Broersma Family Tree » Henry Wolcott (< 1578-1655)

Persoonlijke gegevens Henry Wolcott 

• Hij is geboren voor 6 december 1578 in Tolland, Somersetshire, England.Bron 1
• Hij is gedoopt op 6 december 1578 in Tolland, Somersetshire, England.Bron 2
• Hij is overleden op 30 mei 1655 in Windsor, CT.Bron 1
• Een kind van John Wolcott en Matilda Cornwall
• Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 3 januari 2013.

Gezin van Henry Wolcott

Hij is getrouwd met Elizabeth Sanders.

Zij zijn getrouwd in het jaar 1607 te England.Bron 1

Kind(eren):

1. Henry Wolcott  1610-1680
2. George Wolcott  ????-1663
3. Christopher Wolcott  ????-1662
4. Anna Wolcott  ± 1620-???? 
5. Mary Wolcott  ????-1869
6. Simon Wolcott  1625-1687

Notities over Henry Wolcott

Genealogies of Connecticut Families
pg 568

THE WOLCOTT FAMILY
Introductory Remarks

Henry Wolcott was the first of the Wolcott Family who settled in New England. He owned a considerable landed property in his native country, which he held in capite, part of which he sold about the time he left England; the rest of the estate was sold at sundry times by himself and his descendants; the last remains were sold since the Declaration of Independence, by Henry Allen, Esq., of Windsor, who claimed it by female descent. From circumstances it seems probable that the family are of saxon origin. Mr. Wolcott, to avoid the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the English Church, was induced to come into this country. He settled first at Dorchester, where he continued till 1636, when he came with the first settlers to the town of Windsor, and with four other gentlemen, namely, Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Newberry, Mr. Stoughton, and Major Mason, undertook the settlement of that town, to which they gave the name Dorchester. The towns of Hartford and Wethersfield were settled the same year, thoughthe town which is now called Windsor was, upon the first emigration, by far the most considerable. Previous to this settlement on the Connecticut River, one had been made at Springfield, under the patronage of Mr. Pynchon; and an earlier settlement, with commercial views, had been made at Saybrook, by Mr. Fenwick, agent to Lords Say and Seal and Brook. Those who settled on Connecticut River, in the year 1636, were united with the people in Massachusetts in religious and civil polity, and seem to have been much under their influence till 1638, when they adopted a civil constitution for themselves, and Mr. Ludlow was chosen their first Governor, and Mr. Wolcott a magistrate, then called an Assistant, to which office he was annually chosen till his death, in 1655. His eldest son Henry was one of the Patentees, whose name is inserted in the Charter granted by Charles II. Mr Ludlow went to the West Indies, and left no prosperity in this country. Major Mason, it is said, had no male posterity. The descendants of the others are well known in Windsor.

GENEALOGY
Henry Wolcott, Esq., was born A.D. 1578; and on or about the year 1607, married Elizabeth Sanders, who was born in 1589. He lived in Tolland, near Taunton in Somersetshire, England, till the year 1630, and then to avoid persecution, came with his family into New England, and settled at Dorchester. In the year 1636, he went with his family to Windsor in Connecticut. Mr. Wolcott, Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Newberry, Mr. Stoughton, and Major Mason, were the five gentlemen that undertook the settling of the town. Mr. Wolcott was one of hte first magistrates in the Colony of Connecticut; he lived in that post in Windsor, till he died, May 30, 1655. His wife died July 7, 1655, and she and her husband lie buried in one tomb in Windsor. Their children were:

1. Anna, who m. Matthew Griswold and d. at Lyme.
2. Henry Wolcott, Esq. b. 1610, d. at Windsor, July 12, 1680
3. George, who d. at Wethersfield, Feb. 12, 1663.
4. Christopher, who d. in Windsor, Sept. 7, 1662.
5. Mary, m. Job Drake, and d. in Windsor, Sept. 6, 1689.
6. Simon, b. 1625, d. in Windsor, Sept. 11, 1687; his wife d. Oct. 13, 1719.

History, Charter and By-laws ...: List of Officers and Members ..., Volume 4
pg 117-123

HENRY WOLCOTT.
By Ebenezer Lane.

Henry Wolcott, the progenitor of the Wolcott family in America, was born at Tolland, in Somersetshire, England, in the year 1578. The family was of Saxon origin. Researches in the heralds' office, among the wills, subsidy rolls and parish records of England, have traced the genealogy of Henry Wolcott through fifteen generations back to Sir John Wolcott, knight, in the eleventh century. All of the earlier generations were as devoted Papists as the emigrant Wolcott ancestors were distinguished for their adherence to the principles of the Reformation.

