The papers document George Wood's professional life as a teacher, businessman, inventor, and postmaster as well as the life of his family and friends. Documents relating to Wood's business and personal life make up most of the collection, but there is also a sizeable amount of correspondence from his wife, daughters, and various friends and relatives. The bulk of the collection consists of letters, but it also includes deeds, land contracts, property maps, rock drill diagrams and plans, patents, diaries, financial records, and a photograph.
The collection has been divided into two series: Wood's professional papers relating to his various business activities, and the personal and family papers, which contain correspondence and other documents relating to Wood, his immediate family, relatives and friends. Most of the professional papers consist of correspondence between Wood and his partner James Prentice. The personal and family correspondents primarily include George Wood, Mary Candace Wood, Candace P. Wood, Zebina Pangborn, and Harry Pangborn.
The PROFESSIONAL PAPERS series contains the following subseries: Teaching and Principalship, Land Speculation and Legal Business, Rock Drill and Mining, and University Diploma and Law Certificate. The subseries are arranged in chronological order, with his professional certificates located at the end.
The Teaching and Principalship subseries (1841-1861) contains papers from his teaching and principalship at Canton Academy and Franklin Academy on the East Coast. These documents are not extensive, and consist mainly of slips of paper verifying students' tuition payments and letters from his co-workers after he left Franklin Academy.
The Land Speculation and Legal Business subseries (1851-1868) contains Correspondence and Business Documents (1851-1868) between George Wood and his business partner, James Prentice, discussing their land speculation business in the Green Bay/Brown County region. The correspondence is arranged in chronological order by year, with undated material at the end. Filed with the correspondence are land contracts, lists of land warrants held and being sold, tax statements, and other documents relating to the business. Since Prentice was also Wood's brother-in-law, the letters of both Wood and Prentice include brief discussions of family affairs mixed in with business matters. There are fewer documents between 1856 and 1861 after James' death in 1855. After 1856 the documents consist primarily of correspondence from clients seeking land and lists of land warrants sold. There are about a dozen township and range Property Maps, mostly undated. The maps do not include a lot of information or markings, but contain various markings for plots of land (empty, swamp, sold, pre-empted, etc.). A few maps include corresponding land warrant numbers for plots. The Mortgage Papers of Sarah Prentice (1861-1867) consist of correspondence with her lawyer and legal documents. Sarah Prentice was probably Candace's sister-in-law, though Sarah's relation to the family is not certain.
The Rock Drill and Mining (1851-1890) subseries documents Wood's invention of the rock drill and extractor, as well as correspondence relating to his attempts to open up a mine in the Green Bay area, and receive a patent for his invention and use of the drill when the family moved to Malone, N.Y. The Colorado Gold Rush Journey correspondence consists of about a dozen letters to Candace about his journey out west and his attempts to use his drill for mining with his partner, Hazen Mooers. The French Patent Materials are official French documents from the government describing his rock drill and a patent for the drill. The Diagrams and Plans consist of a couple of paper diagrams of his rock drill and a bound volume with drawings and plans.
The PERSONAL AND FAMILY PAPERS series has been divided into the following subseries: Correspondence, Family Legal Documents, Newspaper Clippings, Diaries and Account Books, and Photograph of George Wood. The bulk of the Personal and Family Papers consists of the Correspondence (1832-1950) subseries, which is arranged by correspondent. The main correspondents are arranged in roughly chronological order by the specific family member writing the letters. Most of George Wood's General Correspondence consists of letters from 1866 to 1868 to Candace when George Wood was in Cairo and Candace and the family had moved to Malone. There are a few earlier letters from the 1830s and 1840s to family and friends talking about college life. The correspondence after 1868 consists mainly of letters to his daughters.
Mary Candace Wood's letters (1852-1920) consist mainly of correspondence after 1860 to her daughters. There are a few letters to George and grandchildren. Candace writes principally about family affairs, their children, and a few discuss George's business affairs. The correspondence from Jessie, Katherine, Georgia, and Candace P. Wood are mainly addressed to each other and their mother and father. Most of the correspondence is from Candace P. Wood (“Daisy”) and these letters mainly discuss family affairs.
The Wood Family and Friends During the Civil War (1861-1865) file contains correspondence from Candace and George Wood and friends and family. These letters contain descriptions of Cairo and Candace's work at the hospital. The actual war is mentioned only briefly. There is one letter from James Ashton, a soldier stationed at Fort Blakely in Alabama.
There is extensive correspondence from Zebina Pangborn to his wife, Hattie Pangborn, and his brother, Harry Pangborn. Zebina was a journalist, but appears to have traveled to various parts of the United States during the 1890s and wrote extensively when away although the letters are often brief and principally discuss daily activities.
The correspondence from Other Friends and Family (circa 1832-1950) is arranged chronologically, roughly by decade. The earlier correspondence consists mainly of letters from George's relatives and childhood friends. Correspondents include Enos Wood, W. Reynolds, H. J. Raymond, William A. Wheeler, and Enos Parker. Other correspondence to George is primarily from friends about their college schooling and daily lives. The later correspondence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century consists of correspondence from the Wood family's friends and relatives. This correspondence mainly discusses daily activities.
The Family Legal Documents (circa 1808-1929) consists of various legal documents, mainly deeds, of George Wood's family. Included are quit-claim deeds, land deeds, contracts of sale for land and houses, and an agreement from the Malone Cemetery in 1929. Most of the documents are deeds from the latter part of the 19th century.
There are only a few Newspaper Clippings. They include George Wood's obituary and a New Year's poem from a carrier.
The Diaries and Account Books (1848-1912) provide a brief look into the life of Candace Wood, a little about Sarah Prentice (probably her sister-in-law), and an unidentified member of the Wood family. The diaries mainly discuss family affairs and daily activities, but also include a few poems and Bible passages. Each of the diaries, however, covers only a few years. There are two diaries from Candace, one of which dates 1908-1910 and the other consisting of about twenty pages copying a section of her diary from 1847. The financial accounts of Sarah Prentice date from 1871 to 1875 (after the accounts are some writings from the 1920s) and mainly list items bought and the prices of these items. The diary from an unidentified member of the George Wood family (this person was born in 1831) covers the years 1848-1850. This diary includes a record of births, deaths, and marriages from the 17th century through the middle of the 19th century.
