Sarah was second of eleven known children born to Cassandra Hess Brown (1813-1864) and John Wood (1808-1861). Casandra's December 1832 wedding reportedly was a 2 - 3 day gala affair, and the couple received five slaves as present from her father.

Sarah was a granddaughter of namesakes, Elizabeth Hess, wife of Colonel Henry Hess, who is believed to have died in War of 1812, and Elizabeth Kirk (1777-1853) wife of Alexander Wood (1766-1830), a very, very young, Revolutionary war veteran of Valley Forge.  Elizabeth and Alexander Wood were married in 1796.  Alexander Wood served as an overseer (ca 1810-1828) of Audley plantation (1810 census with 80 slaves) and Lewelyn plantation for Major Lawrence Lewis (1767-1839) and Nellie Parke Custis (1779-1852),  Both plantations were east of Berryville (formerly Battletown), about three miles apart. Audley (originally owned by William Fairfax then, reportedly, in the Washington family for 138 years) was a wedding gift from George Washington (1732-1799) to Nellie Parke Curtis.  (Sarah's husband's g-grandfather, Robert Boggess, 1707-1772, served with George Washington at Truro Parish as a vestryman.  They were among four of eighty-one serving over twenty years).
(www.clarkehistory.org/ search: Alexander Wood) 

John and Cassandra Wood removed their family to Jefferson county, VA (now West Virginia), ca 1845. In 1851, the family moved west by wagon to Harrison county's upper Tenmile creek area along the Northwestern Turnpike (now U S #50). This occurred 10 years after John freed his slaves, and the year her beloved uncle/brother John died.  Joe Johnson, second of three husbands of John's younger sister, Eleanor S (Wood) Brown (who first married Cassandra's older brother, Henry Brown) journeyed with them. They later were reportedly visiting John's older brother, Alex Wood, Jr (1805-1887) & family (unknown if Sarah was with them, she was with parents for 1860 census) with 114 slaves, near Millwood, Clarke county during the John Brown (not related) incident at Harper's Ferry 16 October 1859.  They were reportedly 'up all night at windows with guns in hand without any incident', as best determined from obituaries and family letters.  This was most likely the Tuleyries estate, which is now the Virginia Arboretum. If one is going to Millwood on U S# 50 from Washington DC, instead of turning right to go to Millwood, you continue on west for about 2 miles. The Arboretum is on the left.

Sarah, with older brother James Alexander Wood, 1834-1914, (father of Clarksburg, WV, 1908 mayor and architect, Edward John Wood, 1863-1925), taught school at Point Pleasant free school #7, on Wizzardism Run, up Carpenter Hollow from Jarvisville road. This site reportedly by Susan (Ritter) Lynch, 1869-1958, is where a school existed in 1830.  This same school is where her grandmother, Mary (Colvin) Ritter, 1789-1870, taught and is possibly where church services were held during early relocation years. This was relocated west to Mount Morris, now Maken/Pleasant Point Methodist Episcopal church, in 1855/6.  This building was used for school when the school building burnt and is located next to its cemetery. 

Samuel Boggess and Sarah Elizabeth Wood were married Thursday, 18 September 1873 by Rev C Conner in Salem, WV (Bk5: pg 90). Their first child, my grandfather, Samuel Cleveland (known as "SC" or "Sam") was born in  the now 'extinct town'  of Cherry Camp.  Second born was Thomas Howard, near Bristol, then Hale M., at Bristol. Stained glass windows honor their names in the existing, relocated, Bristol United Methodist church.   The 1880 census lists Sarah's family among the 58 Boggesses in Harrision county, as well as her younger sister, Henrietta Jane Wood  (1847 VA-1928 OK) in household. Samuel died 2 February 1888 (Bk 5: pg 8) in Cherry Camp (now Bristol), and was buried in Point Pleasant cemetery (which in 1964 was abandoned by Methodist church).  This is also where Sarah's parents, John and Casandra Wood, two brothers, William and Charles, two sisters, Frances and Lucy, and one niece, Adalide, are buried.

Making the move from Bristol, Harrison Co, WV, fifty-three year old widow, Sarah Elizabeth (Wood) Boggess, her three young sons, Samuel Cleveland, 15, Thomas Howard, 13, Hale M, 10, and sister, Henrietta Jane (1847 VA-1928 OK), arrived in Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri on September 1889. We believe Sarah moved to Carthage following Samuel's 1888 death, because her brothers, Thomas Kennerly Wood (1842 VA-1918 MO) and George Brown Wood (1852 VA-1941 MO) moved to Missouri prior to that time.  Thomas served with the 20th Virginia Cavlary, CSA, and was a Union prisoner at three different prisons. George, who lost his son ca 1885, became a successful builder and built the First Methodist church, High school (later known as Manual Arts building), Home Telephone company's system, Carthage Collegate Institute, Washington and Irving schools, H S Cowgill's Grand avenue home, plus much more.  Sarah believed this this may provide a possible future for her three sons. Henrietta, who was the second wife of William L Jarvis,18xx VA-1918 OK, married ca 1892/3, a building contractor also from
Harrison county, WV, and moved to Texas then Oklahoma.  She was widowed in 1918.  She was living in Claremore, Oklahoma, and brother Robert Wood was living in Dallas, Texas, when Sarah died on June 28, 1918.  Henriette died 1928 at home in Oklahoma. 

Sarah occupied her home at 412 E. Third Street built by her brother, George, raising her boys and spending her remaining active life until her 1918
death . 

Sarah's body was returned to West Virginia, and interred with husband, Samuel; her parents, John Wood  & Cassandra Hess Brown;  two of Sarah's brothers, Charles Homer (1857 VA-1860 VA), William Franklyn (1845 VA-1867 WV); two sisters, Lucy Ellen (Wood) Ford (1841 VA-1875 WV), Frances Adelaide (Wood) McKinley (1838 VA-1858 VA); and daughter, Adelaide Nelson McKinley (1858 VA-1859 VA).  The eleven siblings, along with 118 other people, are buried in Maken/Point Pleasant cemetery near Bristol.  The cemetery was abandoned by the Methodist church in 1964. 

A group people, all living more than 234 miles away, partially restored the Point Pleasant cemetery in 2004.  We were inspired by Bertha Webb, who with her late husband Bud, restored and lived in the easterly (Susie Ritter's) "Twin Houses" built ca 1904.  The house was located on the southwest corner of highway #50 & Jarvisville road.  Bertha was a neighbor of the cemetery and voluntarily, with family, tried to maintain it since 1984. We had property corners re-established, installed foot bridge, steps, fence & gates, cleared rubbish and overgrowth, and added an identification sign.  We left damaged monuments and gravestones for family members to do with as they wished. The Boggess monument had been topelled and was broken. It's too heavy to re-erect; it is duplicate of one in Carthage Park cemetery, Blk 33, Lot 98, made of Georgian Marble and placed by M T FRUM MARBLE WORKS of Salem, West Virginia following Sarah's 1918 burial. 

Sarah's parent's, John and Cassandra, stones weren't found in a 2003 search by Leanne Williams and Bertha.  They were found in 2004 by cousin David Owings and Bertha, partially buried and broken, as were many other stones throughout this one-plus acre cemetery.  Stones were likely trampled and broken by neighbor's illegally roaming livestock since the Methodist church abandoned these 127 known graves.  This is a  relocated
cemetery, formerly the Mount Morris cemetery (started 1837), lost to railroad constructon ca 1855 along norh side of what now is highway #50.

Also, since 1899, oil and gas has been pumped from beneath cemetery property, with its mineral rights intact, with NOT ONE RED CENT in
payment from those profiting from selling it.  This has been for over 100 years, then at $1.56/barrel, to nearly $100/barrel peak thus far. Just doesn't seem fair to me, 'big oil' taking advantage of 'a little old abandoned graveyard'!!! 

        ~~~~~~~~~~ 

Compiled 03/05/06 (revised 09/20/09) by 
William (Bill) Samuel Boggess raised at Carthage, Missouri(ah). 

Much of above from the following sources: 
'Baugus, Boggus, & Boggess Footprints On The Sands Of Time', Vol. I, 1993, Vol. II, 1994 & Supplements. Copyrighted by Joanna Fox, 
Drakesboro, Kentucky & JoAnn Smith, Vida, Oregon 

Hardesty's 1882 Biographical Atlas of Harrison County 

David L Owings, Joe Baughman and Clarke county, VA archivist, for "Wood" 

Ree Jarrett for "Boggess" 

http://www.wvgenweb.org/harrison/bristolhis.html

http://www.wvgenweb.org/harrison/lynch.html