Henry Wolcott was the second son of John Wolcott of Galdon Manor, and was baptized in the adjoining parish of Lydiard St. Lawrence, Dec. 6, 1578. Christopher, the eldest son, held in 1618 a royal license of Galdon Manor, issued under the chancellorship of Lord Bacon, which had the great seal of England appended to it. This ancient manor, which was the principal estate in Tolland, and two Wolcott monuments in the church yard of the old parish church are still standing. The manor is very large in extent, and was designed, as were many of the mansions of that period, for the purpose of defense, as well as for a family residence. It is highly ornamented with richly carved stone work, and upon the walls is cut the motto of the family arms:

Nullius addictus jurare in verba majistri.
ArmsArg., a chevron between three chess rooks. Ermines.
CrestA bull's head erased. Arg. armed Or. ducally gorged, lined and ringed of the last.

In the old family pedigree it is recorded of John Wolcott of Wolcott, who lived in the reign of Henry the Fifth, and who married Matilda, daughter of Sir Richard Cornwall of Bereford, knight, that he assumed for his arms the three chess rooks, instead of the cross with the fleur de lis borne by his ancestors. It says "that playinge at ye chesse with Henry ye fifte, King of England, he gave hym ye checke matte with ye rouke, whereupon ye Kinge changed his coate of arms, which was ye crosse with flowers de lures, and gave him ye rouke for remembrance."

In 1607 Henry Wolcott married Elizabeth Saunders, born in 1589, the daughter of Thomas Saunders of Tolland. There were born to them three sons, Henry, John and Simon, and two daughters. Upon the decease of his elder brother without issue, Henry Wolcott became the proprietor of the family estate, including the manor house, a mill in the village, also an estate in Wellington. In the varied pursuits of a "country 'squire" he passed his life until after his fifty-second year, possessed of a handsome income, and holding a high position among the landed gentry of England.

During the disordered times in the reign of Charles the First, when the thick gathering cloud of civil and religious persecution overspread all England, when church and state were becoming more and more oppressive in their demands, the minds of many of the most conscientious men were filled with gloomy forebodings of the future. The principles of the Reformation were beginning to make themselves felt. Companies were formed and preparations made to establish new homes in America, where might be enjoyed a more extensive liberty. Foremost among these colonies of 1630 was one formed through the exertions of Rev. John White of Dorchester, composed of the best material that could be gotten together in the western counties of England, for a well-conducted and best-ordered settlement in the new world. Two eminent ministers, Rev. John Warham of Exeter and Rev. John Maverick were chosen to administer to the spiritual welfare of the company. Two members of the government, Mr. Rossiter and Mr. Roger Ludlow, were selected as assistants or directors. Capt. John Mason, who afterwards won for himself a most prominent name among the martial leaders of New England, Capt. Richard Southcote and Quartermaster John Smith joined the company, as their skill and experience in military matters would probably be necessary for the safety of the enterprise. Several gentlemen of landed estates were also added, and prominent among them was the name of Henry Wolcott, who from a stern sense of duty and justice had become identified with the Puritan party, convinced that the only way to enjoy the right of conscience, both in spiritual and other matters, was to emigrate to another continent. He sold a part of his estate for ???8,000, and with his wife and two sons joined this company, leaving behind them two daughters and their youngest son until a settlement could be made in a new home in America.

This company of one hundred and forty persons sailed from Plymouth on the 20th of April, 1630, in the ship "Mary and John," a vessel of 400 tons, commanded by Captain Squeb, being the first of a fleet of seventeen ships which arrived on the New England coast in the year 1630. They came to anchor on Sunday, the 30th of May, off Nantasket, now Hull. Their original destination was the Charles Kiver, but the captain, without charts or a pilot, was afraid to proceed any farther. An unfortunate misunderstanding arose between him and his passengers, and the result was that the latter were put ashore and were obliged to shift for themselves. At first they lived upon clams, muscles and sea food, but soon began to trade with the Indians, who supplied them with maize and other articles of food. They presently made their way along the coast until they found a good pasture ground for their cattle at Mattapan, now known as Dorchester Neck, or South Boston. This settlement they named Dorchester, in honor of Rev. John White of Dorchester, England, which place had also been the home of several of their number.

Henry Wolcott was made a freeman in Boston Oct. 19, 1630, and lived in this vicinity until the summer of 1636.

In 1631 Wahquimacut, a Connecticut River sachem, visited Boston and Plymouth, telling of the exceeding beauty and fruitfulness of his "Great River Country," and extended the cordial friendship of his people to any who might desire to come there to settle. Governor Winthrop declined to visit this country, but Governor Winslow of the Plymouth Colony gave the matter more consideration, and soon after decided to make a journey to the Connecticut River. He returned with a most favorable impression of all that he had seen.

