Maria Roome Search Page

Research project bidding:
1. Find the first husband of Maria Cook Roome Wood
2. Find information on Maria - acting career, parents, siblings etc.

On this web page are the hints that might allow one to figure out Roome/Wood family history prior to 1860. I will try and be good about labeling verified {V} information, matching multiple references but not verified {M} information, unverified {U} information, and speculative {S} information.

The oldest verified record for Maria is her marriage license to her 2nd husband where she is listed as Marie Roome. That seems to be her legal name as she uses it again when signing land documents in 1873. The marriage license is issued in Cuyahoga County, Ohio on December 3, 1860. Cleveland is in Cuyahoga County. It is signed by Judge Dan R. Tilden, who was a probate judge. I can find no probate record for a Mr. Roome in Cuyahoga County, although I must admit I don't know to concentrate on Michigan, Ohio, New York, or elsewhere.

The marriage license is also signed by "Wm Day", who in the 1857/58 Cleveland city directory is listed as being a minister living in the sixth ward. He is pastor of the Mayflower Presbyterian Mission Church, Orange, near Kinsman. Kinsman was the area from Pittsburgh to Wilson Avenue. Orange was in the sixth ward in 1855 and was the area from Pittsburgh to Irving. I had no luck obtaining any church congregation records. It seems this church was not an official congregation. Soon the area was redeveloped and area around some bridge where this congregation was located was totally changed so the church and it's records as such did not survive.

Maria's first husband we think was named Henry. Maria married at a very young age, we think 16. Her sister-in-law lists her nationality as French after Maria dies and the sister-in-law is raising Maria's son. It could be that Maria knows French because she has been to a finishing school for ladies. She sends both her children to Germany to be educated. The first husband seems to have died between 1856 and 1860. There was a financial panic in 1857. The story we heard was that Henry Sr.'s business partner ran off with the money, and either Henry killed himself or his health failed. I have the adoption papers from 1869 in Terre Haute, Indiana. They state that Maria says her first husband is dead in papers filed with the court. I cannot find these papers.

Charles Ogden Wood, Maria's 2nd husband, is living with his parents in Terre Haute, IN, when the 1860 federal census is taken in the summer of 1860. Why do he and Maria get married in Cuyahoga County? In 1860 Wood became captain of The Fort Harrison guards, a Terre-Haute pre-civil war marching club - did they put on a marching exhibition in Cleveland and get married there? Cornelia Hitchcock Wood, Charles Ogden Wood's mother, was born in Utica, NY. Yorkville, a sub-section of Utica, is where Eugenie Roome is born in 1856. There is a Yorkville section of New York City too. I can find no trace of Marie/Maria Roome and her children Henry age 6 and Eugenie age 4 in the 1860 census. I wonder if they were abroad. I cannot locate any travel records. Could Maria have come back from Europe via the great lakes and met Charles in Cleveland? His uncle William Maxwell Wood was the first fleet surgeon of the U.S. navy. He might have been stationed on the ship Michigan which was on the great lakes. Maybe they married at Cleveland so he could attend. A wedding notice in Terre Haute should have been placed,as Charle's father was the superintendent of a local railroad.

As an aside, Wood's father Charles helped found the Terre Haute and Richmond railroad. In 1858 Charles Ogden was and assistant ticket agent. It has been speculated in print that Charles Ogden Wood was made a lieutenant in the regular army in April 1861 because he helped get president Lincoln's baggage through the civil unrest in Baltimore. This promotion could have also come about because with his father Charles in the railroad business his father would have had influence with Governor Morton of Indiana.

Wood was stationed in the Harbor Forts in New York Harbor. I believe Maria moved to Brooklyn and lived there. Henry and Eugenia were sent to Europe to be educated. Henry was fluent in French and spoke German while Eugenie was fluent in French, German, and Italian. The Wood's usually had servants, but I don't believe that Charles Ogden Wood nor his family were wealthy. Maria mentions an uncle in New York who is a banker. Wood leads a force from the Harbor Forts to try and put down the Draft Riots in July 1863. In 1864 he is sent to take command of Fort Alcatraz in San Francisco Harbor. At the time, it's the biggest artillery fort in the U.S.. Maria and Charles have a son, Charles Ogden Wood II born on the island on September 26, 1865. He lives until January 1941 but none of Henry's nor Eugenie's descendents knew this until we discovered it recently.

Maria was supposed to be an actress. I don't know if this was while her husband was in the harbor forts in New York City, or before.

There is a Roome family originating from King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. They are engaged in shipping, and settle in South Africa. It is possible my Henry Roome is from another line of this family.

