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Charles Gilbert Wood papers, 1887-1996

Overview of the Collection

Title
Charles Gilbert Wood papers
Dates
1887-1996 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 boxes, (3.5 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_COLL MSS 191
Summary
This collection contains Charles G. Woods' personal and political papers. The collection as a whole offers the researcher a view of rural life in Cache Valley, Utah, as well as a glimpse into college life (both in Salt Lake and Massachusetts) from the late 1800s as well as the state legislature in the 1920s.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Joseph Wood, Charles's father, was born near Nauvoo, Illinois, but immigrated westward in 1845, eventually setting in Huntsville, Utah in 1860. Charles G. Wood was born on February 23,1867, the second child of what would eventually be ten children to Joseph Wood and Elizabeth Ann Slater. As a young child, Charles's family moved from Huntsville to Austin, Nevada to Lewiston, Utah and eventually settled in Trenton, a small community in Cache Valley, Utah.

Charles entered Salt Lake Academy in September of 1886. While enrolled, he worked odd jobs around campus to earn extra money. Charles graduated from the academy in June of 1886, and the following fall he attended Amherst College in Massachusetts. While at Amherst, Charles was active in the local YMCA and was a member of the Congregational Church. In 1893 he gave a talk to the YMCA on the topic of "Mormon Boys." That same year he was vice president of his graduating class. Charles Wood was the only student in his class from Utah and apparently the only one from west of Missouri.

Upon graduating from Amherst, Charles headed back west and took a teaching position in the Trenton school district. He signed a contract on September 9, 1893, earning $40.00 per month. He would eventually become a member of the school board. Charles was also a farmer and served on an irrigation committee to bring water to Trenton. During his life, Charles also served as the first mayor of Trenton in 1919 and served in the Utah State Legislature as House Republican from 1921-1926.

Charles was married to Letitia Alice Litz, also a native Utah from Lewiston, on November 23, 1898. They would eventually have five children. The childhood home of Letitia Litz was placed on the historic register for Utah in the 1970s. Charles died in Logan, Utah on December 27, 1946.

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Content Description

The Charles G. Wood collection begins with letters written by various members of Wood's family between 1889 and 1939, grouped by sender. Box 2 consists of nonfamilial correspondence ranging in date from 1889 to 1923, grouped and arranged in alphabetical order by sender. The bulk of the nonfamilial letters, however, are centered on the 1890s. Most of the letters from family members were received from Charles' sister, Nettie Ann Wood.

Folder 3 of Box 2 also holds some interesting school programs for commencement exercises. There are programs from graduation ceremonies at the University of Deseret (1891), Salt Lake Collegiate Institute (1891), and Salt Lake Academy (1889 and 1891). The Wood collection continues with Box 3, mostly containing household expense materials. Notably, this box contains an application form for teaching filled out by Charles in 1897.

Box 4 is comprised mostly of materials from his college years. As with Box 2, there is a folder that contains an array of commencement programs, this time from varying years at Amherst College. This box covers Charles's entire academic career, beginning with grades and tuition payments for the Salt Lake Academy in 1886, and concluding with correspondence from the Amherst Alumni Association through 1920. Class lecture notes, homework assignments, and essays from his college days are all held in Box 5.

Boxes 6 through 8 are supplemental to the collection and contain a thorough selection of Charles's checks and deposit statements from 1900-1934, with only a handful of years incomplete. Of the supplemental boxes, Box 9 is probably the most interesting historically. It houses Charles's legislative books from the terms he served in the Utah State Legislature. Both books labeled "Senate Bills" have personal notes written by Charles throughout.

The collection, as a whole, offers the researcher a view of rural life in Cache Valley, Utah as well as a glimpse into college life (both in Salt Lake City and Massachusetts) from the late 1800s and a glance into the state legislature in the 1920s.-

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Charles Gilbert Wood papers must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archives department head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: Charles Gilbert Wood papers, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations: USU_COLL MSS 191, USUSCA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Correspondence is arranged by sender in alphabetical and chronological order while other boxes are arranged by subject.

Processing Note

Processed in November 2002.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information is unknown.

Related Materials

Wood, Charles. Unpublished manuscript File MSS 46, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University

Wood, Harold G. papers COLL MSS 12

Bibliography

Duersch, Melissa A. "Saying is Not Much Worse than Thinking: The Adolescent Perspective of Nettie Ann Wood, 1889-1893." Master's Thesis, Utah State University, 1996 (BOOK COLL 42 no. 223)Haymond, J.B., J.L Geyser and P.R. Benzon. The Utah State Legislature: Centennial History, 1896-1996 . Salt Lake City: Office of the Third House, 1996.Simmonds, A.J. On the Big Range . Utah State University Press, 1970.Wood, Charles. Unpublished manuscript File MSS 46, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University.Wood, Harold G. Papers, MSS COLL 12, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University.
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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Farm life--Utah--Trenton.
  • Legislators--Utah.

Geographical Names

  • Trenton (Utah)--History.

Finding aid/Register created by Matthew Stiffler
2011

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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