Roger Wolcott (politician, 1679)

Roger Wolcott (born January 4, 1679 in Windsor , Colony of Connecticut , † May 17, 1767 ibid) was a weaver and politician from Connecticut. He was also governor of the Colony of Connecticut between 1751 and 1754.

Career

Roger Wolcott, son of Simon and Martha (Pitkin) Wolcott, was born on January 4, 1679 in Windsor, Connecticut. His schooling was badly restricted by the nature of the border region, so that he began training as a weaver at the age of twelve and later ran his own business.

During the Queen Anne's War in 1711, Wolcott accompanied the militia troops as steward during the (ultimately failed) Québec expedition . On his return he was in the colonial House of Commons ( Engl. Lower House ) elected and in the Upper House (also 1714 Council called), where he remained as a member to 1750. He was also judge at Hartford County Court from 1721 and from 1732 at the Colonial Supreme Court. 1741 Wolcott was elected Deputy Governor of the colony. As Lieutenant Governor, he also traditionally held the office of Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut, a position he held until 1750.

Wolcott was again active in the militia in 1745, this time as major general (English Major General ). In the King George's War , Massachusetts ' Governor William Shirley issued a universal appeal to the New England colonies for a campaign against the French in Nova Scotia . General Wolcott led Connecticut's forces in Sir William Pepperrell's campaign in which the fortress of Louisbourg was captured.

With the death of Governor Jonathan Law in 1750, Wolcott succeeded him in the office of governor. He was re-elected to this position annually until 1753. Shortly after he resigned as governor, his son Roger took part in the negotiations of six other British colonies and about 200 members from various Indian peoples at the Albany Congress in June and July 1754. During Wolcott's administration, an incapacitated Spanish ship, the St. Joseph and St. Helena , ran aground near New England with a shipload valued at 400,000 Spanish dollars. Wolcott ordered that the ship be hijacked and the cargo confiscated to give him time to settle the contradicting claims between the ship's captain and the salvage crew. During the colonial custody, a large part of the ship's cargo mysteriously disappeared. Tainted with the Spanish Ship Case scandal , Wolcott was defeated on his re-election in 1754. After his defeat, Wolcott retired mainly from public life to study and to do writing. In 1759 Wolcott published a brief history of the Colony of Connecticut entitled Roger Wolcott's Memoir Relating to the History of Connecticut .

Roger Wolcott died on May 17, 1767 at his home in Windsor and was buried on the Old Burying Ground .

family

Roger married Sarah Drake in 1702 and they had 14 children together before she died in 1748. Her son Oliver was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence and governor of a free Connecticut.

Web links

• Roger Wolcott in the database of Find a Grave (English)