Cleave (Cleve) Wood was born into slavery around 1825 in Albemarle County, Virginia. His owner was William Wood, and by the 1840s, he was living in Saline County, Missouri. Around August 15, 1847, he married Harriet Marmaduke, whose owner Meredith M. Marmaduke served as governor of Missouri in the early 1840s. Wood and Harriet had seven children together: Cleve, born around 1848; Eliza, born around 1850; Isabel Franklin, born around 1855; Henry, born around 1859; Mimmy, born around 1861; Preston, born around 1862; and Betty, born around 1864.
Wood enlisted in the Union army on January 1, 1864, in Marshall, Missouri, for a period of three years. He mustered in as a private in Company K of the 67th USCT Infantry Regiment on February 13 at Benton Barracks in St. Louis. His enlistment record describes him as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion. He fell ill with pneumonia soon after joining the military, and he died at the post hospital in Benton Barracks on February 22, 1864.
Harriet died on June 15, 1871. Five of their children were still minors at the time of her death, and her former owner, Meredith Marmaduke, became their legal guardian. In 1883, he petitioned for pensions on their behalf, and the government awarded them $8 per month backdated to Wood's death in 1864.
Documents:
| Name: | Wood, Cleave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gender: | M | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Branch of service: | Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enlistment/Muster: |
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| Residence at enlistment: | Saline County, MO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank In: | Private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank Out: | Private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest rank achieved: | Private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pensions: |
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| Birth date: | 1825 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth date certainty: | About | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth place: | Albemarle County, VA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death date: | 1864-02-22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death place: | Post Hospital, Benton Barracks St. Louis, MO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Causes of death: | disease: pneumonia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupations: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Compiled Service Records for Cleave Wood, RG 94, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; Pension Records for Cleave Wood, RG 15, NARA, Washington, D.C.