In the summer of 1636 Maj. John Mason, Messrs. Wolcott, Ludlow, Newberry, Stoughton and others decided to leave Dorchester and go to the "Great River Country." After a difficult and tedious journey over the mountains, and through the swamps and rivers of the wilderness, they finally arrived at the Connecticut River, and made a permanent settlement at Windsor. They had purchased the right of settling here from the Plymouth Company in England, who held the country by grant from the crown, but they did not consider their title valid until they had also bought the land from the Indians, whom they looked upon as the rightful proprietors.

The Assembly of the Colony in Massachusetts gave to the people about to settle in the three towns, Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, in Connecticut, authority to form themselves into a political body, although they were beyond their jurisdiction. They soon proceeded to form a system of laws similar to those of Massachusetts, except that a church membership was not a necessary qualification for civil office.

The first General Assembly in Connecticut was held at Hartford in 1637, and Henry Wolcott was elected a member of the committee, twelve in number, which constituted the Lower House, or popular branch of that body. They adopted a constitution for Connecticut, the first written constitution defining its own powers that the world ever saw. Mr. Wolcott was one of the Deputies selected to help draw up this important document.

In 1640 the name of "Henry Wolcott, Esq.," appears first in the list of settlers on the town records of Windsor. On Jan. II, 1640, the General Court granted to him large tracts of land along the river. His residence was towards the southern end of the town, south of the Farmington River, on a tract of high land, which has always borne the name of "The Island." In the list of gentlemen who are designated upon the Colonial records ofConnecticut in 1639, with the prefix of "Master or Mister," appears the name of "Mr. Henry Wolcott." In 1643 he was selected a member of the House of Magistrates, as the Upper House was then styled, consisting of six or eight members, which position he continued to hold for twelve years, until his death in 1655.

Henry Wolcott and his wife Elizabeth died the same year in Windsor, and were buried in one tomb. Upon the tombstone, erected by his son-in-law, Lieut. Matthew Griswold, are the following inscriptions: "Here vnder lyeth the body of Henry Wolcott, sometimes a Maiestrate of this Ivrisdiction, who dyed ye 30th day of May Anno Salvtis, 1665.
Aetatis, 77.

Here vnder lyeth the body of Elizabeth Wolcott,
who dyed ye 17th day of Ivly, Anno Salvtis, 1665 Aetatis, 73

The personal consideration with which Henry Wolcott was regarded in the Colony from the outset is evidence that he was a man of acknowledged ability, superior judgment, and general excellence.
Many of the descendants of Henry Wolcott have followed in his illustrious footsteps, and have been prominent as soldiers and jurists, holding positions of the highest official trust.

His eldest son, Henry Wolcott, was assistant, 1661 to 1665. He was one of the Patentees named in the Royal Charter in 1662. His youngest son, Capt. Simon Wolcott, married Martha Pitkin (a sister of William Pitkin, Attorney-General of the Colony of Connecticut, 1664; treasurer, 1676; assistant, 1690-1694). Through them descended Major-General Roger Wolcott, second in command at the siege of Louisburg in 1745. Deputy Governor and Chief Justice of Connecticut in 1741. Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1750-1754. Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut, 1786-1796. Governor of Connecticut in 1796 until his death in 1797. Oliver Wolcott, second. On the formation of the United States Government in 1789, he was appointed First Auditor of the Treasury. In 1794 he succeeded General Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington. He was Governor of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827.

Prominent among other descendants of Henry Wolcott may be mentioned: William Wolcott Ellsworth, Roger Sherman Baldwin and William Alfred Buckingham, as Governors of Connecticut; James Mather Allen, Governor of Dakota; Roger Wolcott, Governor of Massachusetts; HenryMatson Waite, Chief Justice of Connecticut; Erastus Wolcott and Roger Wolcott, judges of the Supreme Court of Connecticut; Charles Allen, Chief Justice of Massachusetts; Henry Baldwin, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Senator Wolcott of Colorado, and Morrison Remick Waite, Chief Justice of the United States.

Henry Wolcott's daughter Anna married Lieut. Matthew Griswold of Lyme, Conn., and through them descended Judge John Griswold and Judge Matthew Griswold of the Supreme Court of Connecticut; Governor Matthew Griswold, Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1784-1786. He married Ursula Wolcott, the daughter of Major-General Roger Wolcott, and greatgranddaughter of Henry Wolcott. His son, Roger Griswold, was Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut in 1807, Lieutenant-Governor in 1809 and Governor of Connecticut, 1811-1812. Gov. Roger Griswold's daughter Frances married Ebenezer Lane, judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 1830-1837, and Chief Justice of Ohio from 1837 to 1845. Died 1866.

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