WOOD, James, governor of Virginia, born in 1750 ; died at Olney, near Richmond, Virginia, 16 July, 1813. His father, Colonel James Wood, was the founder of Winchester, Virginia, and clerk of Frederick county. In 1774 the son was commissioned by Lord Dunmore a captain of Virginia troops, and in 1775 he was elected to the house of burgesses from Frederick county. In July of that year he went on a mission from the state of Virginia to the western Indians, accompanied by a single companion, to invite them to a treaty at Fort Pitt. The courage that he displayed on this mission won the admiration of the savages, and he accomplished his object. The house of burgesses, of which he was a member in 1776, appointed him on 12 November, 1776, a colonel in the Virginia line, commanding the 8th regiment. He served with gallantry during the early part of the Revolutionary war. When Burgoyne's captured army was quartered at Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1778, Colonel Wood was appointed to the command of that post. In 1781 he was made superintendent of all the prisoners of war in Virginia, and in 1783 the governor of the state commissioned him a brigadier-general of state troops. He was also for several years a member of the Virginia council, and by seniority in that body the lieutenant-governor of the state. In 1789 he was one of the presidential electors for Virginia when the vote of that state was cast for George Washington. He was elected governor of Virginia, 1 December, 1796, serving until 1 December, 1799, when he was succeeded by James Monroe. Wood county (now in West Virginia) was named in honor of his public services, which covered a period of more than twenty-five years. Governor Wood was the vice-president in 1797, and in 1801 president, of the Society for promoting the abolition of slavery in Virginia. He became a member of the Virginia branch of the Society of the Cincinnati, 9 October, 1784, was elected vice-president of the same, 4 December, 1789, and became president, 17 January, 1802, serving in this office until his death in 1813.--His wife, Jean Moncure, born in Virginia in 1754; died in 1823, married Governor Wood in 1775. She was the daughter of the Reverend John Moncure, a clergyman of the Church of England in Virginia, and a native of the parish of Kinoff, Scotland. She was possessed of much poetic ability, Christian zeal, and liveliness of character. The later years of her life were spent in deeds of Christian benevolence. She was active in organizing the Female humane association of Richmond, which was incorporated in 1811, and was its first president. Many examples of her poetic talent occurred in the publications of her day, and the most elegant verses from her pen were published in a volume entitled " Flowers and Weeds of the Old Dominion " (1859).