True Life Tuesday: Ida Wood

I know that I say this a lot but this story would make a terrific movie. Ida Wood was an interesting woman who led a strange life.

She was born Ellen Walsh in Ireland on January 14, 1838. She was one of 11 children born to Thomas Walsh and Ann Crawford. When she was young the family moved to Massachusetts. In 1857 she decided to move to New York City and reinvent herself. This is when she started going by Ida Mayfield. She claimed to be the daughter of Henry Mayfield, a New Orleans sugar planter, and Mary Crawford, a descendent of the Earl of Crawford. 

Looking for a rich man to take care of her she sent a letter to Benjamin Wood, whose name she saw in the society pages on several occasions. Wood was a former state senator and Congressman who owned the Daily News. Even though he was married he agreed to meet Ida and they began a 10 year extramarital affair. When Wood's wife died in 1867 they were married. Ida was a fan of society life even before her marriage. She spent time with King Edward and Abraham Lincoln when they were in the city. 

Benjamin was a notorious gambler and Ida was not happy with this. She eventually agreed to stay out of his bets if he compensated her with his winnings which he did. Eventually he would place most of his property in her name at her request to protect her from his gambling. Benjamin died in 1900. After his death Ida took over the operations of the Daily News but she was not suited for it. In 1901 she ended up selling her shares to Frank A. Munsey who also owned The Sun and The Star. 

During the 1907 financial panic Ida walked into her bank and withdrew about $1 million dollars. She moved into the Herald Square Hotel with two women, Emma and Mary, who were presumed to be her sisters. At this point she disappeared for decades. She would pay the rent in cash and they would order food into their suites. They would never allow the maids to enter. Eventually she became known as the Recluse of Herald Square. Emma died in a hospital in 1928. Then in 1931 Ida opened her door to ask for help for her sister who was ill. 

Medical personnel and hotel staff entered the room and were shocked. Ida was frail, under 100 pounds, and very dirty. The rooms who covered in filth and money was hidden everywhere. Eventually Mary would pass away and family lawyers were brought in to assess the situation. She was deemed to be incompetent on September 22, 1931 and Benjamin's nephew was appointed her guardian as her closes living relative. He ended up moving her to a different clean suite in the hotel where she lived until she dies of pneumonia in March 1932. After her death 1103 people entered petitions stating that they were relatives with claims to her estate.