Wolcott – Surname Saturday

By Don Taylor

Ancestry indicates that the surname “Wolcott” is a Habitational name for someone from Wollcot in Somerset, England. Possibly so named from the Middle English wolle meaning “spring” and cot, meaning “cottage” or “shelter.” Forebears indicate it is derived from a person from Wollscott in Warwickshire.

Geographical

Approximately 7,775 people worldwide bear the surname Wolcott, and 7,650 of them live in the United States. With the most living in New York, California, and Florida.

Wolcott Ancestors

I have eight known Wolcott ancestors:

• • 5^th Great-grandmother: Mary Wolcott(1767-1857) b. Mass., d. New York
  • 6^th Great-grandfather: Samuel Wolcott (1736-1802) – b. & d. Connecticut.[i]
  • 7^th Great-grandfather: Samuel Wolcott (1713-1800)
  • 8^th Great-grandfather: Samuel Wolcott (1679-1734)
  • 9^th Great-grandfather: Samuel Wolcott (1656-1695)
  • 10^th Great-grandfather: Henry Wolcott (____-1680)
  • 11^th Great-grandfather: Henry Wolcott (____-1655)
  • 12^th Great-grandfather: John Wolcott (____-____)

Historical

Mary Wolcott was born in Massachusetts and died in New York.

Her father, Samuel Wolcott, was born and died in Connecticut.

I do not have birth locations for the earlier ancestors; however, Henry Wolcott was one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut, and was identified as one of the original persons identified in the 1662 Charter of Connecticut (the basis of Connecticut being the “Constitution State”).

Wolcott Descendants

I have 867 known descendants of John Wolcott; 121 Brown, 94 Wolcott, 31 Parsons, 17 Berg, 16 Hanson, 16 Larson, and 15 Briggs descendants. Six hundred eighty of those descendants are known descendants of Mary Wolcott. I have previously written about 5 of them.

• • Grandfather:Clifford Brown | aka Richard Earl Durand | aka Richard Earl Brown (1903-1990)
  • 1^st Great-grandfather: Arthur Durwood Brown(1869-1928)
  • 2^nd Great-grandfather:  Marion Sanford(1846- c. 1895)
  • 3^rd Great-grandfather: Mary E Parsons(1828-1888)
  • 4^th Great-grandfather: Chester Parsons(1799-1887)

Famous Wolcott’s

Wikipedia indicates fifteen famous Wolcott’s, including three governors, two senators, a representative, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Oliver Wolcott. There are also eight places named “Wolcott” in the US.

Sources:

Ancestry Surname Page: https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts.
Forebears Surnames Page: https://forebear       s.io/surnames.
Ancestry – Don Taylor’s Roberts-Brown tree on Ancestry.
Wikipedia – Wolcott.

Endnotes:

[i] Ancestors before Mary Wolcott (1767-1857) have been potentially identified but not confirmed through my personal research.