Born in Minisink, New York, Wood attended the common schools. He engaged in railroad construction in New Jersey and moved to Portland, Maine, 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 in 1852 and 1853. He was owner and publisher of the Portland Daily Advertiser from 1853 to 1857.