Brenda,

I'm having some problems with this and hope you will be able to help me with them.

One issue I have is that Kansas jayhawking raiders during 1861 only reached as far into west-central Missouri as the second tier of counties from the border and Pettis County is in the third tier from the state line. Further, Sedalia, county seat of Pettis County, is in the center of the county making such a raid an even longer reach.

That is to say that I suspect William Wood may have been killed in 1861 by Union troops in or near Sedalia, but not by Kansas troops raiding from Kansas. I have read of several such killings in Pettis County during 1861 involving northern soldiers who were not Kansas jayhawkers.

Further, I respectfully suggest you place this query in the "Missouri in the Civil War Message Board" so that Missouri information may be brought to bear on your topic. I like Kansans, but they didn't keep good records of Missouri men they killed and vice versa.

Also, some additional information may help your cause. When in 1861 was Wood killed? Do you know any of the circumstances of his killing? What was he doing in or near Sedalia when he was killed? If you have such details, please add them when you place this query in the Missouri forum. This is an intriguing case, but it needs just a bit more in the right venue to get some answers for you.

Bruce Nichols