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The Wood Family
In tracing the origin of a family, difficulties are encountered in tracing names and lineage. What we cannot establish historically must be filled in by tradition or legend.
In the later part of the 16th Century, persecution of the Huguenots in france became so oppressice that many Huguenots fled to other countries before the great st. Batholomew's Massacre in 1572. One group came to South carolina in 1582. their supplies were destroyed by fire and they had to return. Later after the English had established a colony at Charleston, they came in great numbers to escape their persecutors, who followed them to arrest and carry them back.
We are concerned with only one family of these. This family began to migrate slowly northward. The older ones settled where they found good farms, and the younger generation moving farther north and finally reached Virginia during the Revolutionary War.
This family was the Du Bois family, a prominent family in France. The word Du Bois means tree, wood, or forest. Using one of these as a surname the finding of them was not so easy.
Only the male members carried the name, so only by them can the family be traced. almost all the settlers with whom they came in contact were English and finally little was left of the french background except the name.
The name that we have followed is Wood. back in 1960 one of the family members wrote out a book form of the family tree. But a lot has happened since then. I have started to try to update from 1960 to present. The task has been slow. If anyone has any stories or pictures they would like to donate to the cause of putting this book together Please feel free to contact me.
I am Jonetta Kay (Wood) Botkin and I now live in Kentucky. I was born and raised in Indiana. My father is Paul Vernon Wood. My Grandfather is Vilas I. Wood. And my Great-Grandfather is Willie Sanford Wood. And my Great-Great-Grandfather is George Wood. George Wood is the first man of this Family Tree that we start with. George Wood was born in 1833. He married a woman by the name of Sarah Perry in 1856. They had 12 children. This is where we start!
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