Samuel Newitt Wood

Samuel Newitt Wood (December 30, 1825 – June 23, 1891) was an American attorney, newspaper editor, and member of the Kansas House of Representatives. He was also a Free State advocate in Kansas and an early supporter of Women's Suffrage. Wood had been a member of various political parties leaning left. He was assassinated in 1891 in a bitter fight over the naming of a new county seat in the state's southeastern corner. A native of Ohio, Wood settled in Kansas in 1854 following its establishment as a U.S. territory. He represented Chase, Morris, and Madison counties in the Kansas Territorial Legislature in 1860 and 1861. Wood was subsequently elected to the first Kansas State Senate in 1861, the year the state was admitted into the Union, and completed another term as State Senator in 1867. As a member of the House, he served in 1864, 1866, 1876, and 1877, being speaker during his final term. In the 1850s and 1860s, Wood owned and operated several newspapers and was editor of several other Kansas papers in the 1870s and 1880s. Early life and family Samuel Newitt Wood was born at Mount Gilead, Ohio, December 30, 1825, fifth child to David and Esther Ward (Mosher) Wood. His paternal grandfather was a leader in the meetings of the Orthodox Quakers until his death. His maternal grandfather became a leader in the more progressive wing of the Society of Friends known as the Hicksites. Having been raised a Quaker, Wood's hatred for slavery grew very strong. His family home was the site of a station on the Underground Railroad. In 1849, during one of his many attempts to carry runaway slaves to freedom, he met his future wife, Margaret Lyon, daughter of William and Elizabeth Lyon. They were married on October 3, 1850. Their children were: David, born August 25, 1851; William Lyon, born March 10, 1853; Florence, born January 20, 1857; Dearie, born July 7, 1865. Bleeding Kansas Following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act on May 30, 1854, Samuel moved his family to Lawrence, Kansas. After the murder of Charles Dow on November 21, 1855, Samuel took part in the Rescue of Jacob Branson which occurred on November 26, 1855.