Benjamin Wood (MP)

Benjamin Wood
Member of Parliament
for Southwark
In office
24 January 1840 – 13 August 1845
Serving with John Humphery
Preceded byDaniel Whittle Harvey
John Humphery
Succeeded byWilliam Molesworth
John Humphery
Personal details
Born1787
Died13 August 1845(1845-08-13) (aged 57–58)
NationalityBritish
Political partyWhig

Benjamin Wood (1787 – 13 August 1845)[1] was a British Whig politician.[2][3][4] He was Member of Parliament for Southwark from 24 January 1840 until his death in 1845

Life

Benjamin Wood was born in Tiverton, Devon, the son of William Wood (died 1809), a serge maker and a Dissenter. An older brother was Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet (1768 – 1843)[5] also a Whig politician. Benjamin Wood was a partner with his brother in the hops-trading business, Wood, Field & Wood.[5]

Wood twice stood unsuccessfully in the Tiverton constituency as a Whig candidate. In both the 1832 general election and the 1833 Tiverton by-election he lost to Radicals. He stood in Kingston upon Hull in 1837.

Wood was elected as the Whig MP for Southwark at the by-election in 1840 caused by the resignation of Daniel Whittle Harvey. He held the seat until his death at Eltham Lodge in Kent in 1845.[4][6]

He is buried in Cressing in Essex.[7]

Family

In October 1815 in Kenwyn in Cornwall, he married Anna Maria Michell (1791-1889) daughter of Admiral Sampson Michell and sister of Admiral Frederick Thomas Michell and Charles Collier Michell.[8]

A dispute about his widow's will was a possible factor in the divorce of Katharine O'Shea (née Wood) and the downfall of Charles Stewart Parnell

References

  1. ^ Rayment, Leigh (30 April 2018). "The House of Commons: Constituencies beginning with "S"". Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Southwark". Dublin Morning Register. 27 January 1840. p. 2. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Southwark Election". Cambridge Independent Press. 25 January 1840. p. 2. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ a b Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 70–72. Retrieved 23 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b "WOOD, Matthew (1768-1843), of 77 South Audley Street, Mdx. History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. ^ Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  7. ^ "Sir Benjamin WOOD, M.P. B. Est 1790 of Tiverton, Devon. England d. 13 Aug 1845 Eltham Lodge, Kent. England: Devon Mitchells".
  8. ^ "Anna Marie MICHELL b. 1791 Exeter, Devon. England d. 19 May 1889 Eltham Lodge, Kent. England: Devon Mitchells".
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Southwark
1840–1845
With: John Humphery 		Succeeded by