Tombstone Tuesday: Fernando Wood, a pivotal player in Lincoln movie

Cousin Larry, the genealogist of our Wood family, spotted a distant ancestor in the new Spielberg movie Lincoln: Fernando Wood. (He's played by Lee Pace, and has a surprisingly juicy part.)

Fernando (left) was mayor of New York in the 1850s/60s and, earlier, served as one of the state's representatives in the US Congress during the 1840s.

Among his bizarre ideas was that New York City should secede from the union (1861), becoming the Free City of Tri-Insula. (Thanks to Keith Muchowski of the Strawfoot Civil War/NYC blog for mentioning the proposed name of the city after secession!)

After initially supporting President Lincoln, he became an ardent supporter of the Confederate side and appears in Lincoln in that role. Fernando died in 1881 and is buried in New York City's Trinity Church Cemetery (tombstone above).

As Cousin Larry points out, you can choose your friends but not your family.

Finding Distant Woods

My husband's cousin Larry has done a remarkable job researching the Wood family. One of the distant relatives he researched is Fernando Wood, a former mayor of NYC who was apparently corrupt and whose brother Benjamin owned the NY Daily News for a time. 

Fernando and Benjamin were outspoken opponents of the Civil War (Fernando suggested that NYC secede). 

Benjamin Wood's widow Ida had quite the story of her own--The Recluse of Herald Square, a woman of modest origins who reinvented herself to join high society and finally died with millions stuffed under the mattress. You never know who you'll find as you climb your family tree. To be continued.