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1 


REPORT  OF  PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

TENTH  ANNUAL  REUNION 

OF 

THE  SOCIETY  OF 


DESCENDANTS  OF 
HENRY  WOLCOTT 

\0±h  Reunion 


HELD  AT  CLEVELAND,  OHIO 
SEPTEMBER  2d  AND  3d,  1914 


1851880 


Report  of  the  Tenth  Annual  Reunion 

Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott 

Held  Sept.  2d  and  3d,  1914,  at  Cleveland,  O. 

The  tenth  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  of  the  Descendants  of 
Henry  Wolcott  was  held  in  the  Lattice  Room  of  the  Hotel  Statler, 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  was  opened  at  10:30  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  September  2,  1914. 

The  following  named  descendants  were  registered: 

Aten,  Mrs.  Maria  Burbridge,  Chicago,  111. 

Aten,  Stella  Wolcott,  Chicago,  111. 

Bliss,  Harry  A.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Case,  Mrs.  Gertrude  Cole,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Cole,  Mrs.  Maverette  Wolcott,  Geneva,  Ohio. 

Dunham,  Mrs.  Mary  Wolcott,  Waverly,  N.  Y. 

Frazer,  Mrs.  Beulah  Wolcott,  Chicago,  111. 

Fisher,  Mrs.  Percy  L.,  New  York  City. 

Fitch,  Mrs.  C.  C,  Struthers,  Ohio. 

Green,  Mary  Wolcott,  New  York  City. 

Haines,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  J.,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Hawxhurst,  Mrs.  Emma,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Hoyt,  Mrs.  K.  S.,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Hoyt,  Louise,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Hoyt,  Helen  E.,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Hudson,  Mrs.  Ann  L.,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

Hull,  Mrs.  Freddie  Wolcott,  Maumee,  Ohio. 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Lorena  Wolcott,  St.  Johns,  Mich. 

Mahaffy,  Mrs.  L.  W.,  Canton,  Ohio. 

McMillan,  Mrs.  K.  W.,  Chicago,  111. 

Paterno,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Charles,  New  York  City. 

Paterno,  Carlo,  New  York  City. 

Saint,  Clara,  Canton,  Ohio. 

Smith,  Grace  Wolcott,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  C.  H.,  Ashtabula,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mrs.  C.  H.,  Orwell,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  F.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Dorothy,  Orwell,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan  B.,  Kent,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dorr,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  C,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Dr.  Edwin  H.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


\\  ,,1,  ott,  I  i  Ik  I   h.,  Columbus,  (  )hio. 

Wnhott,  Mr.  and   Mrs.   Mcmy    K.,  Uatavia,  111. 

Wolcott,  Mrs.  m.  VV.  K.,  Easl  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Homer   J.,  Lockwood,  Ohio. 

Wolroll,  Jack  M.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mi.  and  Mrs.  Jerome,  East  Orwell,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mi.  and  Mrs.  Judson  E.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  K.  W.,  Akron,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  1,.  Urucc,  Baltimore,  Ohio. 
\\  oh  ott,  Mary,  Akron,  (  )hio. 

Wolcott,  Mar}  Goehring,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mrs.  Metta  E.,  Akron,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  A.,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Oliver  H.,  Akron,  Ohio. 

\\  oleott,  Mrs.  Oliver,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Rose  A.,  Lakewood,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  H.,  Rockcreek  Station,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  E.,  East  Orwell,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Stella  A.,  Topeka,  Kan. 

Wolcott,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Warner,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 

Woodruff,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  A.,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 

Woolcott,  John,  Harrisburg,  111. 

Woolcott,  William,  Winchester,  Ky. 

In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Harry  K.  Wolcott,  of  Norfolk, 
Va.,  who  was  unable  to  attend,  Judson  E.  Wolcott,  of  Cleveland, 
Vice-President  and  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  called 
the  meeting  to  order.  After  expressing  the  regrets  of  the  Society 
and  himself  at  the  absence  of  the  president,  he  introduced  Hon.  Dun- 
can Brewster  Wolcott  as  the  latest  scion  of  a  family  of  Senators, 
his  father  and  grandfather  having  each  held  that  honorable  office 
before  him,  and  proposed  his  name  as  temporary  presiding  officer. 
Senator  Wolcott  upon  taking  the  chair  introduced  the  Hon.  Newton 
D.  Baker,  Mayor  of  Cleveland,  who  made  a  short  address  of  welcome. 

Among  other  things  Mayor  Baker  said  was  to  recall  a  visit  which 
he  had  made  to  Europe  where  one  of  the  noticeable  features  that  had 
impressed  itself  on  his  mind  was  the  care  with  which  family  tradi- 
tions and  family  ties  were  preserved.  America,  he  said,  had  been 
very  lax  about  this,  but  of  late  years  there  was  a  tendency  to  pay 
more  attention  to  the  family  tree  and  its  collateral  branches  and  to 
rekindle  the  fires  of  family  amity  about  ancestral  hearthstones.  He 
said  that  although  sometimes  there  might  seem  to  be  too  much  stress 
paid  to  the  family  name  and  too  little  to  the  real  worth  of  the  in- 
dividual, family  pride  was  a  worthy  pride  and  that  this  uniting  of 
families  and  the  promoting  of  a  broad  and  tolerant  spirit  of  brotherly 


—  2  — 


love  and  helpfulness,  which  such  unions  and  reunions  must  do,  could 
not  but  be  beneficial  to  society  at  large. 

The  speaker  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  Wolcott  family,  with  the 
history  of  which  he  seemed  familiar,  down  from  the  days  when  Henry 
Wolcott,  the  first  of  the  name  in  America,  founded  the  town  of 
Windsor  in  the  "Land  of  steady  habits,"  in  the  making  of  which  he 
and  his  stalwart  sons  and  their  descendants  played  so  important  a 
part.  Next  to  Connecticut,  where  the  Wolcott  family  in  America 
took  its  start,  he  said  that  Ohio  seemed  to  have  been  the  most  popu- 
lar with  the  descendants  of  Henry  of  Windsor,  and  that  surely  no 
state  owed  more  to  the  Wolcott  family  than  Ohio,  where  pioneers 
of  that  name  had  hewed  homes  out  of  the  wilderness  in  many  sec- 
tions and  ever  since  pioneer  days  had  taken  their  place  as  earnest, 
loyal  and  influential  citizens.  The  people  of  Cleveland,  he  said, 
united  in  giving  warm  welcome  to  the  scattered  descendants  of  a 
representative  patriotic  American  family,  as  a  testimonial  of  their 
regard  to  the  members  of  that  family  settled  within  the  boundaries 
of  their  own  proud  state. 

Hon.  Duncan  B.  Wolcott  replied  to  the  able  and  earnest  address 
of  Mayor  Baker,  thanking  him  in  behalf  of  the  Society  and  the  Ohio 
Wolcotts.  He  spoke  at  some  length  upon  the  influence  that  the  Wol- 
cotts  and  other  New  England  families  had  had  on  the  vast  growth 
and  prosperity  of  not  only  Ohio,  but  all  the  great  Northwest  terri- 
tory, and  how  that  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  making  of  a  nation 
and  the  moulding  of  its  thought  and  morals.  He  also  told  much  of 
interest  of  the  Wolcott  pioneers  of  Ohio  and  their  early  struggles 
and  later  triumphs.  At  the  close  of  this  address  an  adjournment 
was  taken  until  afternoon. 


Afternoon  Session,  Wednesday,  September  2d 


I  he  business  session  began  ;it  2  o'c  loc  k  With  the  Kotl,  huncan 
Brewster  W'olcott  presiding. 

Letters  and   telegrams  of  regret   were  read   from   the  following 

named  members: 

President  Many  EC.  W'olcott,  Norfolk,  Va. 
Mr.  Robert   K.  VVolcott,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
Mr.  Koscoe  W'olcott,  Watertown,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Darwin  S.  Wolcott,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Mr.  William  A.  VVolcott,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Mrs.  Mary  II.  S.  Johnston,  Humboldt,  Iowa. 
Mr.  G.  F.  W'olcott,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 
Mr.  C  larence  K.  VVolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Mr. J.   II.  Timberlake,  Steubenville,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Darwin  B.  Wolcott,  Garfield,  Kansas. 
Mrs.  Henry  Clay  Wolcott,  Harrington,  Del. 
Miss  Ada  Wolcott,  Dover,  New  Hampshire. 

