John M. Wood (November 17, 1813 – December 24, 1864) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Born in

Minisink, New York Minisink is a town located in southwestern Orange County, New York, United States, northeast of the New Jersey border between the Town of Greenville and the Town of Warwick. The population was 4,621 at the 2020 census. The town is located near ...

, Wood attended the common schools. He engaged in railroad construction in New Jersey and moved to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, in 1846. He was one of the contractors in the construction of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad, and he also engaged in banking. He served as member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 1852 and 1853. He was owner and publisher of the '' Portland Daily Advertiser'' from 1853 to 1857. Wood was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859). He was the contractor for building the Air Line Railroad between Woonsocket and

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. Wood died while on a visit in Boston, Massachusetts, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, John M. 1813 births 1864 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Politicians from Portland, Maine People from Minisink, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century American legislators