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.
Conversion and ordination Wood also developed a friendship with Bishop
John Baptist Purcell, who later
baptized him into the
Catholic Church on April 7, 1836. Deciding to enter the priesthood, he resigned as cashier at Franklin Bank in September 1837 and went to Rome for his studies the following October. After spending a few months at the
Pontifical Irish College under
Paul Cullen (later Paul Cardinal Cullen), he studied at the
College of the Propaganda for seven years, also becoming
prefect of discipline there. Wood was
ordained a priest by Cardinal
Giacomo Filippo Fransoni on March 25, 1844. Upon his return to the
Diocese of Cincinnati in October 1844, he served as a
curate at the
Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains until 1854, when he became pastor of
St. Patrick's Church in Cincinnati. ==Episcopal ministry==