Mrs.  Hull,  a  descendant  from  Maumee,  Ohio,  brought  the  regrets 
of  Mrs.  Eva  Wolcott  Gentry,  who  was  unable  to  be  present  because 
of  serious  illness,  in  Rhinefrank  Hospital,  Perrysburg,  Ohio.  The 
Society  instructed  the  Secretary  to  write  to  Mrs.  Gentry  expressing 
the  general  regret  at  her  absence  and  their  wishes  for  her  speedy 
recovery. 

Mr.  Henry  K.  Wolcott  made  the  motion,  which  was  seconded 
by  Miss  Rose  Wolcott,  that  a  letter  of  greeting  be  sent  to  the 
Daughters  of  America,  who  were  holding  a  State  Convention  in  the 
Hotel  Statler.  This  was  done  and  a  most  courteous  reply  was  later 
received  as  follows: 

The  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Woi.cott —  Greeting : 

The  Society  of  Daughters  of  America  in  convention  assembled 
return  the  greeting  of  your  society  and  extend  best  wishes  for  the 
prosperity  of  your  society  and  all  measures  for  the  perpetuation  of 
American  ideals  by  our  splendid  old  American  families. 

Sincerely  and  cordially  yours, 

JULIA  T.  ROTH,  Secretary. 
The  report  of  the  Secretary  was  then  read. 

Report  of  the  Secretary-Treasurer 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Members:  If  there  is  any  one  of 
the  blood  who  has  grown  tired  of  life  on  account  of  its  monotonous 
round,  let  him  beseech  his  relatives  to  elect  him  Secretary-Treasurer 
of  the  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott.  That  position 
offers  some  new  and  unexpected  phase  of  mental  and  physical  activity 
every  day  in  the  week. 


Until  two  years  ago,  I  had  supposed  that  the  duties  of  Secretary 
meant  the  writing  of  letters,  preparing  reports  and  such  routine  work 
as  might  appear  in  the  course  of  the  Society's  business.  I  am  wiser 
now.  From  my  experience,  I  feel  that  the  ideal  Secretary  is  ex- 
pected to  be  accomplished  in  all  business  methods,  wise  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  genealogy,  conversant  with  the  names,  addresses 
and  family  lines  of  the  3,000  names  in  the  card  index,  endowed  with 
psychological  insight  as  to  the  reason  why  certain  branches  of  the 
family  received  more  attention  in  the  book  published  by  the  Society 
than  others,  an  expert  in  the  art  of  advertising,  an  adept  at  stenog- 
raphy and  journalism,  as  well  as  an  authority  upon  the  weather,  the 
high  cost  of  living,  the  parcels  post  system,  and  the  real  cause  of 
the  European  War. 

Lacking  so  many  points  necessary  for  the  ideal  Secretary,  I  can 
only  assure  you  that  I  have  enjoyed  the  work,  and  especially  the 
friendly  letters  from  all  over  the  country,  and  although  the  writers 
of  many  of  these  may  always  be  strangers  to  me  by  sight,  I  feel  that 
I  have  gained  much  by  the  contact  with  the  minds  of  so  varied  a 
family  and  I  appreciate  the  experience. 

There  have  been  sent  out  from  the  office  of  the  Secretary- 
Treasurer  during  the  year  about  2,363  pieces  of  mail,  which  include 
reports,  bills,  receipts,  stationery,  pins,  and  scores  of  letters. 

As  recommended  last  year,  we  had  only  500  reports  printed. 
These  were  sent  out  to  members,  those  who  attended  the  reunion 
last  year,  to  all  who  had  ever  paid  dues  and  to  all  who  had  made 
inquiries  that  showed  a  beginning  of  interest,  and  finally  to  those 
bearing  the  name  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Cleveland,  distributing 
them  around  in  sections  where  there  were  Wolcotts  living  in  order 
to  arouse  interest  in  the  present  reunion.  The  cost  of  printing  500 
was  no  greater  than  would  have  been  the  cost  of  printing  300. 

But  one  complaint  has  reached  the  Secretary  from  any  paying 
member,  about  failure  to  get  the  mail  sent.  Several  pieces  of  mail 
have  been  returned  by  the  postoffice  department.  The  card  index 
must  be  changed  constantly. 

Circular  letters  to  the  members  to  the  number  of  500  were  pre- 
pared and  sent  out  to  as  many  names  on  the  card  index.  These  were 
to  persons  who  had  never  paid  dues  or  whose  dues  had  not  been  paid 
for  four  years  or  more.  This  letter  gave  the  facts  of  the  formation 
of  the  Society,  its  aim,  accomplishments  and  membership,  together 
with  an  invitation  to  join  the  Society.  This  resulted  in  several  new 
memberships  and  brought  promise  of  some  others  in  the  future.  All 
new  members  have  furnished  proofs  of  eligibility,  and  by  this  the  an- 
nals of  the  family  are  slowly  being  completed.  As  an  example,  one 
woman  has  become  interested  whose  family  line,  so  far  as  the  printed 


record  goes  has  been  lost  since  L856,  She  is  bringing  it  up  to  date 
and  Interesting  others  of  her  line,  so  that  it  is  expected  that  a  number 
oi  her  famil)  will  join  the  Society. 

Over  1,200  invitations  to  this  reunion  were  sent  out.    Besides  this 

your  Secretar)  prepared  notices  for  newspaper  publications  which 
wer<  senl  to  each  Vice  President,  to  be  printed  in  their  home  or  state 
papers.  Clippings  from  many  of  these  papers  have  been  received 
Bhowing  that  the  vice-presidents  have  done  their  work  well.  These 
clippings  have  been  added  to  the  scrap-book. 

There  have  been  several  deaths  in  our  membership.  Where  notice 
of  such  deaths  have  been  received  the  Secretary  has  written  letters 
of  condolence  in  the  name  of  the  Society.  The  death  of  the  follow- 
ing named  members  has  been  reported: 


Mr.  FRANK  B.  WOLCOTT,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 

Died  January  4,  1914. 
Air.  SIDNEY  WOLCOTT,  Buchanan,  Mich., 

Died  January,  1914. 
Mr.  HOWARD  O.  WOLCOTT,  Litchfield,  Pa., 

Died  in  New  York  City,  Oct.  13,  1913. 
Air.  OSCAR  WOLCOTT  (father  of  Howard),  Litchfield,  Pa., 

Died  Feb.  23,  1914. 
Mrs.  SARAH  HADLOCK  WOLCOTT  (mother  of  Howard), 

Died  April  19,  1914.  Litchfield,  Pa. 

Mr.  PRESTON  WOLCOTT,  Austin,  Pa., 

Died  April  13,  1914. 
Mrs.  ELIZA  WOLCOTT  McVAUGH,  Elmira,  N.  Y., 

Died  April  15,  1912. 
Air.  ARCHIE  McVAUGH  (her  son), 

Killed  in  Cleveland,  June  28,  1912. 
Dr.  OLIVER  M.  WOLCOTT,  Columbus,  Ohio, 

Died  April  25,  1914. 


Last  year,  the  Secretary-Treasurer  was  commissioned  by  the 
Society  to  purchase  a  die  for  embossing  stationery  with  the  coat-of- 
arms  of  the  Society  and  to  secure  suitable  stationery  bearing  this 
emblem.  A  report  had  been  made  that  a  die  could  be  obtained  for 
$14.00,  and  a  letter  from  the  firm  of  the  Siegel-Cooper  Co.  making 
that  offer  had  been  filed.  But  when  a  check  for  that  amount  was  sent 
with  an  order  for  the  die,  the  Company  repudiated  their  offer  claim- 
ing that  a  mistake  had  been  made,  although  confronted  with  their 
own  letter.    They  declared  that  $27.50  was  their  lowest  figure  for  the 


—  6  — 


die.  Another  firm  was  then  secured  which  made  the  die  for  $15.00. 
I  thought  the  Society  would  be  willing  to  pay  the  extra  dollar.  The 
embossed  stationery  is  on  sale  here  and  if  readily  sold  will  help  swell 
the  coffers  of  the  Society. 

