Levi M. Wood, a prominent pioneer of LaValley Township in Lincoln County, South Dakota, was born on January 27, 1842, in Ohio. The son of Morris and Abashaba (Sudnutt) Wood, he moved with his parents to Iowa, where he grew up. He served in the Civil War with the Second Iowa Cavalry. In 1866, he married Virbett (Bent) Lippincott and, in 1872, they settled in South Dakota, where Wood developed a successful 240-acre farm. He was active in local politics, held various township offices, and contributed to the community’s development. He passed away on August 27, 1901, leaving a legacy of public service and agricultural success.
Levi M. Wood — The name of the lamented subject of this memoir is inseparably connected with the history of Lincoln County, South Dakota, as he was one of the pioneers of LaValley Township, a prominent citizen of his community, and for a number of years a leader in its material development and a public-spirited man in all that the term implies. Levi M. Wood, son of Morris and Abashaba (Sudnutt) Wood, of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, was born in Ohio on January 27, 1842. When quite young, he accompanied his parents upon their removal to Iowa and was reared in Bremer County, that state, growing to young manhood on a farm and receiving a good practical education in such schools as the country in the early days afforded. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the service of the government, enlisting in Company C, Second Iowa Cavalry, with which he served until the close of the war, taking part in a number of campaigns in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and other southern states, participating in some of the most noted battles of that historic period and earning an honorable record for duty bravely and uncomplainingly performed.
After his discharge, Mr. Wood returned to Bremer County, where, in the year 1866, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Virbett (Bent) Lippincott, a native of New Hampshire and the daughter of Nathan and Sarah (Smith) Bent, both parents born in that state, the father of Irish descent, the mother of English-Welsh lineage. By occupation, Nathan Bent was a carpenter and millwright, which trades he followed in New Hampshire until 1853, when he removed to Lee County, Illinois, thence, one year later, to Fayette County, Iowa, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. They were the parents of four children, viz.: Mrs. Wood, the oldest of the family; Allerton H., Franklin P., Eva, and Ida E., all deceased except Mrs. Wood.
In the year 1872, Mr. and Mrs. Wood moved to Lincoln County, South Dakota, and settled in LaValley Township, on a tract of public land to which he laid claim and for which he received in due time a deed from the government. This real estate, amounting in all to two hundred and forty acres, lies in one of the richest agricultural districts in the county, and in the course of a few years, he had the larger part under cultivation, besides making a number of substantial improvements in the way of buildings, fences, orchards, etc., converting the place into one of the finest farms in the township. Mr. Wood was an excellent farmer and in addition to raising abundantly all kinds of grains and fruits grown in this part of the state, devoted considerable attention to livestock, which he found very profitable and the sure source of a handsome income. Being among the earliest settlers of LaValley, he very naturally manifested a lively interest in its development. Accordingly, he assisted other settlers to secure homes, and in many other ways proved a benefit to them until they succeeded in getting a substantial start in the new country. He not only exercised a strong influence in the material affairs of his township but took an active part in public matters and at different times held every township office within the gift of the people, proving in all of these positions a capable, trustworthy, and exceedingly popular and accommodating official. Mr. Wood believed in the gospel of honest toil and throughout life was a great worker and made his industry and thrift redound greatly to his financial advantage. He not only established a fine home and acquired a sufficiency of worldly wealth to render his condition independent but also assisted his older children to get a start in life, besides providing handsomely for his wife and the younger members of the family against the day of his death, an event which, unfortunately for them and the community, took place at a time when it was thought he could least be spared. This kind neighbor and estimable citizen, after an active and useful life of nearly sixty years, was called from the scenes of his earthly toils and achievements on the 27th day of August, 1901. His death was deeply lamented, not only by his immediate family and relations but also by a large circle of friends and acquaintances in LaValley Township and throughout the county. Six months before his death, Mr. and Mrs. Wood left the farm and moved to the village of Worthing, where she has a comfortable home, in which she has since lived a life of quiet retirement. She is highly esteemed wherever known, stands high in the confidence of the people of Worthing, and by her excellent character and many kind deeds, exercises a gentle but wholesome influence among all with whom she mingles. She has been twice married, her former husband, Davis Lippincott, a farmer and soldier of West Union, Iowa, having been killed in battle at Julesburg, Colorado, in the year 1863.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood reared a family of four children, the oldest of whom, a daughter by the name of Arminta, is the wife of George Vogar, a farmer of Lincoln County, and the mother of a son, Floyd. Herbert L., the second in order of birth, served one and a half years as a soldier in the late Spanish-American War, and is now a prosperous young farmer of LaValley Township. Franklin L., also a farmer and stock raiser, manages the homestead in LaValley, and is one of the enterprising citizens of his community. He married Miss Ila Grace, of Canton, South Dakota, who has borne him two children, Ray and Bernice. Eddie, the youngest of the family, is unmarried, and lives at home with his mother, managing her interests and looking after her comfort. Mrs. Wood is a Methodist in her religious belief and is one of the respected and useful members of the local church at Worthing. Mr. Wood also subscribed to the same belief and for a number of years was a faithful and consistent communicant of the above congregation, for the material support of which he contributed liberally as long as he lived. Fraternally, he was an active worker in the Odd Fellows order at Worthing, and his name appears among the first on the records of the Grand Army post at Canton. Politically, he was a staunch Republican, and as such rendered valuable service to his party in Lincoln County, having long been one of its standard bearers in this part of South Dakota.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.