The Recluse of Herald Square: The Mystery of Ida Wood

Ida Wood had a secret. Born Ida Mayfield in New Orleans, Ida moved to New York in the 1850s and through her marriage to Benjamin Wood, publisher of the New York Daily News, she entered society. 

By the 1870s and 80s, Ida’s name was found in the social columns of the city’s newspapers.

So why, in 1907, did Ida Wood cash in – withdrawing her fortune from the bank and then, along with her sister and daughter, retreat into a suite at the Herald Square Hotel… for decades?

This is the story of a Gilded Age belle turned recluse, who chose to withdraw from society while still living in the heart of it. It’s also the story of the fortune hunters who circled around her in her final years. 

And most incredibly – it’s the story of what happened next.

LISTEN NOW: THE RECLUSE OF HERALD SQUARE

One of the only remaining images we have of Ida Wood.

“Ida Mayfield”, moved to New York in the 1850s and married publisher and politician Benjamin Wood in 1867. By the 1870s, her name appeared regularly in the society columns.

Ida’s husband, Benjamin Wood, publisher of the New York Daily News from 1861 until his death in 1900. He was also the brother of the notorious Civil War-era Mayor of New York, Fernando Wood. Upon his death, Ida took over editorial responsibilities for the Daily News.

The Herald Square Hotel around 1900. (Source: Beyond The Gilded Age) The hotel opened in the late 1890s. Ida, her sister Mary and daughter Emma, moved into a suite in on the hotel’s fifth floor in 1907. Ida would remain in the hotel until her death in 1932.

In 1964, The Recluse of Herald Square: The Mystery of Ida E. Wood by Joseph A. Cox was published by The Macmillan Company.

In the 1930s, Cox served as counsel for the Surrogate Court of New York County and charged with determining the legal identity of Ida E. Wood so that her estate could be distributed.

The book is out of print today, although you can read it for free here on Archive.org, and you may be lucky and find it in your library.

New York Daily News, Oct. 10, 1931. Not mentioned: The pouch had been sliced out of her dress while she slept by her nurse.

Brooklyn Times-Union, October 14, 1931. Ida was still very much alive.

The New York Times, March 13, 1932. Ida’s obituary ran at the top of Page One.

New York Daily News, August 24, 1934. By 1934, hundreds of Mayfields and Woods families were filing claims on Ida’s estate. More than 600 claimants would appear in court.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 3, 1937 More than 1,000 claimed a familial connection to Ida — mostly through the Mayfield side. Joseph Cox, working for the Surrogate’s Court, was assigned to find out who, exactly, Ida really was.

FURTHER LISTENING

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FURTHER READING

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Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!

Stop reading here if you haven’t yet listened to the show. 

At the end of the show, Tom mentioned another possible ending that was proposed by investigator Joseph Cox, author of “The Recluse of Herald Square: The Mystery of Ida E. Wood.” 

Cox proposed in his final chapter that Ida, before leaving Massachusetts for New York, likely worked as a domestic helper. He theorizes that she could have become involved with a young man of the house, and could have found herself pregnant.

She could have returned to live with her family, secretly given birth to Emma, and then, through her own clever manipulation, had her parents’ names entered on Emma’s birth certificate. 

In this scenario, however, Ida (or rather, Ellen) was very much the mother of Emma. Ellen then moved to New York with the child, whom she told Ben Wood was her much younger sister. 

This, Cox believes, simply makes more sense. For why else would Ellen/Ida have taken on the young child? Why wouldn’t Emma have stayed with her mother in Massachusetts?   

It’s pure speculation, but logical. However, the facts – and all the documents – secured by Cox showed Ida’s parents listed as Emma’s parents. And Ben’s letter to the priest also makes clear his position. So all the evidence points to Emma being Ida’s sister.

Was it all a cover up? We’ll never know.