A  pin  has  also  been  made,  as  ordered  by  the  Society.  This  pin 
is  of  gold  with  the  family  coat-of-arms  and  motto  and  can  be  worn 
either  as  a  pin,  watch  charm  or  fob,  and  costs  $5.00.  Although  the 
jeweler  will  not  make  separate  pins  for  less  than  $5.00,  he  will  give 
the  Society  a  rebate  of  66  cents  per  pin,  if  ordered  in  lots  of  three. 
This  rebate  will  pay  for  the  die  when  the  four  pins  on  exhibition  here 
with  four  more  are  sold,  together  with  the  eight  already  purchased. 
Then  the  Society  will  own  the  die  and  will  benefit  by  the  rebate. 
The  money  for  the  die  was  paid  by  the  Secretary,  so  the  Society 
has  been  at  no  expense  for  pins.  The  pins  have  been  pronounced 
handsome  emblems  by  those  competent  to  judge  of  such  matters. 

Your  Secretary  purchased  a  scrap-book,  as  instructed  at  the  Hart- 
ford gathering  of  last  year,  and  it  is  her  sincere  wish  that  every 
member  of  the  Society  had  time  to  read  it.  The  clippings  came  in 
slowly  and  are  not  in  chronological  order,  but  perhaps  it  is  just  as 
interesting.  The  Wolcotts  are  a  widespread  family,  and  their  activi- 
ties are  varied  as  their  independent  rule  of  life  could  make  them. 
"Bound  to  swear  in  the  words  of  no  master"  is  as  sure  a  Wolcott 
ideal  today  as  in  the  days  of  Henry  of  Windsor. 

Through  the  scrap-book,  I  find  that  the  richest  policeman  in 
New  York  City  is  named  Erastus  Wolcott,  and  the  paper  adds  that 
"the  money  was  honestly  made  in  land  speculations." 

The  first  man  married  in  Chicago  was  one  Dr.  Alexander  Wol- 
cott, his  wife  being  the  daughter  of  John  Kinzie,  the  first  white  set- 
tler in  the  city.  It  was  from  this  branch  of  the  family  that  one  of 
our  new  members  came,  Mrs.  Carrie  Wolcott  Reid  of  Chicago.  From 
this  branch  came  also  Wolcott  Balestier  and  his  sister,  who  is  the 
wife  of  the  English  author,  Rudyard  Kipling. 

We  have  also  in  the  scrap-book  the  story  of  Elihu  Wolcott,  who 
first  settled  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  in  the  days  when  his  furniture  had 
to  be  sent  from  the  East  by  the  way  of  New  Orleans,  and  how  it 
was  delayed  until  the  spring  following  the  arrival  of  the  family.  It 
is  interesting  to  read  how  they  made  the  best  of  affairs  and  considered 
themselves  well  off  because  they  had  the  only  double  cabin  in  the 
settlement,  all  other  families  living  in  one  room.  Yet  they  were 
happy,  although  the  children  slept  up  in  a  loft  where  they  had  to 
go  outside  the  house  and  climb  a  ladder  to  get  up  to  bed,  and  the  loft 
had  no  windows.  However,  it  would  seem  that  this  did  not  affect  the 
ventilation  since  the  chinks  were  large  enough  to  let  the  snow  pile 
up  on  the  bed. 


rherc  is  an  interesting  Btorj  oi  ome  oi  the  Ohio  branch  of  the 
family,  and  the  fact  thai  a  Wolcott  was  the  first  white  male  child 

I,,  a  Farmingtonj  Ohio,  is  noted,  as  well  as  the  activity  of  the 

famil}  in  building  mills,  developing  settlements,  and  proving  them- 
lelvei  progressive  citizens.   One  town  took  the  name  of  Wolcottville, 

rhere  is  sufficient  proof  in  the  clippings  to  show  that  the  love 
ol  venturesome  ways  and  the  simple  life- was  not  confined  to  our 

forbears,  Since  there  is  a  story  of  Miss  Ursula  Wolcolt  Brown,  who 
not  long  since  made  a  trip,  during  a  severe  storm,  in  an  airship,  and 
another  descendant,  Walter  Hayward  Green,  and  wife,  of  New  York, 
who  are  making  a  six  thousand  mile  canoe  trip  which  has  taken  them 
already  over  a  year,  and  during  that  time  they  have  not  slept  under 
a  roof  more  than  a  dozen  nights. 

We  arc  told  of  the  discovery  by  Herbert  Wolcott,  of  Alamo 
Gordo,  New  Mexico,  of  a  "sleepy  grass"  which  has  the  effect  of  mak- 
ing cattle  which  eat  it  sleep  for  several  days. 

There  is  also  much  family  history  of  the  famous  Wolcotts  of 
Colonial  and  Revolutionary  days,  of  brave  men  and  courageous 
women,  of  the  family  traditions  handed  down  from  generation  to 
generation,  always  new  and  interesting  whenever  told.  Altogether, 
our  scrap-book  is  one  of  which  any  family  might  well  be  proud. 

I  wish  to  extend  my  thanks  to  the  President,  Mr.  Harry  K. 
Wolcott,  for  his  ready  assistance  whenever  appealed  to.  In  a  large 
Society  with  a  widely  scattered  membership,  with  officers  so  far 
apart,  many  emergencies  arise  in  which  the  Secretary  must  take  the 
initiative,  without  previous  consultation  with  President  or  the  Exec- 
utive Board.  During  the  two  years  I  have  been  in  office  I  have  not 
appealed  to  the  President  without  receiving  immediate  attention,  and 
I  have  felt  that  he  was  ready  to  support  my  work  in  every  way.  I 
wish  to  thank  the  State  vice-presidents  who  have  aided  me  in  bring- 
ing the  work  of  the  Society  to  the  attention  of  such  of  our  kinspeople 
as  had  heretofore  given  the  matter  little  heed  or  who  had,  maybe, 
never  heard  of  the  Society  before. 

I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the  work  done  by 
the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Judson  E.  Wolcott.  No  one  except  the  Sec- 
retary could  possibly  know  of  his  active,  earnest  work  in  behalf  of 
the  Society.  Every  week  he  is  engaged  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  the  reunion,  and  whatever  of  success  may  attend  the  reunion  would 
be  divided  in  half  were  in  not  for  his  splendid  efforts.  I  thank  him 
for  his  personal  help  to  me  in  the  office  of  Secretary-Treasurer. 

I  have  but  one  recommendation  to  make  before  closing  my  report. 
I  would  suggest  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Historical  Committee  be 
asked  to  give  a  report,  embodying  all  new  lines  not  in  the  genealogy, 
which  are  furnished  by  new  members,  the  same  to  be  printed  in  our 


—  8  — 


report,  so  that  each  year  new  material  concerning  the  family  shall 
be  included  in  the  printed  reports  of  the  proceedings. 

There  are  some  old  reports  left  of  different  years.  I  have  re- 
tained several  sets  for  the  Society,  but  would  suggest  that  in  places 
where  there  are  historical  societies  or  libraries  that  members  in  such 
places  send  the  names  to  the  Secretary  and  that  these  surplus  reports 
be  forwarded.  I  have  received  letters  from  some  of  the  large  public 
libraries  asking  for  these  reports  and  have  sent  them.  The  Society  is 
thus  named  in  the  list  of  benefactors  of  such  libraries. 

Our  membership  is  growing;  our  work  is  spreading;  our  efforts 
are  bearing  fruit,  and  the  name  of  Wolcott  promises  to  continue  to 
be  a  synonym  for  good  citizenship  and  pride  of  country  in  the  future 
as  it  has  in  the  past — brave  men  and  loyal  women  who  stand  for 
America  in  her  highest  ideal  of  a  peaceful  republic. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

MARY  WOLCOTT  GREEN, 

Secretary-Treasurer. 

