Thomas Wood (1708–1799)

Elizabeth Jones

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(after 1743)​

Thomas Wood FRS
Member of Parliament for Middlesex
In office 1779–1780 Servingwith John Wilkes
Relations	Thomas Wood (grandson)
Children	5
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford All Souls College, Oxford

Thomas WoodFRS (25 September 1708 – 25 June 1799), was a British politician who briefly sat in the House of Commons from 1779 to 1780. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Wood was born on 25 September 1708. The seventh son of Edward Wood and Elizabeth ( née Bridger) Wood (daughter and heiress of Henry Bridger of Bramley, Surrey), he was from Littleton (then in Middlesex, now Surrey). ^{[3] [4]}

He was educated at Eton College from 1718 to 1725 before matriculating at Christ Church, Oxford in 1725 and All Souls College, Oxford in 1732. ^[1]

Career

A barrister, he was called in 1735, made a bencher in 1766, and later served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple where he had been admitted in 1729. In 1748, he succeeded to his brothers estates. ^[1] A member of the Whig party, he was Member of Parliament for Middlesex from 1779 to 1780. ^[2]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in February 1761. ^[5]

Personal life

On 2 October 1743 Wood was married to Anne Jones, daughter of Richard Jones. Together, they were the parents of two sons and three daughters, including: ^[6]

• Thomas Wood, who married Mary Williams (1752–1820), daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams, 5th Baronet, of Gwernyfed. ^[7]

Wood died on 25 June 1799. ^[1]

Descendants

Through his son Thomas, he was a grandfather of Thomas Wood (1777–1860), MP for Breconshire from 1806 to 1847; he married Lady Caroline Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry and Frances Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry (daughter of the Whig politician Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden). ^[8]

References

1. "WOOD, Thomas (1708–99), of Littleton, Mdx". History of Parliament. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)
3. Burke, John (1847). Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry, Volume 2. H. Colburn. p. 1627.
4. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (1911) Subscribed Source on descendant Sir David Edward Wood, see Littleton
5. "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
6. "WILLIAMS families, of Gwernyfed, in the parish of Glasbury, Brecknock". biography.wales. Dictionary of Welsh Biography . Retrieved 6 January 2023.
7. Jones, Theophilus (1898). A History of the County of Brecknock: Containing the Chorography, General History, Religion, Laws, Customs, Manners, Language, and System of Agriculture Used in that County. E. Davies. p. 357. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
8. "WOOD, Thomas (1777-1860), of Gwernyfed, Brec. and Littleton Park, nr. Staines, Mdx". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by John Glynn John Wilkes	Member of Parliament for Middlesex 1779–1780 With: John Wilkes	Succeeded by John Wilkes George Byng