I have a letter dated April 13, 1870 which arranges for Henry to come home to Maria in Terre Haute. She arranges for him to leave Frankfort and spend a week or two in Paris. I can't believe a sixteen year old would be left to fend for himself there alone, so I wonder if some family connection existed in Paris. Maria's un-named uncle in New York is buying Henry's ticket home via New York and will send it so it's awaiting him in Paris.

Maria's Names? Marie/Maria Cook (before 1853) {S}
Marie Roome (Dec 3, 1860) from marriage license [Cleveland, Ohio]{V}
    (her legal signature?)
Marie Wood (Aug, 1869) from adoption papers of her children{V}
    (her legal name again?)
Maria Wood (Jul 1, 1870) from 1870 federal census [Terre Haute, Indiana]{V}
Marie Wood (Aug 29, 1873) from 1873 land purchase [Cairo, Illinois]{V}
    (her legal signature?)
Maria Wood (Mar 24, 1875) from 1875 death certificate [St. Louis, Missouri]{V}

Maria's Maiden Name? Maria Cook {S}
    In the adoption papers from August 1869 the children's original names are Henry Cook Roome and Eugenie Marie Cook Roome. When a child is subsequently born to CO Wood and Maria Wood he is named Charles Ogden Wood II. I postulate therefore Maria's maiden name was Cook, because the middle name was not used for the last child. Of course, Cook might be the surname of the mother of Mr. Roome, not Maria's father's surname.
Maggie Cook {S}
from Henry Wood's death certificate Oct 24, 1924 Fillmore County, MN. Is it correct?

Maria's Year of Birth? 1838 from City of St. Louis, MO death certificate.{M}
    (on March 24 1875 it says she is 37 years old)
    (her birthday range Jan 1 - Mar 24 1838)
1838 from 1870 federal census (taken Jul 1, 1870) says she's 32{M}
    (her birthday range Jan 1 - Mar 24 1838 to Jul 1, 1870)

Where was Maria born? New York from 1870 federal census (taken Jul 1, 1870){V}
     This is the only census most likely filled out by Maria herself. If she's foreign born, however, giving New York to the census taker to hide that fact for whatever reason is a possibility

Maria's Date of Death? March 24, 1875 from a death certificate from St. Louis, MO.{V}
March 24, 1875 from an entry by Eugenie Howe in family autograph album{V}

Maria's Children? Henry Cook Roome b. Feb 26, 1854 Harlem NY{V}
    Maria records the births of her first two children in French
The death certificate for William Wood, son of Henry Wood by his first wife, says that he (Henry) is born in New York, New York. This is presumedly information from Henry Wood, saying that he believed he was born in the Harlem on Manhattan Island New York state. Album
Eugenie Marie Cook Roome b. June 22 1856 Yorkville, NY {V}
    Maria records the births of her first two children in French Album

Maria's Children are Adopted by C.O. Wood? August 1869 from the original documents Vigo County IN{V}
    Henry Cook Roome becomes Henry Wood - for much of his life he actually goes by H.R. Wood, "Henry Roome Wood"
    Eugenie Marie Cook Roome becomes Eugenie Marie Wood
    It is stated that their biological father is dead
    It says that Marie Wood their mother has filed her consent with the court, but they don't seem to have this on file. I had hoped it would state their dead father's name.

What about the Roome family tree? Henry Wood traveled to Chicago in the early 1920's and met his sister Eugenie. There the family tree was made out for him, which according to the source "went back to some French countess". Eugenie's branch of the family does not now seem to be in possession of this family tree either. Many of my family records were burned by Henry Wood's wife in her old age when she was not in her right mind.

Maria's first husband? Henry Roome from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S}
Henry Roome {S}
from Henry Wood's death certificate Oct 24, 1924 Fillmore County, MN. Is it correct?

Maria's first husband year of birth? 1806 from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S}

Year of Maria's first marriage? 1853 from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S}

Nationality of Maria's first husband? Some connection to France various oral traditions{S}
Maria records the births of her first two children in French Album Later when remarried she records the third child in English. In 1880 Maria's sister-in-law states on the census that Maria's nationality is "French". Maria is dead and her sister-in-law is raising Maria's son. Every branch of our family has heard that way back the family was French Huguenot.

When did Maria's first husband die? 1857-59 from a letter from my great aunt Bessie.{S}
She states that Henry Roome (Maria's first husband) died when his son Henry was 5. Family tradition says the elder Henry died when his business failed and subsequently his health failed or even that he killed himself. There was a financial panic in 1857.

What locations are mentioned with respect to the elder Henry Roome? Harlem, NY, Yorkville, NY Utica, NY, Rome, NY, Cincinnati OH, Cleveland, OH, Michigan, "Norfolk" oral tradition{S}
I have a letter from my great aunt Bessie that states that her father H.R. Wood wrote to "Norfolk" about his father but didn't receive any information.

