Oliver Wolcott
Born: November 20, 1726
Died: December 1, 1797
Colony/State: Connecticut
Occupation / Public Role: Military officer, judge, legislator, lieutenant governor, governor
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War militia general, and later lieutenant governor and governor of Connecticut.
Oliver Wolcott was born in Windsor, Connecticut, into a family already prominent in colonial public life; Britannica notes that he was the son of Roger Wolcott, who had served as colonial governor of Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1747 and, early in adulthood, received a military commission and served on the frontier during the late phase of King George’s War.
After returning to Connecticut, Wolcott settled in Litchfield. The U.S. House history office records that he studied medicine, though he did not practice, and instead entered public service. He served as sheriff of Litchfield County, later became a judge of the county court of common pleas, and served for many years as judge of probate. In other words, like a lot of these founders, he apparently looked at one career and said, “No, I’ll take six.”
Wolcott was active in both the political and military sides of the Revolution. He served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776–1778 and again in 1780, and he signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Connecticut’s four signers. The National Archives lists him as 49 years old in 1776 and identifies his occupation as doctor/soldier. At the same time, he served as a major general of militia, helped command Connecticut troops sent for the defense of New York in 1776, and later led a militia brigade that took part in the campaign against General Burgoyne in 1777.
His public service continued after independence. Britannica notes that Wolcott helped negotiate a settlement with the Iroquois in 1784, while the House history office records that he served as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1786 to 1796 and then as Governor from 1796 until his death in 1797. That made him one of the major public figures of Connecticut not only during the Revolution, but in the early republic as well.
Oliver Wolcott died in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1797. He may not be as famous today as Adams, Jefferson, or Franklin, but he was no minor figure. He signed the Declaration, served in Congress, fought in the war, and later rose to the highest office in his state. That is a pretty stout founding-era résumé.
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