Roger Wolcott (Connecticut)
| Roger Wolcott | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Governor | |
|
In office 1741–1750 |
|
| Preceded by | Jonathan Law |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Fitch |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 4, 1679 Windsor, Connecticut |
| Died | May 17, 1767 (aged 88) Windsor, Connecticut |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Drake Wolcott |
| Children | Roger Wolcott Elizabeth Wolcott Newberry Alexander Wolcott Josiah Wolcott Erastus Wolcott Ursula Wolcott Griswold Oliver Wolcott Sr. |
| Parents | Simon Wolcott Martha Pitkin Wolcott |
| Occupation | Weaver, Statesman, Politician |
| Signature |  |
Roger Wolcott (January 4, 1679 – May 17, 1767) was an American weaver, statesman, and politician from Windsor, Connecticut. He served as colonial governor of Connecticut from 1751 to 1754.
Wolcott was born the son of Simon Wolcott and Martha Pitkin Wolcott in Windsor, Connecticut. His formal education was severely limited by the nature of the frontier village, so at age twelve he was apprenticed to a weaver, and at the age of twenty-one entered that business on his own. He married Sarah Drake on December 3, 1702, and they had fifteen children before her death in 1748. Their son Oliver Wolcott Sr. signed the Declaration of Independence and went on to become governor of Connecticut.
In May 1709, Wolcott was admitted to the bar and began to practice law. In 1711, during Queen Anne's War, He accompanied militia forces on an expedition to Quebec as a commissary. On his return he served as Clerk of the House, 1710-1711 and was elected Deputy to the colony's Lower House in 1709-1714, 1718, 1719, serving as Speaker in October, 1719. In 1714 he was elected to the Upper House (also called the Council) and served as Assistant, 1714-1718, 1720-1741, 1754-1760. He was Commissioner of Connecticut for the Adjustment of Colonial boundaries, 1717, 1718, 1723-1726, 1728, 1730, 1737, 1740, 1742, 1750. Captain of the Trainband of Windsor, 1722. Captain of Troops raised for active service, 1724. He was made judge of the Hartford County court in 1723, serving through 1732, and of the colony's Superior Court in 1732, serving through 1741. Wolcott was made Colonel of the First regiment, 1739.
In 1741 Wolcott was elected Deputy Governor of the colony. As deputy governors traditionally served as the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut, he also assumed that position, which he held until 1750.
In 1745 Wolcott was again active in the militia, this time as a Major General. In King George's War, Massachusetts governor William Shirley issued a general call to the New England colonies for an expedition against the French in Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island). Wolcott served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the Expedition to Cape Breton. General Wolcott headed the Connecticut troops in Sir William Pepperrell's expedition that captured Fortress Louisbourg.
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