Upon  motion  of  Mr.  Charles  F.  Wolcott,  the  Secretary's  report 
was  accepted  with  the  thanks  of  the  Society.  Dr.  Edwin  Wolcott 
then  offered  the  following  resolution: 

WHEREAS,  The  Secretary-Treasurer  of  this  Society,  Dr.  Mary 
Wolcott  Green,  has  recently  been  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Literature  by  the  Syracuse  University,  an  honor  conferred  upon  few 
women,  and  she  being  the  only  women  receiving  a  doctor's  degree 
at  Syracuse  this  year,  it  is  resolved  that  this  Society,  in  recognition 
of  the  honor,  orders  this  fact  spread  upon  the  minutes. 

The  resolution  was  adopted  after  being  seconded  by  Mrs.  Hull. 

"  Mrs.  Charles  V.  Paterno  of  New  York  City,  a  descendant,  was 
introduced.  She  gave  greetings  and  said  this  was  the  first  time 
she  had  met  with  the  clan,  but  hoped  to  have  her  family  line  com- 
pleted back  to  Henry  Wolcott  before  another  year. 

It  was  announced  that  Mr.  John  Wolcott,  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, a  son  of  Mr.  John  AVolcott,  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
was  one  of  the  four  men  just  appointed  Commissioner  to  carry  the 
money  set  apart  by  the  government  for  the  relief  of  stranded  Ameri- 
cans left  helpless  abroad  by  the  war  which  had  just  broken  out  in 
Europe. 

Dr.  Edwin  H.  Wolcott  spoke  concerning  the  family  genealogy, 
saying  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Historical 
Committee  to  publish  later  a  few  pages  of  addenda,  or  corrections 
to  the  Wolcott  Genealogy,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  completing 
various  lines  and  furnishing  new  information. 


I  h<-  following  telegram  was  received  from  the  President  of  the 

California  ( ienealogh  al  Society: 

Hon.  M.  K.  WOLCOTT, 

President  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott, 

I  [otel  Stath  r,  ( lleveland,  Ohio. 
Mi.  California  Genealogical  Society  sends  cordial  greetings  with 
the  hope  thai  you  will  arrange  for  a  special  meeting  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  L915.  Our  Society  trusts  you  will,  at  your  annual  meeting, 
appoint  official  delegates  to  represent  the  Wolcott  Family  Associa- 
tion al  the  International  Genealogical  Congress  meeting  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  July,  L915.  With  the  co-operation  of  your  Society  we  hope 
to  make  the  Genealogical  Congress  a  great  feature  of  the  Exposition. 

HENRY  BYRON  PHILLIPS, 

President  California  Genealogical  Society. 

By  request,  the  following  subjects  as  presented  by  the  Congress 

were  read  to  explain,  somewhat,  the  scope  of  their  work: 

(a)  The  relation  between  genealogical  investigations  and  eu- 
genics. 

(b)  The  establishment  of  a  National  Bureau  of  Heraldry  in  the 
United  States,  to  become  a  recognized  and  accepted  authority. 

(c)  The  establishment  of  a  bureau  wherein  genealogists  of 
standing  shall  be  permitted  to  register  so  that  a  certain  stamp  of 
official  approval  may  be  placed  upon  their  work. 

(d)  Action  looking  to  a  uniform  publication  of  the  historical 
and  vital  records  of  various  counties  and  States  now  unpublished, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  National  Bureau  of  Vital  Records  as  a 
part  of  governmental  records  at  Washington,  similar  to  the  records 
in  the  General  Register  Office,  Somerset  House,  London,  England 

The  official  delegations  to  the  Congress  will  be  limited  to  two 
members  from  each  Society  with  a  membership  of  100,  and  one  more 
for  each  additional  hundred. 

As  there  was  no  one  present  who  expected  to  attend  the  Ex- 
position between  July  19  and  August  2,  1915,  it  was  moved  and  sec- 
onded that  the  Secretary  should  include  this  in  her  report,  and  if  any 
of  the  members  should  attend  the  Exposition  at  this  time,  that  such 
members'  names  should  be  forwarded  for  credentials  as  delegates. 
No  further  action  was  taken  in  the  matter. 

Mr.  Harry  A.  Bliss  of  Cleveland,  a  descendant  of  Gov.  Roger 
Wolcott,  spoke  of  an  old  Bible  belonging  to  his  ancestor  which  had 
been  left  by  his  uncle  with  the  Howard  Museum  in  Hartford,  which 
he  wished  to  become  the  property  of  the  Society.  He  felt  that  its 
preservation  should  be  an  object  of  the  Society.    He  said  that  it 


—  10  — 


seemed  to  him  when  he  visited  the  museum  that  the  custodians  did 
not  realize  its  value. 

It  was  moved  by  Miss  Green  and  seconded  by  Dr.  Edwin  Wol- 
cott  that  the  guardianship  of  this  Bible  be  accepted  with  thanks  to 
the  donor,  and  that  a  member  of  the  Society  be  appointed  to  attend 
to  this  matter  and^ee  that  every  care  is  taken  by  the  Howard 
Museum  for  its  preservation.    The  motion  was  carried. 

As  Mr.  Bliss  had  never  been  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Society, 
the  Chairman,  Mr.  Duncan  B.  Wolcott,  gave  him  an  invitation. 

Mr.  Homer  J.  Wolcott,  of  Lockwood,  Ohio,  spoke  of  the  Wol- 
cotts  who  settled  Farmington.  His  grandfather,  Josiah  Wolcott, 
came  to  Farmington  in  1806  from  Connecticut,  and  surveyed  the  town 
of  Bristol,  receiving  in  payment  1,000  acres  of  wild  land.  In  1814  his 
brother  Theodore  came  out  and  settled  a  mile  west  of  the  Center, 
as  Josiah's  holding  was  known.  Each  brother  organized  a  Con- 
gregational church  just  a  mile  apart.  Around  these  two  houses  of 
worship  in  the  woods  grew  up  a  little  town  and  the  rivalry  between 
the  little  congregations  was  carried  on  between  the  two  towns  for 
many  years.  One  always  retained  the  name  of  the  "Center"  and  the 
other  was  known  as  the  "West  Part,"  which  continues  to  this  day 
as  a  corporate  village.    The  rivalry  long  since  died  away. 

Theodore  Wolcott  built  an  academy  at  West  Part  which  was  for 
many  years  under  control  of  the  Congregational  Church,  but  in  time 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  This  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence about  two  years  ago,  and  now  the  public  school  is  all  they 
have.  The  house  that  Josiah  Wolcott  built  still  stands,  very  much 
as  he  left  it,  as  does  the  house  that  his  son,  the  father  of  Homer  J. 
Wolcott,  built  for  himself,  which  looks  much  as  it  did  when  built  on 
the  outside,  but  has  been  done  over  on  the  inside  many  times.  A 
nephew  of  Homer  J.  Wolcott  owns  the  original  homestead  and  lives 
there — a  continued  occupancy  by  the  Wolcotts  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury. 

Mrs.  Maria  Burbridge  Aten,  a  new  member  from  Chicago,  was 
introduced.  She  is  a  granddaughter  of  Rhoda  Wolcott,  born  in  Wind- 
sor, Conn.,  and  came  West  when  a  young  girl. 

Miss  Green  urged  upon  the  members  the  preparing  of  short 
sketches  of  their  ancestors,  including  those  personal  touches  not  in 
the  broader  scope  of  genealogy.  She  read  the  following  account  of 
Silas  Wolcott,  founder  of  her  own  line. 

Silas  Wolcott  and  His  Descendants 

The  pioneer  spirit  has  long  been  strong  in  the  Wolcotts.  The 
same  desire  for  independence  of  thought  and  action  that  had  led 
Henry  Wolcott  to  leave  his  landed  estate  in  England  and  come  first 
to  Massachusetts  Bay  and  later  into  the  Connecticut  widerness,  has 
led  many  of  his  descendants  to  wander  far  into  new  fields,  leading, 


—  11  — 


no(  following,  the  advance  oi  civilization,  They  counted  not  the 
toils  and  privations  of  pioneer  life,  where  there  was  a  promise  oi 
Independence  -it  the  end  of  the  trail. 

Vnd  these  trails  were  not  short,  as  distances  were  counted  be 
Fore  tiit  days  of  railroads  and  telegraphs,  or  even  wagon  roads,  and 
always  led  only  to  pioneer  privations  but  often  to  painful  sepa- 
ratiom  I  hese  pioneers  founded  their  new  homes  and  raised  families, 
l>nt  with  me. ins  oi  communication  so  limited  that  within  a  genera- 
tion oi  two  <dd  family  ties  were  forgotten,  or  if  remembered,  were 
so  indefinitely  remembered  as  to  become  almost  wholly  lost  within 
the  course  of  a  few  years. 

I  hus  it  is  that  there  are  scattered  here  and  there,  throughout 
all  this  broad  land,  little  groups  of  Wolcotts  tracing  back  from  three 
to  six  generations  by  hazy  traditions,  but  until  the  Society  of  De- 
scendants of  Henry  Woleott  was  formed  and  the  work  of  tracing  the 
Wolcotl  genealogy  taken  up  in  a  systematic  way,  were  unaware  that 
there  were  others  than  their  own  little  group  bound  to  them  by  ties 
of  blood  and  kinship.  If  they  did  have  any  such  knowledge  it  was  so 
distorted  and  indefinite  as  to  be  valueless. 

One  of  the  best  accomplishments  of  this  Society  has  been  the 
bringing  together  of  these  branches.  This  has  been  done  by  follow- 
ing broad  lines,  reaching  out  for  everyone  of  the  name,  and  opening 
the  way  for  each  to  prove  his  kinship. 

It  is  to  aid  these  isolated  branches,  as  well  as  to  complete  the 
records  of  those  already  in  the  Society  that  the  Secretary  recom- 
mends that  a  report  on  new  material  be  incorporated  each  year  in 
the  annual  report. 

One  such  family  is  that  founded  by  Silas  Woleott,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Litchfield,  Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania.  A  man  of  more 
than  middle  age,  with  a  family  of  grown  children,  some  already  mar- 
ried wmen  he  moved  there,  he  and  his  sons  played  their  parts  in  turn- 
ing the  woodland  into  fertile  farms,  and  if  the  old  man  spoke  proudly 
of  the  fact  that  he  fought  in  the  War  and  that  he  was  a  cousin  of 
the  OliverWolcott  who  served  in  the  cabinet  of  Washington,  there 
was  no  communication  between  them  and  other  Wolcotts.  They 
were  satisfied  with  the  fact  that  they  were  of  the  family  and  as  good 
as  any,  and  their  children  were  far  too  busy  making  a  living  to 
bother  further  about  their  genealogy.  In  was  this  Society,  together 
with  the  interest  in  such  matters  aroused  by  various  patriotic  organi- 
ations,  that  led  to  a  search  of.  the  records  condensed  into  this  sketch. 

Silas  Woleott  (Josiah  IV,  George  III,  George  II,  Henry  I)  was 
born  in  New  Hampshire,  August  4,  1755.  He  was  only  a  baby  when 
his  father  moved  to  the  new  settlement  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  only 
five  years  old  when  his  mother  died.  An  elder  sister  kept  the  family 
together  during  his  early  boyhood,  though  it  is  .likely  that  Silas 
struck  out  for  himself  while  in  his  teens,  probably  with  his  father's 
second  marriage.  Of  that  period  of  his  life  we  know  practically 
nothing.  He  learned  to  read  and  write  and  to  cipher  enough  to  keep 
his  accounts  and  to  do  the  figuring  necessary  to  build  and  to  operate 
a  sawT-mill,  for  he  had  learned  the  trade  of  millwright,  and  like  most 
men  of  his  time,  we  are  told  he  liked  an  argument  or  a  debate.  There 
were  no  cheap  newspapers  then  and  debates  and  the  discussions  at 
public  gatherings,  especially  on  a  "training  day,"  were  the  chief 
sources  of  common  education  after  the  days  of  school  and  the  three 
"R's." 

—  12  — 


With  his  trade  he  drifted,  just  when  we  do  not  know,  to  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  and  was  there  when  the  Revolution  began.  He  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  the  First  Pennsylvania  Riflemen,  on  March  30,  1776. 
And  right  here  I  might  mention  one  of  the  difficulties  of  the  genea- 
logist, the  spelling  of  names,  that  of  Silas  Wolcott  which  is  spelled 
no  less  than  seven  different  ways  in  the  official  records. 

The  regiment  to  which  Silas  Wolcott  belonged  was  authorized 
by  Congress  for  home  defense  and  mustered  in  four  months  before 
the  Declaration  of  Independence — April  6,  1776.  The  regiment  was 
of  two  battalions,  one  of  riflemen  and  the  other  musketmen.  Silas 
Wolcott  was  in  Captain  Caspar  Weitzel's  company,  a  rifleman  or 
sharpshooter.  Col.  Samuel  Miles  commanded  the  regiment  which 
moved  to  Philadelphia  on  July  2,  and  after  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence had  seen  signed,  marched  to  Trenton  and  thence  across 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  to  Perth  Amboy,  where  it  joined  the  forces 
of  General  Mercer  on  July  16th.  There  came  a  month  of  watchful 
waiting,  and  then  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  defense  of  Long 
Island,  and  on  August  12th  was  brigaded  with  two  others  under 
General  Alexander  Lord  Sterling. 

Then  came  the  battle  of  Long  Island — the  baptism  of  fire  for 
the  Americans — and  defeat.  Of  the  part  taken  by  the  Pennsylvanians 
we  may  judge  by  the  losses  of  Capt.  Weitzel's  company — a  lieutenant, 
two  sergeants  and  sixteen  privates  being  left  dead  on  the  field. 
Colonel  Miles  was  among  those  taken  prisoner.  Silas  Wolcott,  No. 
18  on  the  roll  of  his  company  the  morning  of  the  battle,  was  No.  7 
the  next  day,  eleven  men  ahead  of  him  on  the  list  having  fallen  in 
the  fight. 

The  riflemen — and  the  roll  calls  show  Silas  Wolcott  present — 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Harlem  Heights,  the  defense  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington and  the  retreat  across  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  It  was  in 
General  Hand's  brigade,  under  Washington's  own  command  at  New 
Brunswick,  on  November  27th,  that  they  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Trenton  and  Princeton,  and  in  the  following  March  was  consoli- 
dated into  a  regiment  of  foot,  Silas  Wolcott  being  at  that  time  in 
Captain  John  Robb's  company.  Colonel  Stewart  commanded  the 
new  regiment  in  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine  and  at  Germantown 
that  fall,  and  with  it  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge.  The 
regiment  was  then  organized  as  the  13th  Pennsylvania  Line,  but  was 
mustered  out  in  April,  1778.  Silas  Wolcott,  in  his  pension  applica- 
tion, gives  the  date  of  his  own  discharge  as  January  1,  1778,  but  he 
was  in  the  border  service — that  is,  the  militia — some  time  after  that. 

Returning  to  Lancaster  he  married,  March  2,  1778,  Margaret 
Rowan,  who  lived,  in  Donegal  township,  now  Dauphin  County,  Pa. 
Silas  Wolcott  and  his  brother  Paul  appear  in  the  80's  on  the  tax  list 
of  what  is  now  Lockhaven,  Pa.,  and  it  is  likely  they  had  taken  up 
soldiers'  land  there.    But  Silas  evidently  did  not  remain  long. 

The  Sullivan  expedition  had  cleared  the  Indians  from  the  Great 
Lake  country  of  Central  New  York,  and  with  the  war  over  Massa- 
chusetts began  to  send  settlers  to  hold  her  "claims"  there,  as  Con- 
necticut had  sent  hers  into  the  Wyoming  Valley.  When  the  first 
of  these  Massachusetts  settlers  forced  their  way  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  Catherinestown,  now  Havana,  N.  Y.,  they  found  Silas  Wol- 
cott, who  had  already  located  and  built  a  saw-mill.  He  was  the 
first  white  settler  there,  though  others  had  preceded  those  from  the 
"Bay  State." 


