Oliver Wolcott
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Oliver Wolcott |
Wolcott, Oliver, 1726-97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. South Windsor (then in Windsor), Conn.; son of Roger Wolcott. He fought in King George's War, and upon his return to Connecticut he entered a legal and public career. Wolcott held several judicial posts and in 1775 was named a Native American commissioner to obtain the neutrality of the Iroquois in the conflict with Great Britain. He was a general in the Saratoga campaign and a prominent figure in Connecticut politics as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1775-78, 1780-84), lieutenant governor (1786-96), and governor (1796-97).
| Wikipedia: Oliver Wolcott |
This article is about the signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. For the Secretary of the Treasury under Washington and Adams, see Oliver Wolcott, Jr..
| Oliver Wolcott | |
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| In office 1796 – 1797 |
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| Lieutenant | Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. |
| Preceded by | Samuel Huntington |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. |
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| Born | December 1, 1726 Windsor, Connecticut |
| Died | December 1, 1797 (aged 71) Farmington, Connecticut |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Signature |  |
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) |
Oliver Wolcott (December 1, 1726 – December 1, 1797) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and also the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Connecticut.
Oliver Wolcott was born in Windsor, Connecticut, the youngest of fourteen children of the royal governor Roger Wolcott. He attended Yale College, graduating in 1747. He was commissioned to raise a militia company to fight in the French and Indian War, and he served the King as Captain in this unit on the northern frontier. At the end of the war, Wolcott studied medicine, then was appointed sheriff of the newly created Litchfield County, Connecticut, serving from about 1751 to 1771.
He participated in the American Revolutionary War as brigadier general and then major general in the Connecticut militia. The Continental Congress appointed him Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and he was elected to the Congress in 1775. He became seriously ill in 1776 and did not sign the Declaration of Independence until some time later. He was engaged in military affairs between 1776-78, and served again in Congress from 1778-1784.
He served again as an Indian Commissioner, and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut in 1786, assuming the Governorship on the death of Samuel Huntington in 1796, and was reelected to the position, dying in office at the age of seventy-one in Farmington, Connecticut. He is buried in East Cemetery in Litchfield, Connecticut.
He was passionate about poetry. His son, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., served as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents George Washington and John Adams and as Governor of Connecticut.
The town of Wolcott, Connecticut was named in honor of Oliver and his son, Oliver Jr. His home in Litchfield was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. Plus, in Torrington, CT, there is a school name after him (Oliver Wolcott Technical High School).
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Mentioned in
- South Windsor (city, Connecticut)
- [Oliver] Wolcott Gibbs (American Theater)
- Oliver Wolcott (U.S. Secretary of the Treasury)
- Roger Wolcott (American statesman)
- Treaty with the Six Nations (American history)
- Oliver Wolcott House
- Declaration of Independence (literature, government, United States)
- Declaration of Independence (American history)
- Federalist Party (American history)
- Wolcott
- Edward Oliver
- Articles of Confederation (document)
- Oliver Wolcott, Jr.
- Wolcott Gibbs
