James Frederick Wood

James Frederick Bryan Wood (April 27, 1813 – June 20, 1883) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of Philadelphia, serving between 1860 and his death in 1883.

Early life James Wood was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were both from England, his father (a merchant) from Manchester and his mother from Gloucestershire; they immigrated to the United States in 1809. His father had him baptized by a Unitarian minister.

After attending an elementary school on Dock Street, he was sent abroad to the Crypt School at Gloucester in November 1821. He returned to Philadelphia five years later and then enrolled at a private school on Market Street. In November 1827, he and his family removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the young Wood became a clerk at the Branch Bank of the United States. After being advanced to individual book-keeper and discount clerk, he was made a paying and receiving teller (1833) and cashier (1836) in the Franklin Bank of Cincinnati. After arriving in Philadelphia, he took charge of the financial affairs of the diocese and established the cathedral parish. He was named an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne in 1862.