—  13  — 


Later,  Silas  Wolcotl  lived  in  Cherr)  Valley,  then  at  [thaca,  and 
moved  to  Litchfield  township,  about  three  miles  above  Tioga  Point, 

now    Athens,   I'a.,  on   llie  Susquehanna   River,  about   1806,  after  two 

oi  bis  sons  had  man  ltd  daughters  of  Corporal  Thomas  Park,  the 
lust  settlei  in  the  township,  who  lived  at  the  State  line.  Silas  Wol- 
cotl died  in  1834,    He  had  lour  sons  and  five  daughters.    Elijah  Wol- 

COtt,  the  ebb  st  son,  bad  twelve  children,  and  most  of  their  descendants 

live  in  or  about  Litchfield.  One  of  bis  sons,  Amos  Prentiss  Wolcott, 
was  .1  colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor  McLean.  A  sister  of  Elijah 
Wolcotl  married  Thomas  Munn,  also  of  Litchfield,  and  had  twelve 
sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom  lived  to  have  families  of  their 
own.  A  brother,  Benjamin  Wolcott,  married  Elizabeth  Merrill,  and 
each  of  the  two  daughters  of  Elijah  Wolcott  married  a  Merrill,  and  in 
AugUSl  I  attended  a  reunion  of  the  Merrill-Munn  families,  at  which 
about  .">(>()  persons  were  present,  and  nearly  all  of  whom  were,  by  three 
lines,  also  of  Wolcott  blood. 

Silas  Park  Wolcott,  son  of  Elijah,  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Ann  Dunham,  one  of  our  energetic  vice-presidents.  The  youngest 
child  of  Elijah  and  the  only  one  now  living  was  my  mother,  who  has 
attended  several  meetings  of  this  Society. 

Benjamin  Wolcott,  son  of  Silas  and  brother  of  Elijah,  was  the 
father  of  Ransom,  Henry  and  Ellsworth,  among  others,  and  the 
grandfather  of  our  poet  laureate,  Wellman  Wolcott,  and  his  sisters, 
who  are  members  of  the  Society,  and  also  several  of  the  Michigan 
cousins. 

I  would  like  to  extend  this  paper  with  more  names,  but  these 
would  be  tiresome  when  read  at  such  a  gathering.  For  the  benefit 
of  present  and  prospective  members,  however,  I  shall  ask  permission 
of  the  Society  to  edit  this  paper  and  make  such  genealogical  addi- 
tions as  may  be  of  value  before  it  goes  into  the  permanent  records. 


—  14  — 


1851880 


Wednesday  Evening — Annual  Banquet 

On  Wednesday  evening,  sixty-seven  members  of  the  family  sat 
down  to  a  banquet  in  the  Lattice  Room  of  The  Statler.  Mr.  L. 
Bruce  Wolcott  of  Baltimore,  presided  as  toast-master.  After  a  humor- 
ous introduction,  he  called  upon  Mr.  Duncan  Brewster  Wolcott  of 
Kent,  Ohio,  to  speak  on  "The  Responsibility  of  Heritage,"  which  he 
did  as  follows: 

Mr.  Toast-Master  and  Members  of  the  Society  of  the  Descendants 
of  Henry  Wolcott:  We  have  met  once  more  at  a  family  home-com- 
ing under  the  kindly  auspices  of  the  Cleveland  Wolcotts  and  those 
of  the  Western  Reserve. 

It  is  eminently  fitting  that  we  assemble  in  this  locality.  For  we, 
as  sons  and  daughters  of  the  good  old  "Nutmeg  State,"  are  now  in 
the  New  Connecticut  of  the  West,  in  that  famous  section  of  Ohio, 
settled  and  peopled  by  New  Englanders  under  the  formation  of  the 
Connecticut  Western  Reserve. 

On  an  occasion  like  this  it  is  well  for  us  to  stop  to  take  a  per- 
sonal inventory  of  ourselves — what  we  are,  where  we  came  from,  what 
we  owe  to  the  generations  that  are  gone  and  what  we  must  impart 
to  those  that  must  take  up  our  work  when  we  are  done. 

As  descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott,  the  emigrant  from  Tolland, 
we  are  essentially  English.  From  the  mother-country  we  received 
our  language,  our  forms  of  jurisprudence,  our  general  ideals  of  life, 
our  love  of  individual  justice  and  freedom  of  individual  thought. 

So  long  as  the  family  remained  in  the  state  of  its  adoption  they 
intermarried  with  their  own  country  people,  and  any  admixture  with 
foreign  blood  came  only  in  the  last  two  or  three  generations,  when 
the  family  had  commenced  to  scatter  into  other  localities.  It  is  a 
pure  type  of  English  stock — a  New  England-bred  family — and  so  far 
as  I  have  ever  learned,  all  of  the  name  of  Wolcott  in  America  spring 
from  one  source,  the  Wolcotts  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  descendants 
of  the  first  Henry  who  settled  in  Windsor  in  1630. 

We  are  here  tonight  in  this  delightful  spot,  in  this  beautiful  city, 
in  a  country  where  life  is  worth  living,  at  peace  with  all  the  world, 
because  away  back  in  the  early  days  of  the  seventeenth  century  that 
bluff  country  gentleman  of  Tolland,  England,  left  a  home  of  com- 
parative comfort  and  turned  his  face  across  the  seas  to  try  his  for- 
tunes in  a  new  and  distant  land. 

We  are  thankful  that  fate  decreed  that  men  of  his  worth  and 
intelligence  chose  to  leave  the  land  of  their  birth,  to  found  a  new 
country  and  a  new  civilization,  where  freedom  of  thought  and  action 
could  be  exercised  without  the  limitations  of  moth-eaten  monarchies. 

Those  old  Puritans  of  New  England  mixed  liberty  and  intolerance 
in  a  strange  manner.  They  believed  in  religious  liberty,  as  viewed 
from  their  standpoint,  but  the  exact  brand  of  liberal  religion  brought 
across  the  Atlantic  was  not  liberal  enough  for  some.  Everything, 
even  nature,  combined  to  make  those  early  settlers  harsh  and  in- 
tolerant of  other  people's  ideas.  The  cold,  bleak  winters,  the  rocks 
of  the  upper  Atlantic  coast — all  tended  to  mould  a  race  of  stern 
men  and  women. 

The  Puritan  mother  helped  to  carve  out  the  nation  as  well  as  did 
the  Puritan  father,  but  the  father  was  always  the  head  of  the  house- 
hold.   The  mother  in  those  days  did  not  have  to  worry  over  the 


—  15  — 


oi  suffrage,  01  what  make  oi  auto  they  should  get,  or  how 

il  would  be  ili*-  Fashion  to  weai  a  tube  skirt,  with  the  inner 
tube  left  "nt. 

I  am  reminded  in  this  connection  of  a  saying  attributed  to  the 

i     Willi. mi    lli.it    women    arc    for   "church,    children,   and  cook- 
NowadayS  they  Seem  l<>  take  all  these  in  "homeopathic  doses." 

Then  they  bore  and  buried  their  children  in  great  numbers  and 
most  of  thciu  yielded  up  their  lives  when  young. 

Hundreds  o!  gravestones  in  New  Kngland,  with  slight  modifica- 
tion, testify  that  "Mary  Ann  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  leaving 
eight  children  to  the  tender  mercy  of  God." 

I  will  not  impose  upon  your  time  nor  patience  to  recount  the 
honor-  and  achievements  of  the  Wolcotts  of  Colonial  days.  They 
,u  (  spread  upon  the  pages  of  the  history  of  the  old  Commonwealth 
of  Connecticut.  They  are  also  so  charmingly  and  graphically  por- 
trayed  in  that  work  of  immeasurable  value — The  Wolcott  Memorial. 
Every  member  of  the  family  in  the  land  owes  an  everlasting  debt 
of  gratitude  to  the  revered  author,  Dr.  Samuel  Wolcott,  of  this  city. 

