(1849-Feb. 1914), mining man. (Capt. James Wood; Jim Wood) Born in GC. Parents: Joseph S. Wood and his wife Helen McVichie or Ellen McVicar, or, by another account, Joseph Wood and his wife Jane Sutherland. James was the discoverer of the Norrie Mine at Ironwood, Michigan. The town of Ironwood, Mich., was named after him, the name of the town being at first spelled Iron-wood or Iron-Wood. James Wood was called Capt. James Wood; the title may have been military, but the name captain was apparently also used locally for mine managers. He was one of five Wood brothers: Alexander, Joseph, James, John R. (see John R. Wood), and Dan. In 1914, a report on James Wood’s death stated, “There remain on the Gogebic range many men who knew the Wood brothers. They were a sturdy lot, sons of the famous old Glengarry in the St. Lawrence country, and each contributed his share to the pioneer work of opening up the Michigan iron ore fields.” The writer observes that in 1884 the five Wood brothers “were among the best known mining men in the Lake Superior iron districts.” James Wood died in the “southwest” (presumably the southwest of the U.S., not of Michigan). For Ironwood, see also Solomon S. Curry.

“Records Tell How Ironwood Got Its Name,” Mining Journal (Marquette, Mich.), 11 April 1939 (quotes report of 1914–no source stated–on James Wood’s death) * Victor F. Lemmer, “Ironwood, Michigan: Gogebic Iron Range,” Skillings’ Mining Review (Duluth, Minn.), 2 July 1960 * family background: see notes to life of John R. Wood * brief obituary of his mother, who died at a mine one of her sons was associated with, Weekly Mining Journal (Marquette, Mich.), 28 April 1883