William Wood

Background

Neither the birth date nor the place of birth of William Wood are unknown.

Education

Possibly he had been at Cambridge University, where several William Woods are recorded at dates which would have been possible for him.

Career

There is rather little information about the life of William Wood. It is known that Wood emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1629, and probably settled in Lynn, where one of his name was made a freeman in 1631. The dedication of his one book to Sir William Armyne of Lincolnshire suggests that he came from that county, as did so many other early New Englanders.

He left the colony on August 15, 1633, and on July 7, 1634, his book, New Englands Prospect, was entered in the Stationers' Register in London. Wood's New Englands Prospect is an account of New England as its author saw it from 1629 to 1633. The first part is given to a description of the country and its settlements; the second, to Wood's observations on the Indians. The book is clearly the work of a man with some literary training, and some background of reading. It was sufficiently popular to have London editions in 1634, 1635, and 1639.

On September 3, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay voted to send letters of thanks to various benefactors to "this plantacon"— among them "Mr. Wood". Presumably this was in recognition of Wood's book, the best description of Massachusetts Bay which had appeared. In it the author speaks of his intention to return to New England.

The exact death date and the place of death of William Wood are unknown.

Achievements

• William Wood was an author, who became noted for his book, New Englands Prospect, which offers rich material for the historian, and is unusual among books of its type for real vigor of style and relatively polished form.

Works

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• book

  • New England's Prospect

    (First published in 1634, this book provided reliable, fir...)