No  family  was  more  honored,  more  truly  American,  more  con- 
spicuous in  public  and  civic  life.  Scarcely  any  gift  of  office  within 
the  Commonwealth  but  was  filled  by  some  member  of  the  family. 

We  have  made  two  pilgrimages  back  to  the  cradle  of  our 
forefathers — back  across  the  vale  of  centuries  to  the  paths  they  trod, 
back  to  the  peaceful  burying  grounds,  where  they  are  laid  away  with 
only  the  stars  of  God  to  watch  over  them. 

Sometimes  we  feel  that  the  present  day  Wolcotts  are  less 
prominent  than  were  their  early  fathers;  that  we  can  be  compared 
to  the  hill  of  potatoes — the  best  part  underground.  But  we  must 
remember  that  there  was  less  competition  for  high  honors  in  their 
time,  and  that  many  of  our  family  achieved  fame  when  armed  con- 
flict was  the  order  of  the  day. 

I  "do  not  believe  that  the  family  of  today  in  its  entirety  has  lost 
any  of  its  old  time  vigor,  its  sterling  qualities,  and  its  characteristics 
of  good  citizenship. 

In  their  first  home  they  had  an  early  lesson  in  self-government, 
for  no  other  colony  enjoyed  such  a  democratic  form  of  government 
as  did  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
Rhode  Island.  They  had  a  liberal  charter  from  the  very  first,  which 
was  never  changed  until  the  formation  of  the  States. 

From  the  first  settlements  at  Windsor,  Hartford  and  Wethers- 
field,  the  family  grew  and  sought  new  firesides  across  the  Alleghenies, 
and  then  beyond  the  Rockies,  wherever  opportunnity  called  them 
in  the  winning  of  the  West. 

My  own  immediate  branch  settled  in  Ohio,  in  Summit  County, 
about  a  century  ago,  my  great  grandfather  having  been  a  surveyor 
for  the  Connecticut  Land  Company.  It  is  related  that  my  Great- 
grandmother  Wolcott,  being  homesick  to  visit  Connecticut,  made  the 
journey  back  alone  on  horseback,  returning  in  the  same  manner 
through  the  unbroken  wilds  to  her  new  home. 

If  we  never  before  appreciated  the  debt  which  we  owe  to  those 
who  made  our  being  here  possible  in  this  beloved  country,  we  do  so 
just  now.  When  the  Old  World  is  torn  and  rent  by  contending 
armies  with  no  valid  excuse  for  attempting  their  mutual  destruction, 
with  all  its  attending  misery  and  woe,  we,  almost  alone  in  the  world, 
are  at  peace  with  all  mankind. 


—  16  — 


We  have  heeded  the  prophetic  words  of  Washington  to  keep 
free  from  any  entangling  alliances.  Great  oceans  are  our  chief 
frontiers,  which,  with  our  Anglo-Saxon  neighbors  on  the  North, 
makes  a  foreign  war  next  to  impossible.  On  every  hand  we  hear 
people  of  every  nationality  saying:  "I  am  glad  that  I  live  in  America 
and  not  in  Europe!" 

We  hope  and  pray  that  when  the  people  now  at  war  have  ex- 
hausted their  jealousies  and  greed  that  the  world  will  never  again 
permit  such  an  awful  calamity. 

It  is  a  distinct  loss  to  civilization,  a  loss  of  young  manhood  for 
which  generations  must  suffer  and  pay  the  toll.  And  when  this  strife 
is  over  all  eyes  will  turn  for  relief  and  hope  like  a  guiding  star  to 
our  own  blessed  America.  We  will  be  the  clearing-house  of  peace, 
plenty  and  prosperity.  •  . 

That  we  live  in  such  a  land  of  security,  we  are  again  reminded, 
is  not  due  to  ourselves  alone,  but  rather  to  the  Henry  Wolcotts  of 
early  days. 

Men  are  all  too  self-conceited:  We  take  too  much  credit  to  our- 
selves for  what  we  enjoy,  when  in  fact  the  present  merely  represents 
the  resultant  of  years  of  toil  and  effort  by  a  slow  evolution  now 
springing  into  its  full  being.  We  take  a  just  pride  in  our  schools 
and  universities.  But  who  made  them  possible?  Not  you  or  I.  We 
are  simply  gathering  the  fruits  made  possible  by  those  who  planted 
these  young  trees  of  knowledge  and  sacrificed  time  and  money  in  their 
nourishment  before  we  were  born.  Can  the  educational  world 
measure  its  debt  of  gratitude  to  Horace  Mann?  This  pioneer  in  the 
little  college  of  Antioch  kindled  the  fires  of  education  in  Ohio,  until 
today  there  are  more  students  in  schools  of  higher  education  in  the 
"Buckeye  State"  than  in  any  other  in  the  Union. 

Who  is  responsible  for  all  our  comforts,  our  scientific  marvels, 
our  thousand  and  one  blessings  showered  down  upon  us?  Surely, 
the  chief  credit  must  go  to  the  toilers  who  silently  worked  on  when 
no  man  applauded;  who  met  discouragement  and  failure  and  whose 
chief  asset  was  faith  in  themselves,  their  work,  and  their  ultimate 
success! 

Take  for  example  the  Wright  Brothers  of  Dayton.  They  were 
dubbed  crazy  lunatics  because  they  were  trying  to  do  the  thing  that 
no  other  person  had  done.  But  they  proved  that  the  thing  could  be 
done.    The  laws  of  gravity  were  defied,  and  men  fly. 

It  is  a  common  error  to  put  too  much  emphasis  upon  the  worth 
of  men  who  rode  to  fame  over  the  dead  and  bleeding  bodies  of  their 
fellow-men.  Every  schoolboy  knows  of  Caesar,  of  Napoleon,  of 
Hannibal,  and  of  Alexander.  But  ask  him  who  Morton  was  and  what 
he  discovered  and  he  is  silent.  It  is  not  his  fault  but  rather  our  own. 
There  has  been  held  up  to  him  false  ideals  of  greatness. 

Put  in  your  histories  and  into  your  schoolrooms  the  names  and 
faces  of  those  men  whose  life-work  has  been  creative  instead  of 
destructive.  Men  like  Morton,  who  from  his  great  discovery  of  the 
use  of  anesthetics  have  alleviated  the  bed  of  suffering  and  pain  by  the 
means  of  a  blessed  form  of  insensibility;  men  like  Louis  Pasteur,  who 
have  made  life  more  secure  from  destructive  germs;  men  like  Luther 
Burbank,  who  have  made  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  there  was 
but  one  before;  men  like  Thomas  Edison,  who  have  turned  night  into 
day — that  wizard  of  science  who  has  snatched  from  the  realms  of 
mystery  the  wonders  of  the  twentieth  century.    The  works  of  such 


—  17  — 


nun  have  made  life  sweeter,  have  cheered  the  disheartened,  and 
brought  everlasting  blessings  to  the  world  we  live  in.  They  are  the 
true  giants  of  history. 

Qui  country  has  l<»si  to  ;i  greal  extenl  its  Anglo-Saxon  traits. 
Ever}  jreai  a  new  avalanche  oi  immigrants  seek  a  haven  upon  our 
shores,  and  with  them  comes  an  added  responsibility  upon  us  to 
maintain  the  high  ideals  and  principles  of  our  forefathers.  It  is  a 
grave  problem  how  far  this  process  of  assimilation  can  be  carried  on 
in  thi^  great  melting  pot  of  ours. 

Realizing  our  heritage  let  us  not  forget  these  great  responsibili- 
ties, for  if  they  are  no1  solved  now  we  may  be  too  late.  As  we  glory 
in  our  country,  we  can  take  a  just  pride  in  our  immediate  line  of 
ancestry  in  the  part  it  has  played.  Not  in  a  boastful  spirit,  for  no 
one  cares  for  the  past  unless  it  is  reflected  in  the  present. 

