Wolcott Family

The Wolcott family first settled in Litchfield in the mid-eighteenth century. Roger Wolcott (1679-1767), an early governor of the colony of Connecticut, purchased land in Litchfield in 1725 but never actually lived here.


Oliver Wolcott
His son, Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797), moved to Litchfield in 1751. Oliver was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a general in the Revolutionary War, and, late in his life, the governor of the state of Connecticut.

Oliver Wolcott's two sons, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1760 -1833) and Frederick Wolcott (1767 -1837), also lived in Litchfield. Oliver Jr. and Frederick were both graduates of the Litchfield Law School. Oliver Jr. went on to become the second Secretary of the Treasury, holding the position under both George Washington and John Adams. He, like his father and grandfather, was governor of Connecticut. Frederick was Clerk of the Superior Court in Litchfield County and a member of the Connecticut State Assembly. Both Oliver Jr. and Frederick were businessmen who engaged in the manufacturing of woolen cloth and in cattle breeding.


The Wolcott Seal

The Latin reads Nullius Addictus
Jurare in Verba Magistri
It translates to: "Accustomed to swear in
the words of no master." It means that one
should not blindly trust, act on,or swear
on the words of another (such as a teacher/master).

Oliver Jr.'s son, Oliver Stoughton Wolcott (1800 - 1832), also attended the Litchfield Law School.
Oliver Jr.'s daughters, Laura Wolcott Gibbs (1794 - 1870), and Elizabeth Stoughton Wolcott Gracie (1795 - 1813), both attended Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy.

Many of Frederick's children also attended the Litchfield Female Academy:
Mary Ann Goodrich Wolcott Whitehead (1801 - 1864),
Hannah Huntington Wolcott Freeman (1803 - 1838),
Joshua Huntington Wolcott (1804 - 1891),
Elizabeth Wolcott Jackson (1806 - 1875),
Frederick Henry Wolcott (1808 - 1883),
Laura Maria Wolcott Rankin (1811 - 1887), and
Charles Moseley Wolcott (1816 - 1889).

People

The Wolcott Homes

The homes of Oliver Wolcott Sr. and Oliver Wolcott Jr. remain standing and are inhabited in Litchfield today.

Wolcott Research Materials at the Historical Society

A wide variety of Wolcott Family research materials are available at the Litchfield Historical Society.

For more Wolcott family information, see the website for the Wolcott Family Society (formerly the Society of Descendants of Henry Wolcott).