Overview
Oliver Wolcott came from a leading Connecticut family and graduated from Yale College in 1747. After early military service on the New York frontier during King George’s War, he became a merchant in Litchfield and gained influence through offices such as County Sheriff, Assemblyman, and member of the Governor’s Council. During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and led militia forces in several campaigns. After the war, he helped negotiate treaties that acquired land from the Iroquois Confederacy and the Wyandotte. Wolcott supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution and became Governor of Connecticut in January 1796.
Personal Facts
- Full Name: Oliver Wolcott, Sr.
- Born: November 20, 1726, in Windsor, Connecticut.
- Parents: Roger Wolcott (father), Sarah Drake (mother).
- Spouse: Laura Collins (1755).
- Died: December 1, 1797, in Lichtfield, Connecticut. He was 71.
- Buried: East Cemetery, Lichtfield, Connecticut.
- Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Significance
Oliver Wolcott is important to American History for his role in the Patriot Cause in Connecticut and his involvement in the American Revolution. As a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, Wolcott is one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.
Biography
Early Life and Career
Oliver Wolcott was born on November 20, 1726, in Windsor, Connecticut. He was the youngest son of Roger Wolcott and Sarah Drake. He received his higher education at Yale, starting in 1744. He was a top student and graduated in 1747.
- On January 21, 1747, Governor George Clinton of New York appointed him to raise and lead a militia company for an expedition to Canada. This was during King George’s War.
- Afterward, Wolcott studied medicine and planned to open a practice in Goshen, Connecticut.
- He moved to Lichtfield, Connecticut, in 1751, where he worked as a merchant.
- His father appointed him as the first Sheriff of Lichtfield County, and he served for 20 years.
AHC Notes
- Roger Wolcott served as the Governor of Connecticut from 1750 to 1754.
- Some sources suggest Oliver Wolcott studied medicine with his brother, Alexander, while others say it was his uncle, Dr. Alexander Wolcott.
Legal and Public Career
Wolcott turned his full attention to law and public service.
- He served as a deputy for Litchfield in 1764, 1767, 1768, and 1770.
- Voters elected him to the Connecticut Council in 1771, and he held that office each year until 1786.
- He served as judge of the Court of Probate for Litchfield from 1772 to 1781.
- He was a judge of the county courts from 1774 to 1778.
- As a member of the militia, he was promoted to Major in 1771 and to Colonel in 1774.
Marriage
On January 21, 1755, he married Laura Collins of Guilford. They had five children, including their son Oliver Wolcott Jr.
- Laura was the daughter of Captain Daniel Collins, a seaman, and Lois Cornwall.
- Both were descendants of early settlers of New England.
Role in the American Revolution
Wolcott became involved in the Patriot Cause during the protests against the Intolerable Acts. His involvement increased with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.
- After the First Continental Congress formed the Continental Association, Wolcott served on the Committee of Inspection and Safety, which enforced the boycott of British goods.
- In early 1775, Wolcott moderated a meeting in Lichtfield that condemned the Intolerable Acts.
- In April 1775, the Connecticut Assembly sent Wolcott to Boston to meet with General Thomas Gage.
- Wolcott served as the commissary in charge of supplying food and equipment for the Connecticut troops that were part of the New England Army of Observation, the precursor to the Continental Army, during the Siege of Boston (1775–1776).
In July 1775, the Second Continental Congress appointed Wolcott a Commissioner of Indian affairs for the Northern Department, along with Richard Butler and Arthur Lee. They met with the leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy at Albany, New York.
Wolcott also helped resolve disputes in the Wyoming Valley and along the New York–Vermont border.
Wolcott supported the war to protect Connecticut’s traditions of civil and religious liberty. He is referred to as a “Republican of the Old School,” whose “ideas of government were derived from the purest sources.” Wolcott disliked aggressive democratic movements, which he believed threatened public morals and virtue.
AHC Notes
- Wolcott, like many Founding Fathers, believed that pure democracy was a threat to the stability of society.
Declaration of Independence
Wolcott was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in October 1775, but did not go to Philadelphia until January 1776. He remained a member of Congress until 1783, except for 1779.
Wolcott took part in the early debates over the Declaration of Independence and supported the measure. In April 1776, he wrote to his wife, saying, “A final separation between the countries I consider…unavoidable.”
- Illness forced him to leave Philadelphia at the end of June 1776.
- His substitute, William Williams, signed the Declaration of Independence in his place.
- When Wolcott returned to Congress in the fall of 1776, he received permission to add his own signature as well.
AHC Notes
- The exact date that Wolcott signed the Declaration of Independence is unknown.
- Most sources indicate he signed it in September or October of 1776.
- Wolcott also signed the Articles of Confederation.
Destruction of King George III’s Statue
Wolcott was present when General George Washington read the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army in New York City on July 9, 1776. Afterward, a mob that included citizens and soldiers went to Bowling Green, where they tore down and destroyed the statue of King George III.
- Wolcott made arrangements to have pieces of the statue sent to Lichtfield.
- The residents of Lichtfield, including Wolcott’s wife and children, melted the statue and made musket balls for use by the militia and Continental Army.
