Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records, Ms2009-045, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Cubic Feet 1 box
Creator:
Thomas Wood and Company (Max Meadows, Va.) and Wood, Thomas, 1812-1891
Abstract:
The collection includes bills for freight shipped on the Norfolk & Western Railroad and received by Thomas Wood and Company, a general mercantile business.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records, Ms2009-045, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains records relating to freight shipments made to Thomas Wood and Company of Max Meadows, Virginia. The collection consists largely of freight bills from the Norfolk & Western Railroad for goods shipped to the company at Max Meadows. The bills list the date of receipt and the goods shipped, including such items as foodstuffs, hardware, clothing, agricultural equipment, furniture and other household goods. While most of the goods were shipped from Baltimore, Maryland; Bristol, Virginia; and Lynchburg, Virginia, frequent shipments of salt and plaster from Saltville, Virginia are also noted, as are periodic shipments from Wytheville and other Southwest Virginia locales. Appearing on some of the bills are the names R. R. Wood and G. C. Wood. The collection also includes five pieces of correspondence relating to freight shipments.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas Wood, proprietor of Thomas Wood and Company, appears in the 1880 Wythe County, Virginia census as a 67-year-old merchant, placing his birth year around 1813. Born in England, Wood immigrated to Virginia and married Margaret Elizabeth Crockett in November 26, 1840. This union produced many children: William, Robert, Grafton, Thomas Bamford, Mary Agnes, Margaret Louise, Elizabeth Graham, John, Ann(e), Virginia, and Josie Wood.

Wood is likely the Thomas Wood (June 20, 1812-March 29, 189[1?]) buried in Crockett Cemetery in Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. His tombstone states "Born in Cumberland Co. Eng."

External sources:

U.S. Census, 1850-1880

"Thomas Wood", Virginia Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/144572:3723, accessed March 29, 2023.

Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70982170/thomas-wood, accessed March 29, 2023.

Thomas Wood and Company served the community of Max Meadows, Virginia as a general mercantile business during the latter nineteenth century. The firm dealt largely in foodstuffs, clothing, alcohol, common household items, hardware, and agricultural equipment. Wood and Company seems to have succeeded an earlier business, Wood, Kasey and Wood, a general store that also shipped locally mined zinc ore to works in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Acquisition information:
The Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records were purchased by Special Collections in 2009. The documents had been part of a larger group of railroad-related materials compiled by a collector (see "separated material" section).
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records commenced and was completed in March 2009.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by document type, then chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard