance that
he always wrote John" 'Jno." p. be-
ing the initial of his middle name. The
doctors brother was stricken with heart
disease at Galveston, while setting on the
bench, about three years ago, and was a
little over 100 years. The entire family
a eight brothers and sisters were alive
in IS, the youngest Of them being at
that time. q.
The doctor lived here until about two
years ago and was the greatest walker
in Wichita. Some days he would walk
as much as seventeen miles for exercise
after he had passed %. He was of Nor
man descent, Wood being the compulsory
anglocization of his ancient family name.