Silas Wood (1753-1834)
Marian and Agnes Wilder were the daughters of
James Lewellyn Wilder, the son of
Francis L. Wilder, the son of
Hadassah Thompson Wilder, the daughter of
Mary "Polly" Wood Thompson the daughter of
Silas Wood the son of
Oliver Wood, the son of Ephraim Wood, Sr.
Silas Wood was the grandfather of Hadassah Thompson Wilder, the great grandfather of Francis L. Wilder, and the great great grandfather of James Lewellyn Wilder. It's possible that Francis Wilder knew him as a small child. Silas Wood was descended from several of the founding families of Concord, Massachusetts. After the Revolution, he joined his father and mother in Norridgewock, Maine, where he lived for about fifty years. He was a cabinet maker, and held several civic posts in the Norridgewock area in the late 1700's and early 1800's.
A Brief Biography of Silas Wood (1753-1834)
The History of Norridgewock, Maine, written by William Allen in 1849. William Allen was a neighbor of Silas Wood for twenty years, and in Wood's application for pension benefits as a Revolutionary War soldier stated that he had known well both Silas Wood and his wife Sybil. This link provides hits from the book pertaining to Silas Wood. You can also read the book as you wish.
History of Norridgewock by William Allen 1849, the entire book
This link provides access to the specific hits in the book relating to Silas Wood.
Links to pages with references about Silas Wood / History of Norridgewock, Allen
The History of the Old Towns of Norridgewock and Canaan, by John Wesley Hanson, was also published in 1849. It also provides information about the Wood family, with interesting specifics taken from personal papers and journals of Silas Wood and his father, Oliver Wood. The book also includes several engravings of Norridgewock from the period when Francis L. Wilder and his father James M. Wilder would have been living nearby.
History of the Old Towns of Norridgewock and Canaan, by John Wesley Hanson, 1849
The following link is to hits from the History of the Old Towns of Norridgewock and Canaan relating specifically to Silas Wood. Found here are Silas Wood's "Vearses", written by him in 1777, about the American Revolution.
References to Silas Wood from History of the Old Towns of Canaan and Norridgewock
The application file for a Revolutionary War soldier pension for Silas Wood. This file is several pages long. You can use the magnifying glass to enlarge the document. The file includes written depositions from Silas Wood and people who had known him in his lifetime.
The Revolutionary War Pension Application of Silas Wood of Norridgewock, Maine
Here are additional documents for Silas Wood's Pension Application added in 2015.
Additional Silas Wood Pensioner files from NARA
A news article from the Kennebec Journal in 1825, mentioning Silas Wood at a banquet held in the memory of George Washington.
Silas Wood attends a banquet to honor George Washington, 1825
The link below has information about the grave of Silas Wood in Norridgewock, Maine. Click on the photo in the link to see an enlarged image of it.