James H. Wood is the son of James E. Wood and the grandson of the Rev. Jeremiah Wood, who went to Mayfield in 1826 as a Presbyterian missionary and continued to preach there for half a century. Mr. Wood spent his youth in Mayfield, where he was educated in the common schools, and he graduated from the Gloversville high school in the class of 1901. At that time the Boer war was being prosecuted in South Africa, so the young man entered the service of the British government and set out for adventures on the Dark Continent. Thence he went to Central America, where he engaged in prospecting and railroad work for a time. After two years of wandering in foreign lands James H. Wood returned to his native state to enter Cornell University, where he took up the study of law and graduated with the Bachelor of Laws degree in the class of 1907. About a year before he graduated from Cornell the young student took the examinations, was admitted to practice before the bar in 1906, and has been practicing in Gloversville ever since.
In November of 1910, Mr. Wood was married to Miss Marjorie Dennis, daughter of George and Louise (Green) Dennis. Mr. Wood is a republican in politics and in 1912 ran on his party's ticket for member of the assembly at Albany. Winning the election, he served three years in that body.