Born near Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, Wood attended the common schools, Montrose (Pennsylvania) Academy, and Wyoming (Pennsylvania) Seminary. He moved to Illinois in 1859 and for two years was principal of a village school in Lee County. During the Civil War, he enlisted as first lieutenant of Company C, thirty-fourth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, September 7, 1861. He was promoted to captain May 1, 1862. He was honorably discharged on January 29, 1863.

Wood graduated from the Union College of Law in 1864. He was admitted to the bar in 1864 and engaged in the practice of law in Effingham, Illinois. He served as member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1872, and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1876 and 1888. He served as mayor of Effingham, Illinois 1881-1883.

Wood was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Effingham, Illinois. He served as president of the Effingham State Bank 1903-1912, and chairman of the board of directors 1912-1915. He died in Effingham on August 27, 1915. He was interred in Oakridge Cemetery.

• United States Congress. "Benson Wood (id: W000691)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-03-26

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress