Clara Mae Wood

Clara Mae Skaggs was born July 10, 1873, in Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri, to Andrew Skaggs and Laura Jane Eubank. Clara's maternal grandfather, Stephen Green Eubank, had passed away in 1872, and his 3rd wife, Sarah Armstrong Waggoner Eubank, had moved back to Pitman, Montgomery County, Illinois, shortly thereafter, and was living there in 1880. Stephen and Sarah had been married in 1845 in Petersburg, Menard County, Illinois, and lived there until about 1859 when they moved to Kansas. After living in Kansas during the Civil War, they moved to Clay County, Missouri, in about 1869. During their time in Missouri, Stephen had applied for a patent for an improvement to the clothes washing machine in 1869. He was only 68 years old when he died in 1872. He and Sarah had 13 children, the last born in 1870 when Stephen was already 66 years old. He was 24 years older than Sarah. His his first two wives died young, Susannah Q. Branch Eubank, with whom he had a son and a daughter, died at the young age of 26 in a cholera epidemic in Palmyra, Missouri, in 1833. He married his second wife, Mary Phillips Eubank, in 1834 in Scuyler County, Illinois, and they had two daughters, but Mary died in 1841 from consumption. Sarah outlived Stephen by nearly 30 years, passing away in 1902.

Laura Jane and her husband Andrew had also moved back to Illinois, and in 1880 they were also living in Pitman and were listed as follows in the census: Andrew, 33, Laura J., 28, Clara M., 7, Marshall, 5, Daisy A., 4, and Author E., 2. Andrew was working as a farmer. Both he and Laura were born in Illinois, but Clara was born in Missouri, and the rest of the children were born in Illinois. Since Marshall was 5 years old in 1880, we can assume that the family returned to Illinois from Missouri about 1874. Andrew's parents were both born in Kentucky.

On January 12, 1892, Clara married Alfred Benjamin Wood in Montgomery County, Illinois. Eight years later in 1900 they were listed in the Pitman census with their children as follows: Alfred B., 30, Clara M., 26, Lorin A., 7, Morris C., 5, and Ruth, 7 months old. Also living in the home was Alfred's sister, Nelle E., 24. Alfred was working as a laborer for the railroad and his sister Nellie was working as a milliner. They owned their own home but had a mortgage.

By 1910 they were listed in the Pitman census as follows: Alfred B., 40, Clara M., 36, Lorin A., 17, Morris C., 15, Ruth, 10, and Laura A., 4 years old. Alfred was working as a farmer and sons Lorin and Morris were working as farm laborers on the home farm. They were renting their farm. Sadly, their son, Morris Clyde Wood, passed away on December 7, 1915, at the young age of only 20 years old. He was buried in the Providence Cemetery in Waggoner, Montgomery County, Illinois.

When Clara and Alfred's son, Lorin A. Wood, completed his U.S. World War I Draft Registration Card on June 5th 1917, he described himself as being of medium height, stout build, with light brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was single and 24 years old, having been born January 4, 1893, in Waggoner, Illinois. He was working as a farmer near Waggoner, Illinois. Not long after that he married a girl named Janet and in the 1920 census they were living in Irving Township in Montgomery County in a rented home and he was working as a high school teacher.

In 1920 Alfred and Clara were living in Zanesville, Montgomery County, and were listed as follows: A.B. Woods, 50, Clara, 46, Laura, 13, and Dorothy, 7. They owned their home free from a mortgage, and Alfred was still working as a farmer. In the 1930 census for Zanesville, they were listed as follows: Alfred B., 60, Clara M., 56, their married daughter, Laura A. Lee, 24, and her husband, Morris Lee, 28, and their daughter, Patricia Ann Lee, 7 months old. Alfred and Clara had been married for 38 years, and Laura and Morris had been married for 3 years. They had a radio in their home. Alfred was listed as a retired farmer, and Morris was now doing the farming.

Clara passed away 8 years later on May 11, 1938, in Litchfield, Montgomery, Illinois, and was buried in the Providence Cemetery with many of her family members, including her son Morris Clyde. Alfred Benjamin Wood lived another 17 years and passed away in 1955, and was buried with his wife and son at the Providence Cemetery in Waggoner.