Henry Harrison Rood

HENRY HARRISON ROOD was born at Greenwich, Washington County, New York, February 6, 1841, and died at State Center, Iowa, October 25, 1915. Interment was at Mount Vernon. His parents having died he came to Nevada, Iowa, when fifteen years old. He worked as a day laborer and taught school and in 1860 went from Tama to Mt. Vernon on foot and entered Cornell College. He remained there until in September, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Thirteenth Iowa Infantry, and was commissioned second lieutenant. He soon became first lieutenant and later, adjutant. He was then made judge advocate of the Fourth Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps, and later was mustering officer on the staff of General Frank P. Blair. After the war he returned to Mount Vernon and engaged in general merchandising, later restricting his business to clothing and merchant tailoring. Because of failing health in 1875 he entered the employ of an eastern wholesale clothing house and remained a traveling salesman until his death. As a salesman he was very successful and his death occurred when out on one of his regular trips. For twenty-four years he was president of Crocker's Iowa Brigade, was a past commander of the Loyal Legion, was a member of the Grand Army, of the Republic and of the Sons of the American Revolution. He had been a trustee of Cornell College from 1867 and secretary of the board since 1868. He was given an honorary degree of Master of Arts by Cornell College. He aspired but little to political position, but was a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1888 and was a presidential elector in 1900, elected on the McKinley ticket. On January 27, 1900, Governor Shaw nominated him for member of the Board of Control to succeed ex-Governor Larrabee, who had resigned, but the Senate failed to confirm. This, however, was not because of any reflection against Colonel Rood. He was universally regarded as a strong, influential and high-minded man.

SOURCE: Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 12, No. 8, April 1921, p. 631-2