Here is the 1870 Federal Census for Terre Haute, Indiana. Note it states Maria is born in New York around 1838. Henry is 16 and Eugenie is 14, which conforms to birth dates for them of February 26, 1854 and June 22, 1856 respectively. At the time of Henry's birth, Maria would be 1854-1838 = 16 years old. This appears to be correct, and matches up with her age via her death certificate.

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Maria's Names?		Marie/Maria Cook (before 1853) {S} Marie Roome (Dec 3, 1860) from marriage license [Cleveland, Ohio]{V} (her legal signature?) Marie Wood (Aug, 1869) from adoption papers of her children{V} (her legal name again?) Maria Wood (Jul 1, 1870) from 1870 federal census [Terre Haute, Indiana]{V} Marie Wood (Aug 29, 1873) from 1873 land purchase [Cairo, Illinois]{V} (her legal signature?) Maria Wood (Mar 24, 1875) from 1875 death certificate [St. Louis, Missouri]{V}
Maria's Maiden Name?		Maria Cook {S} In the adoption papers from August 1869 the children's original names are Henry Cook Roome and Eugenie Marie Cook Roome. When a child is subsequently born to CO Wood and Maria Wood he is named Charles Ogden Wood II. I postulate therefore Maria's maiden name was Cook, because the middle name was not used for the last child. Of course, Cook might be the surname of the mother of Mr. Roome, not Maria's father's surname. Maggie Cook {S} from Henry Wood's death certificate Oct 24, 1924 Fillmore County, MN. Is it correct?
Maria's Year of Birth?		1838 from City of St. Louis, MO death certificate.{M} (on March 24 1875 it says she is 37 years old) (her birthday range Jan 1 - Mar 24 1838) 1838 from 1870 federal census (taken Jul 1, 1870) says she's 32{M} (her birthday range Jan 1 - Mar 24 1838 to Jul 1, 1870)
Where was Maria born?		New York from 1870 federal census (taken Jul 1, 1870){V} This is the only census most likely filled out by Maria herself. If she's foreign born, however, giving New York to the census taker to hide that fact for whatever reason is a possibility
Maria's Date of Death?		March 24, 1875 from a death certificate from St. Louis, MO.{V} March 24, 1875 from an entry by Eugenie Howe in family autograph album{V}
Maria's Children?		Henry Cook Roome b. Feb 26, 1854 Harlem NY{V} Maria records the births of her first two children in French The death certificate for William Wood, son of Henry Wood by his first wife, says that he (Henry) is born in New York, New York. This is presumedly information from Henry Wood, saying that he believed he was born in the Harlem on Manhattan Island New York state. Album Eugenie Marie Cook Roome b. June 22 1856 Yorkville, NY {V} Maria records the births of her first two children in French Album
Maria's Children are Adopted by C.O. Wood?		August 1869 from the original documents Vigo County IN{V} Henry Cook Roome becomes Henry Wood - for much of his life he actually goes by H.R. Wood, "Henry Roome Wood" Eugenie Marie Cook Roome becomes Eugenie Marie Wood It is stated that their biological father is dead It says that Marie Wood their mother has filed her consent with the court, but they don't seem to have this on file. I had hoped it would state their dead father's name.
What about the Roome family tree?		Henry Wood traveled to Chicago in the early 1920's and met his sister Eugenie. There the family tree was made out for him, which according to the source "went back to some French countess". Eugenie's branch of the family does not now seem to be in possession of this family tree either. Many of my family records were burned by Henry Wood's wife in her old age when she was not in her right mind.
Maria's first husband?		Henry Roome from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S} Henry Roome {S} from Henry Wood's death certificate Oct 24, 1924 Fillmore County, MN. Is it correct?
Maria's first husband year of birth?		1806 from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S}
Year of Maria's first marriage?		1853 from a note in documents held by Edith Vyn{S}
Nationality of Maria's first husband?		Some connection to France various oral traditions{S} Maria records the births of her first two children in French Album Later when remarried she records the third child in English. In 1880 Maria's sister-in-law states on the census that Maria's nationality is "French". Maria is dead and her sister-in-law is raising Maria's son. Every branch of our family has heard that way back the family was French Huguenot.
When did Maria's first husband die?		1857-59 from a letter from my great aunt Bessie.{S} She states that Henry Roome (Maria's first husband) died when his son Henry was 5. Family tradition says the elder Henry died when his business failed and subsequently his health failed or even that he killed himself. There was a financial panic in 1857.
What locations are mentioned with respect to the elder Henry Roome?		Harlem, NY, Yorkville, NY Utica, NY, Rome, NY, Cincinnati OH, Cleveland, OH, Michigan, "Norfolk" oral tradition{S} I have a letter from my great aunt Bessie that states that her father H.R. Wood wrote to "Norfolk" about his father but didn't receive any information.