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Walker Wood
c. 1907
30th Secretary of State of Mississippi
In office April 7, 1926 – January 1948
Governor	Henry L. Whitfield Dennis Murphree Theodore G. Bilbo Martin Sennet Conner Hugh L. White Paul B. Johnson Sr. Thomas L. Bailey Fielding L. Wright
Preceded by	Joseph Withers Power
Succeeded by	Heber Austin Ladner
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the Tate County district
In office January 1908 – January 1912
Personal details
Born	(1874-04-23)April 23, 1874 Vicksburg, Mississippi
Died	February 3, 1957(1957-02-03) (aged 82) Jackson, Mississippi
Political party	Democrat

Walker Wood (April 23, 1874 - February 3, 1957) was an American journalist and politician from Mississippi. He was the 30th Secretary of State of Mississippi, serving from 1926 to 1948.

Early life

Walker Wood was born on April 23, 1874, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was the son of William Menefee Wood and Josephine (Kendrick) Wood. He was educated in the public schools in the Vicksburg area.

Newspapers

At the age of eighteen, he began a career in journalism. He was in charge of the Oxford Eagle from 1892 until he purchased the Senatobia Democrat and started being the editor of that newspaper in 1899. He edited the Winona Times until 1940.

Political career

A Democrat, Wood was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives representing Tate County in 1907 for the 1908-1912 term. On April 7, 1926, he was appointed to the position of Secretary of State of Mississippi by Governor Whitfield after the death of Joseph Withers Power. In 1945, he was the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State. He stopped being the Secretary of State of Mississippi in 1948. He was the president of the Mississippi State Microfilm Department from 1950 until his retirement in December 1956.

Death

Wood died after a long illness on February 3, 1957, in a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Personal life

Wood married Susie Garrott Meacham on February 19, 1902. They had at least three children, Olivia Elizabeth Wood, George Meacham Wood, and another daughter. Wood was a Methodist.

References

1. ^ Rowland, Dunbar (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. p. 1081.
2. ^ "Obituary for Walker Wood". The Clarke County Tribune. 1957-02-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
3. "Appointment Walker Wood Endorsed by Press". The Winona Times. 1926-04-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
4. "Enterprise-Journal from McComb, Mississippi on February 4, 1957 · Page 1". Newspapers.com. 4 February 1957. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
5. "HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-11-25.
6. ^ "Obituary for Walker Wood". Hattiesburg American. 1957-02-04. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-02-06.

• 1874 births
• 1957 deaths
• Secretaries of state of Mississippi
• Editors of Mississippi newspapers
• Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives
• People from Tate County, Mississippi
• People from Vicksburg, Mississippi
• 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature