[2][3][4] He was Member of Parliament for Southwark from 24 January 1840 until his death in 1845 Benjamin Wood was born in Tiverton, Devon, the son of William Wood (died 1809), a serge maker and a Dissenter.
An older brother was Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet (1768 – 1843)[5] also a Whig politician.
[5] Wood twice stood unsuccessfully in the Tiverton constituency as a Whig candidate.
Wood was elected as the Whig MP for Southwark at the by-election in 1840 caused by the resignation of Daniel Whittle Harvey.
[8] A dispute about his widow's will was a possible factor in the divorce of Katharine O'Shea (née Wood) and the downfall of Charles Stewart Parnell