Oliver Wolcott
Henry Wolcott, the patriarch ancestor, removed from England to Dorchester, Mass. in 1630. In 1636, he founded the town of Windsor, Connecticut. During the perils of the Indian wars and the difficulties with the Canadian French and through all the various vicissitudes that have pervaded New England down to the present time, the descendants of Henry Wolcott have acted a conspicuous part. They were ready to go where duty called, to the field or legislative hall.Oliver Wolcott was the son of Roger Wolcott who was appointed Governor of Connecticut in 1751. This son was born on the 26th of November 1726 and graduated at Yale College in 1747. The same year he was commissioned to raise and command a company which he marched to the defence of the northern frontiers where he remained until the peace of Aix la Chapelle. He then returned and applied himself to the study of medicine until he was appointed the first sheriff of Litchfield County formed in 1751.
In 1755, Oliver Wolcott he married Laura Collins. In 1774, he was appointed counsellor which station he filled for twelve consecutive years. He was also chief judge of the Common Pleas Court and for a long time a judge of the Probate Court. In the military field he rose from the grade of captain to that of major-general. In the summer of 1776, he commanded the fourteen regiments raised by Gov. Trumbull to act with the army in New York. He headed his division at the memorable battle that resulted in the capture of Burgoyne and revived the drooping spirits of those who were engaged in the glorious cause of equal rights. He was uniformly consulted on important military movements and listened to with great confidence. From its commencement he was a zealous and efficient advocate of the cause of freedom and stood firm amidst the revolutionary storm undaunted by the roaring of the British lion.
In 1775 Congress made Oliver Wolcott the commissioner of Indian affairs for the Northern Department then an important trust. During the same year he effected much towards reconciling disputes between Colonies relative to their boundaries. Amiable and persuasive in his manners, imbued with a clear sense of justice, he was an admirable mediator. He merited the blessing pronounced on peace-makers.
In 1776, Wolcott took his seat in Congress and remained until he affixed his signature to that Declaration of Rights.
In 1785, he was associated with Arthur Lee and Richard Butler to conclude a treaty of peace with the Six Nations of Indians. The year following he was elected lieutenant-governor and performed the duties of that office with great ability and dignity up to the time of his death which occurred on December 1, 1797.