George Tyler Wood (March 12, 1795 – September 3, 1858) was an American military officer and politician who served as the second governor of Texas.
Background
Most records dealing with Wood's personal life have been lost due to fire or other causes. As a result, many details about his life are unknown. Wood was born near Cuthbert, Georgia on March 12, 1795. His mother was Elizabeth Burris Wood. His father, whose name is unknown, died when he was five.
Wood operated a successful dry goods business based in Cuthbert. During a buying trip in 1837, he met a young widow named Martha Evans Gindrat, daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Fitzpatrick) Evans, during a stop in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Texas
In 1839, Wood and his family moved to the Republic of Texas.
When the governor took office, Texas had US$5,500,000 in outstanding bonds with no apparent means to repay the debt. To deal with the public debt, he advocated a plan to sell state land to the U.S. Federal government. The Texas Legislature did not support this plan and, after negotiations with Wood, passed a bill calling for the state Accountant and comptroller to determine the exact amount of debt before a method of payment was determined.
On February 21, 1848, Wood presided over the Texas Democratic convention, the first true political convention held in the state. This was followed by an 1849 effort to win a second term. The primary challenger to the governor was Peter H. Bell, who ran on the issues of frontier defense and the New Mexico dispute. Wood strongly defended his positions but was defeated by a margin of 10,319 votes to 8,754. He made unsuccessful runs to be elected Governor in 1853 and 1855. He died at his home on September 3, 1858.