Otto Wood (1894 – December 31, 1930) was a Depression-era desperado, born in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1894. He began his life of crime at an early age, stealing a bicycle from a boy in North Wilkesboro. He was quickly caught and spent time in the Wilkes County Jail. He was subsequently sentenced to serve on a chain gang, but the foreman sent him home to his mother due to his age.
Wood hopped his first train when he was seven, travelling to stay with relatives in West Virginia. There, his kinfolk (the McCoy-feuding Hatfields) taught him how to gamble, make illegal whisky, and fight.
He suffered from a foot ailment (a birth defect) and lost his left hand when he was a teenager. According to some reports he lost his hand in an accident while working for the railroad in West Virginia. Another story, told by relatives, is that the injury occurred while Wood was hunting.
Repeated scrapes with the law, mostly involving thefts and bootlegging, led to numerous incarcerations in jails in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. He is credited with a total of 10 jail breaks throughout his criminal career. In 1923, Wood was charged with the murder of A.W. Kaplan, a Greensboro, N.C. pawnbroker. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to serve 30 years in N.C. Central Prison in Raleigh. After that conviction, Wood made four escapes from the state prison. During his time in that prison, Wood wrote an autobiography.
Following his last escape, Wood was spotted by police officers in N.C., on December 31, 1930. They approached Wood, killing him in the ensuing shootout.
A year after his death, the Carolina Buddies recorded the song "Otto Wood The Bandit" on Columbia Records.
Other musicians, including Doc Watson and Norman Blake, have recorded versions of the song. A stage play on Wood’s life is produced each June at The Record Park in North Wilkesboroo, N.C.[citation needed]
otto, wood, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, cit. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Otto Wood news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Otto Wood 1894 December 31 1930 was a Depression era desperado born in Wilkes County North Carolina in 1894 He began his life of crime at an early age stealing a bicycle from a boy in North Wilkesboro He was quickly caught and spent time in the Wilkes County Jail He was subsequently sentenced to serve on a chain gang but the foreman sent him home to his mother due to his age Wood hopped his first train when he was seven travelling to stay with relatives in West Virginia There his kinfolk the McCoy feuding Hatfields taught him how to gamble make illegal whisky and fight He suffered from a foot ailment a birth defect and lost his left hand when he was a teenager According to some reports he lost his hand in an accident while working for the railroad in West Virginia Another story told by relatives is that the injury occurred while Wood was hunting Repeated scrapes with the law mostly involving thefts and bootlegging led to numerous incarcerations in jails in North Carolina Tennessee Virginia and West Virginia He is credited with a total of 10 jail breaks throughout his criminal career In 1923 Wood was charged with the murder of A W Kaplan a Greensboro N C pawnbroker He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to serve 30 years in N C Central Prison in Raleigh After that conviction Wood made four escapes from the state prison During his time in that prison Wood wrote an autobiography Following his last escape Wood was spotted by police officers in N C on December 31 1930 They approached Wood killing him in the ensuing shootout A year after his death the Carolina Buddies recorded the song Otto Wood The Bandit on Columbia Records Other musicians including Doc Watson and Norman Blake have recorded versions of the song A stage play on Wood s life is produced each June at The Record Park in North Wilkesboroo N C citation needed References editThe Record of North Wilkesboro N C The Salisbury Post full citation needed External links edit 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Otto Wood amp oldid 1183588660, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
