CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY

WHEN the good ship Mary and John dropped anchor In Boston harbor on the 30th of May, 1630, she had in her company Henry Wolcott, Esq., his wife and sons, of Galdon Manor House, Tolland, Somersetshire. Very few of his Puritan brethren had left their homes at greater sacrifice than he. Henry Wolcott was a country gentleman, accustomed to the surroundings, dignity, and authority of his class. His home was endeared to him by Its family associations, its age, and solid

comfort. Even to this day Tolland suggests to the visitor something of Its ancient glory. As one enters the hamlet, he passes the Ivy-mantled church; beneath the shadow of the heavy tower rest the bodies of the Wolcotts, Beyond Is the manor house, an ancient pile of stone, massive without; within, the walls are ornamented with antique carvings. The celling of the spacious dining-hall is heavily groined; above the mantelpiece are shields bearing the family coats of arms; and along the walls run Latin inscriptions., of which one translated reads, " This is the family of the just; may this spot be preserved to all eternity."

Henry Wolcott, whose family had been loyal members of the Church of England, had been drawn into sympathy with the Puritans. His convictions finally led him to join, with his brethren in the upbuilding of

a colony where he and they could worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. Being over fifty years of age, he had but little taste for change and adventure, and the bonds of old associations must have drawn hard upon him. Nevertheless, he and his family left their ancient home, and on the 20th of March sailed for Boston. After a voyage of seventy days they entered the harbor. As they looked from the deck upon the roughly timbered shores and the woodeo houses of the town, they must have recalled with a pang of homesickness the quiet vale and rich fields of Tolland.

Mr. Wolcott first settled in Dorchester; later he removed with Mr. Wareham's church to Windsor, Conn., and there made his home and became a " chief corner-stone," In the first general assembly held in Connecticut In 1637 he was

made a member of the lower house, and in 1643 was elected a member of the house of magistrates, and was annually elected thereto until his death.

Henry Wolcott's son, Simon, was in 1673 captain of the Simsbury Traine Band, and in 1678 one of the " Townsmen " or selectmen of Simsbury. He married Martha, a sister of Governor. Pitkin of Connecticut, and in 1679 Roger Wolcott was born. After his marriage with Sarah Drake, whose family came from Plymouth, England, counting among its members the famous admiral, Sir Francis, Roger Wolcott entered upon a life of public service. He first filled the offices of selectman, representative to the general assembly, and justice of the peace. In the expedition against Canada in 1711 he was commissary of the Connecticut stores. Step by step he rose to be a member of the coun-

cil, a judge of the county court, a judge of the superior court, then deputy governor,, and chief justice of the superior court. With the rank of major-general he was second to Sir William Pepperell in command of the expedition to Cape Bretori? which resulted in the capture of Louisburg. In 1750 and for four successive years he was governor of the colony. In 1754 he retired from public life and devoted his leisure to literature and "to the reading of the Scriptures, meditation, and prayer."

In his funeral sermon upon Governor Roger Wolcott a century and a half ago Parson Perry struck a prophetic note in his analysis of his character: "At the head of the government Roger Wolcott was a wise and an able governor; at the head of an army a general true to his king and country; on the bench a just

and upright judge; and at the bar an able lawyer. In his own person he was frugal., chaste, and temperate. View him. at the head of his family, he was a kind husband and a good father and a compassionate master. He was a steady professor of the Christian name, a constant and devout attendant upon public worship and holy ordinances. He was able to make a good figure in conversation, among the learned, upon almost any subject, and had a good acquaintance both with men and things. He was very easy of access; no forbidding air sat upon his countenance; free, affable, and unaffected in conversation, he had a peculiar talent in making himself agreeable to all sorts of company, so far as innocency would permit."

It fell to Oliver, son of Roger Wolcott, to represent the family in the critical events preceding the Revolution and dur-

ing the early years of that war. Like his father, he was soldier, lawyer, and jurist and held high office. In early manhood he commanded a company of volunteers In the northern army In the war against the French. Upon the organization of the county of Litchfield In 1751 he was appointed the first sheriff. He was a representative to the general assembly, a member of the council, judge of the court of probate for the district of Litchfield, and chief judge of the court of common pleas. He was a member of the continental congress, with the exception of two years, from 1775 to 1784; and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Loyalty to his country called him a second time into military service. Upon the breaking out of the war of the Revolution Congress appointed him a commis-

sioner on Indian affairs for the northern department. In his spirit of patriotism he, as is seen by the following incident, was well supported by his family. Until the eve of the Revolution a leaden equestrian statue of George III. had stood in Bowling Green in the city of New York. As soon as hostilities began the Sons of Liberty overthrew the statue, and the body of the hapless king was transported to the home of Mr. Wolcott, at Litchfield, where it was melted into bullets by his children and their friends.

In 1777 Oliver Wolcott was appointed a brigadier-general, and in 1779 he was commissioned by General Trumbull major-general of the militia of Connecticut, He was lieutenant-governor of Connecticut from 1786 to 1796, and governor in 1797, the year of his death.

