Representative Ernest Edward Wood

Ernest Edward Wood (August 24, 1875 – January 10, 1952) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. He was born in Chico, Butte County, California, on August 24, 1875. Raised in California, he attended the local public schools and completed his secondary education at Stockton High School, from which he graduated in 1892. His early years in California coincided with a period of rapid growth and development in the state, and his education in Stockton provided the foundation for his later professional and political pursuits.

In 1893 Wood was appointed a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He remained at the academy for two years, receiving military and academic training that exposed him to national affairs and discipline in public service, although he did not complete the full course of study. After leaving West Point, he turned to the study of law. He pursued legal training through the prevailing methods of the time, which typically combined formal study with apprenticeship in established law offices, and by 1898 he had qualified for admission to the bar.

Following his admission to the bar in 1898, Wood moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he commenced the practice of law. St. Louis at the turn of the twentieth century was a major commercial and political center, and Wood’s legal practice placed him in the midst of a dynamic urban environment marked by intense partisan competition. Through his work as an attorney and his involvement in Democratic Party politics, he became a figure in local political circles, eventually positioning himself for a bid for national office.

Wood presented his credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-ninth Congress and took his seat as a U.S. Representative from Missouri on March 4, 1905. His election came from a St. Louis district that had been the scene of recurring electoral disputes, having been involved in contests in each of the four preceding elections. Wood served in the House of Representatives until June 23, 1906. His tenure was overshadowed by a formal contest brought by his Republican opponent, Harry M. Coudrey, who challenged the validity of the election results.

The contest centered on allegations of extensive fraud in the notorious Fourth Ward of St. Louis, which was nicknamed the “Snake Kinney” ward after a local political boss and had a reputation for irregularities. The race had been decided by a margin of only about 950 votes, and Coudrey claimed that approximately 2,300 fraudulent votes had been cast. He submitted evidence to the House of Representatives that the voting rolls contained the names of individuals who did not exist and that many listed addresses corresponded to saloons, boarding houses, and other locations unlikely to be legitimate residences. Numerous affidavits were also introduced accusing Wood and his supporters of coercion and bribery in connection with the election. After reviewing the evidence, the House unanimously voted to unseat Wood and to seat Coudrey in his place on June 23, 1906, thereby ending Wood’s congressional service.

After leaving Congress, Wood left Missouri and returned to his native state. In 1907 he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he resumed the practice of law. In Los Angeles, which was then emerging as a major metropolitan center, he continued his legal career in private practice. Although he did not again hold public office on the national stage, he remained active in his profession during the ensuing decades as Southern California grew rapidly in population and economic importance.

Ernest Edward Wood died in Los Angeles on January 10, 1952. He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery, Hollywood, California, a burial ground that later became known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His career reflected both the opportunities and the controversies of early twentieth-century urban politics, encompassing legal practice in two major American cities and a brief, contested tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives.