Abraham Wood

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Abraham Wood was an English fur trader (specifically the deerskin trade) and explorer of colonial Virginia during the 17th century. His base of operations was Fort Henry, near present-day Richmond, Virginia. He is sometimes referred to as "General" or "Colonel" Wood.

The first recorded English explorations of the southern Appalachian Mountains were by fur traders associated with Abraham Wood. Several exploration parties were sent by Wood into the mountains between 1650 and 1675. These parties explored the upper reaches of the James River and Roanoke River.

In 1671 the Batts-Fallam expedition reached the New River Valley and the New River. The New River was named Wood's River after Abraham Wood, although in time it became better known as the New River.

In 1673, James Needham and Gabriel Arthur were sent by Abraham Wood to the Overhill Cherokee country of eastern Tennessee. The expedition was an attempt to establish direct contact with the Cherokee in order to circumvent the fur trade middlemen of the Ocaneechee Indians. The party did reach the Overhill Cherokee region, but Needham was killed. Arthur was almost killed but was saved by being adopted by a Cherokee chief. For his own safety, Arthur was sent with Cherokee raiding parties for a year to places as far south as Florida and as far north as Ohio. Gabriel Arthur was probably the first European in West Virginia.

[edit] References

• Drake, Richard B. A History of Appalachia. The University of Kentucky Press (2001). ISBN 0-8131-2169-8