AHC Notes
- The statue was erected in 1770 and was made of lead.
- It is believed that Wolcott and his militia used some of the musket balls during the Saratoga Campaign.
- Wolcott and his men were present when the Americans surrounded the British at Saratoga, forcing General John Burgoyne to surrender.
American Revolutionary War
During the summers, Wolcott spent most of his time in active military service, usually leading Connecticut troops.
- In August 1776, he served as a Brigadier General and led 14 militia regiments to New York to join the Continental Army.
- In December 1776, he took command of the 6th Militia Brigade in northwestern Connecticut.
- In the summer of 1777, Wolcott and his men reinforced General Israel Putnam in the Hudson River Valley.
- Acting on his own in September 1777, he led about 300 to 400 volunteers from his brigade to join General Horatio Gates during the Saratoga Campaign.
- As a Major General of the Connecticut Militia in 1779, he worked to protect the Connecticut shoreline from British raids led by William Tryon.
- In May 1780, Wolcott joined the Connecticut Council of Safety, which managed the state’s war efforts.
Indian Treaties
Following the war, Wolcott ended his service in the Confederate Congress, but played a key role in negotiating treaties with the Iroquois Confederacy and the Wyandotte.
- The Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) ceded Iroquois territory in New York and Pennsylvania to the United States.
- The Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789) ceded Wyandotte territory in northeast Ohio, known as the Western Reserve, to the United States.
Post-War Career
Although Wolcott did not win a popular majority in the 1787 state elections, the legislature selected him as Lieutenant Governor. Afterward, he participated in the 1788 Hartford Convention, which ratified the United States Constitution on January 9, 1788, making Connecticut the fifth state to do so.
Wolcott served as the President of the Connecticut Society of Arts and Sciences and received an honorary degree from Yale.
His wife, Laura, died on April 19, 1794.
Governor of Connecticut
After Samuel Huntington died in January 1796, Wolcott became Governor and won the election to the office in May.
AHC Notes
- Samuel Huntington (1731–1796) — Huntington was a Connecticut political leader who rose from modest beginnings to become a key figure in the American Revolution and the early national period. He served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was the President of the Congress from 1779 to 1781. He later became Connecticut’s Governor and supported the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Later Years and Death
As a presidential elector in 1797, he voted for John Adams and Thomas Pinckney, the Federalist Party candidates. Adams was elected President, but Thomas Jefferson received the second-highest number of votes and became Vice President.
After spending two quiet years serving as Governor, Wolcott died on December 1, 1797, and was buried in Litchfield.
Legacy
Wolcott is described as being tall and upright, with a dark complexion and a dignified appearance. He carried himself with polite and refined manners. Those who praised him emphasized his strong will, balanced by tolerance and moderation. They noted his honesty, steady Puritan faith, constant hard work, and firm resistance to the “specious sophistry of new political theories.”
- Historian Benson J. Lossing said: “As a patriot and a statesman, a Christian and a man, Governor Wolcott presented a bright example for inflexibility; virtue, piety, and integrity were his prominent characteristics.”
AHC Notes
- Oliver Wolcott Jr. served as Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington and President John Adams.
- Wolcott Jr. served as Governor of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1726, November 20 — Oliver Wolcott was born in Windsor, Connecticut.
- 1747 — He graduated from Yale College.
- 1748 — Wolcott served on the New York frontier during King George’s War.
- 1751, October — He became a merchant in Litchfield and was elected County Sheriff.
- 1764 — Wolcott was elected to the Connecticut Assembly.
- 1771 — He was elected to the Governor’s Council.
- 1772, May — Wolcott became Judge of the local Probate Court.
- 1774, May — He became County Judge and Colonel of the local militia regiment.
- 1775, July — Congress appointed Wolcott as Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Northern Department.
- 1775, October — He was elected to the Continental Congress.
- 1776, late June — Wolcott arranged to have the statue of King George III transported to Litchfield, where it was converted into more than 42,000 lead bullets.
- 1776, August — He commanded militia regiments sent to join the Continental Army in New York.
- 1776, Fall — Wolcott signed the Declaration of Independence.
- 1776, December — He was named to command the Litchfield County Militia.
- 1777, September — Wolcott led volunteers to oppose General John Burgoyne’s invasion.
- 1779, May — He was promoted to Major General commanding the Connecticut Militia.
- 1779, July — Wolcott directed resistance to the Connecticut Coast Raids.
- 1784 — He helped negotiate a treaty with the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix.
- 1787, May — Wolcott became Lieutenant Governor.
- 1796, January — He became Governor after Samuel Huntington died.
- 1797, December 1 — Wolcott died in Litchfield, Connecticut.
AP US History Alignment
Definition
Oliver Wolcott (1726–1797) — Wolcott was a Connecticut leader who served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, held key military commands during the American Revolutionary War, and later became Governor. He supported the war to protect civil and religious liberty and helped shape early state and national policy through his judicial service, treaty work with Native American Indians, and participation in the state convention that approved the Constitution.
Alignment
Oliver Wolcott is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
