Abraham Wood

Abraham Wood (1610–1682), sometimes referred to as "General" or "Colonel" Wood, was an English fur trader (specifically the beaver and deerskin trades) and explorer of 17th century colonial Virginia. Wood's base of operations was Fort Henry at the falls of the Appomattox in present-day Petersburg. Wood also was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a member of the Virginia Governor's Council and a high-ranking militia officer.

Abraham Wood came to Virginia as a 10-year-old boy in 1620. As a passenger on the English ship "Margaret and John", Abraham Wood was one of the few survivors when the ship was attacked by two Spanish vessels in the West Indies, and turned to the Virginia colonies. By 1625, he was employed by Captain Samuel Mathews (Governor) and was living at Jamestown.

Abraham Wood represented Henrico County in the House of Burgesses from 1644 to 1646 and Charles City County from 1652 and 1656.< He was a justice of Charles City County in 1655. Also in 1655, he was appointed to a committee to review Virginia's laws. He was elected to the Virginia Governor's Council on March 13, 1657–68 and actively served until at least 1671, and according to correspondence, keeping his seat as late as 1676. Fort Henry was built in 1646 to mark the legal frontier between the white settlers and the Native Americans, and was near the Indian tribe with whom Abraham Wood traded. It was the only point in Virginia at which Indians could be authorized to cross eastward into white territory, or whites westward into Indian territory, from 1646 until around 1691. This circumstance gave Wood, who commanded the fort and privately owned the adjoining lands, a considerable advantage over his competitors in the "Indian trade".

Several exploration parties were dispatched from Fort Henry by Wood during these years, including one undertaken by Wood himself in 1650, which explored the upper reaches of the James River and Roanoke River. In August 1650, Abraham Wood and Edward Bland used the Great Indian Warpath, penetrating the Carolina region southwest of the Roanoke River and discovering westward flowing rivers. Daniel Coxe mentions that "Parts of this Country were discovered by the English long before the French had the least knowledge... Colonel Wood of Virginia... from the years 1654 to 1664 discovered at several times several branches of the great rivers Ohio and Mesechaceba."

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