These offices show the esteem in which

General Wolcott was held by the country as well as the State, Indeed, no other man in Connecticut during this critical period discharged so many and varied public duties as he.

Oliver Wolcott gave to the public service two sons. The first, Oliver, served in Congress and in the army. In 1789 he received from President Washington the appointment of auditor of the treasury. Two years later lie was made comptroller, and in 1795 he succeeded Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the treasury, and thus became a member of Washington's cabinet. Here he continued during the administration of President Adams, resigning in 1800 and accepting a seat upon the United States bench as a judge of the circuit court of the second district. In 1815 he returned to his home. Two years later the people of Connecticut called him

to the office of governor, and elected him to that position for ten successive years.

Frederick Wolcott, also a son of Oliver, served his State in the legislative council and on the bench. He repeatedly refused to be nominated for governor by the prevailing political party, but as a private citizen fulfilled many important public duties. He was a member of the corporation of Yale College, and an active supporter of movements in behalf of education and charity.

The marriage of Frederick Wolcott to Elizabeth Huntington united two families of high character and remarkable public spirit.

Elizabeth Huntington's grandfather, Jabez Huntington, who had served several years as a member of the general assembly, soon after his graduation from Yale College entered the West India

trade, and by an honorable business career laid the foundation of one of the largest fortunes of that day. Before the breaking out of the Revolution. Jabez Huntington owned a large amount of shipping, and, as the signs of war increased, it became clear that his fortune was endangered. The question arose as to what his action should be in the crisis.

In the year 1774 he and his wife called the members of their family together, and after earnest prayer for guidance, he told them that he and their mother had been considering their duty to their country in relation to the almost certain loss to their fortune and worldly prospects. He added that before making a final decision which would bring them Into hostility to "their dear motherland," he wished his children also to count the cost. Then deliberately addressing each one by name, he asked the

question: " Are you ready to go with your parents and share our risks and our rewards ?" All pledged themselves to their country. That the pledge was kept is revealed in the history of Jabez Huntington and his five sons.

The father was appointed by the assembly one of the two major-generals of the militia of the State of Connecticut, and in the following year he received command of the entire state militia,

Of the sons, Jedediah, as colonel in command of a regiment, joined the army at Cambridge just one week after the battle of Lexington. Promoted brigadier-general at Washington's request, he took part in all the active campaigns of 1777 and 1778, and endured the hardships of Valley Forge. In December, 1780, his was the only Connecticut brigade that remained in the service.

Ebenezer also went to Cambridge at the news of the battle of Lexington ; he, too, served as brigadier-general in the war, and was later a member of Congress.

Zachariah was a major-general, and Andrew was commissary of brigade during the war, and judge of probate.

Joshua, the father of Elizabeth Huntington, who married Frederick Wolcott, marched immediately after the battle of Lexington as. lieutenant, with a hundred Norwich minutemen, to the scene of action, and joined Putnam's brigade. He went with Putnam to New York, where he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

From the marriage of Frederick Wolcott and. Elizabeth Huntington was born Joshua Huntington Wolcott, the father of Roger Wolcott, late governor of Massachusetts.

When J. Huntington Wolcott was a boy, Boston was attracting the attention of the country by the Increase of its business and its large commercial enterprises. Young Wolcott came to Boston and entered the counting-house of A. and A. Lawrence as senior apprentice, At twenty-six years of age he became a partner, and remained with the firm, becoming senior partner, until its dissolution in 1865. Throughout his business career, Mr. Wolcott was recognized as a man of high character and ability. He Inherited the public spirit of his ancestry. There was exceptional grace and dignity in his bearing. His uniform courtesy to his employees and the errand boys from other offices, as well as to his business associates, lingers in the memories of men in active business to-day.

Mr, Wolcott married Cornelia, the

daughter of Samuel Frothingham, on November 12, 1844, and by her had two sons, Huntington Frothingham and Roger. This historic sketch has been so full of dates and names of public offices as to suggest a dry chronicle, Reading between the lines, however, we discover character, patriotism, chivalry, and sacrifice in the public service. The name of the Wolcott family has not been created by one or two great men, but throughout their whole history of over two centuries and a half In this country, each generation has sustained the good name and the high character of the past The members of the family, blessed with competence, have riot felt that great spur to enterprise, the necessity of earning a living. What work they have done, therefore, and what service they have rendered, have been prompted, partly, to be sure, by a pure desire to sus-

tain the fair name of the family, but especially by that deep sense of obligation to serve God and man which has been at the foundation of the character and service of the English people, and especially of the Puritan stock which sought this coast. At the same time, the family has always sustained in its chivalric spirit, courtesy, and delicacy of feeling, much of the temper which is associated, not with the Puritan, but with the Cavalier of English history.

Roger Wolcott Home

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CHAPTER I.ANCESTRY

CHAPTER I.
ANCESTRY