Let  ns  strive  tO  make  the  last  link  equal  to  its  predecessors  that 
it  may  continue  on  to  stand  the  stress  of  time  eternal,  and  as  Goethe 
says: 

'•Happy  the  man  who  remembers  his  progenitors  with  pride;  who  relates  with 
pleasure  the  story  of  the  greatness  of  their  deeds,  and,  silently  rejoicing,  sees  him- 
self linked  to  the  end  of  this  goodly  chain." 


Miss  Lila  P.  Robeson,  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company  of 
New  York,  sang  an  aria  from  "Samson  and  Delilah" — "My  Heart  At 
Thy  Sweet  Voice" —  and  later  sang  the  "Harbor  Night  Song,"  by 
Sanderson,  graciously  responding  to  hearty  encores. 

Mr.  Homer  J.  Wolcott  of  Lockwood,  Ohio,  responded  to  the 
toast,  "The  Wolcott  Fathers."    He  said  in  part: 

Can  you  imagine  eternity  by  looking  into  the  starry  space?  As 
much  can  we  imagine  what  Henry  Wolcott  endured  living  down  in 
Connecticut,  by  looking  at  the  country  today. 

The  beautiful  fields,  now  glowing  brilliant  with  the  harvest  was 
then  a  virgin  forest.  Before  he  could  reap  the  harvest  he  had  to 
clear  out  the  trees,  plow  up  the  roots  and  sow  grain.  There  was  no 
harvesting  by  machinery.  It  was  done  by  a  sickle.  They  knew  what 
work  was  in  those  days,  as  they  hewed  and  cut,  cleared  land,  planted 
and  reaped,  and  built  their  homes  to  endure,  of  which  we  can  know 
nothing. 

But  after  all,  the  strongest  and  greatest  thing  they  built  was 
character.  This  national  society  is  far  greater  than  Mrs.  Sereno 
Wolcott  and  I,  who  started  it,  ever  dreamed  of;  but  as  we  will 
soon  be  dropping  out  of  work,  we  leave  it  to  good  hands.  Carry  on 
the  task  begun — the  bringing  together  and  passing  upon  the  records 
of  a  fine  American  family  of  high  deeds  and  noble  purposes. 

Miss  Mary  Wolcott  Green,  called  upon  to  speak  of  "The  Wolcott 
Mothers,"  responded: 

It  is  somewhat  hard  for  me  to  speak  about  the  Wolcott  mothers 
to-night,  for  my  mind  keeps  turning  back  to  one  Wolcott  mother  in 
New  York,  who  serene  and  unafraid,  is  fast  approaching  the  myster- 
ious country  where  her  twelve  brothers  and  sisters  as  well  as  her  life 
companion  have  gone  before.  As  a  type  of  the  Wolcott  women  she 
has  ever  stood  to  me  an  ideal — facing  toil,  sorrow,  danger,  trouble 
and  loss  with  that  sublime  faith  in  God  that  knows  neither  defeat  nor 
disaster. 


—  18  — 


Elizabeth  Saunders,  the  helpmeet  of  Henry  of  Windsor,  brought 
across  the  sea  with  her  this  spirit.  Guided  by  love,  she  helped  to 
make  the  wilderness  blossom  into  a  garden;  and  having  helped  to 
found  a  home  passed  to  her  daughters  for  generations  to  come,  an 
ideal  of  womanly  faithfulness,  devotion  and  love.  Hers  was  no  smooth 
path,  but  even  as  the  women  in  the  midst  of  the  booming  cannon 
across  the  water,  are  silently  bearing  the  greatest  burden  of  the 
war,  so  did  the  Wolcott  mothers  bear  their  part  in  making  America 
what  she  is,  and  her  greatness  rests  today  upon  the  American  homes. 

Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  has  said: 

"Laugh  and  the  world  laughs  with  you; 
Weep  and  you  weep  alone; 
For  this  sad  old  earth  has  need  of  mirth — 
It  has  sorrow  enough  of  its  own." 

So  as  I  have  been  requested,  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  little 
monologue  of  one  type  of  woman  who  is  an  American  mother,  not 
of  the  Wolcott  type. 

Following  the  monologue,  Miss  Green  responded  to  an  encore. 
Mr.  Henry  K.  Wolcott  of  Batavia,  spoke  of  "The  Wolcotts  in  the 
Civil  War": 

"I  personally  knew  very  few  Wolcotts  in  the  Civil  War  except 
my  brother  and  myself,"  he  said,  "but  I  know  there  were  many,  and 
that  they  did  their  duty  as  it  came  to  them  I  hav.e  no  doubt.  War 
tries  the  courage  of  a  man,  but  oftentimes  through  that  trial  comes 
a  sense  of  patriotic  duty  of  which  he  might  have  been  ignorant  before. 
The  name  of  Wolcott  is  one  of  patriotism,  a  reminder  of  duty  per- 
formed at  any  time." 

Mr.  E.  A.  Woodruff  of  Jefferson,  Ohio,  responding  to  the  toast 
of  "The  Ladies,"  said: 

The  first  woman  I  ever  loved  was  a  Wolcott — my  mother,  now 
seventy-seven  years  old,  who  is  not  able  to  be  present.  All  the 
Wolcott  women  look  good  to  me,  but  as  far  as  my  telling  before 
my  wife  what  I  think  of  the  ladies,  it  is  asking  too  much,  Mr. 
Toast-Master. 

Dr.  Edwin  Wolcott  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  responded  to  "The 
Wolcott  Doctors:" 

Dr.  Alexander  Wolcott,  the  famous  Revolutionary  surgeon,  had 
a  slave  named  Primus  who,  having  gained  a  little  knowledge  of 
medicine  from  the  doctor,  began  to  practice  for  himself.  Having 
been  called  to  visit  a  sick  baby,  he  stopped  in  to  see  Dr.  Wolcott. 
The  doctor  asked  him  if  there  was  anything  he  could  do  for  him 
and  Primus  replied:  "Oh  no;  I  told  'em  they  needn't  bother  to 
send  so  far  for  me — when  they  were  sick  to  just  send  for  you." 

There  are  two  well  known  doctors  of  the  present  century  in  the 
family:  one  has  but  recently  passed  away — a  splendid  man,  and 
known  to  the  profession — Dr.  Oliver  Wolcott  of  Ohio.  Another 
whose  name  has  spread  beyond  his  own  state  is  Dr.  Alexander  Wol- 
cott of  Wisconsin. 

The  life  of  a  physician  or  a  surgeon  is  a  stern  fight  and  a  hard 
one,  and  there  may  be  many  of  the  Wolcott  family  who  have  engaged 
in  this  profession,  but  I  know  but  few.  However,  even  the  most 
solemn  occasion  may  give  place  to  a  sense  of  humor. 


—  19  — 


A   surgeon  siting  ;i  woman  unconscious  on  a  stretcher,  whose 

fce1  were  covered  with  bunions,  remarked:  "Madam,  you  have  the 
knobbietl  pair  o(  Feel  l  ever  saw!" 

Hearing  Bruce  oi  Baltimore  and  Judson  of  Cleveland  here  quar- 
reling ovei  the  merits  ol  their  respective  tities,  makes  me  think  of 
anothei  story.  \i  a  dinner,  a  colonel  from  Seattle  heard  fine  speak- 
ers From  I  os  Angeles  praising  thai  city  in  such  glowing  terms  that 
there  could  be  no  doubt  bu1  thai  all  the  greatness  of  the  world  was 

encompassed  by  its  boundaries.  At  last  one  remarked:  "There  is 
no  Other  city  so  fine  as  Los  Angeles  if  We  only  had  such  water  as 
you  have  here  in  Seattle."  The  Colonel  said:  "Gentlemen,  I've 
solved  thai  problem.  Gel  water  by  pipe  line.  Just  lay  a  pipe  and 
ii  you  can  all  suck  as  hard  as  you  blow  you  will  have  no  trouble." 

We  are  each  proud  of  our  country  and  proud  of  our  own  particu- 
lar section  of  country,  because  there  we  realize  the  great  underlying 
influence  of  our  forefathers. 

Some  time  ago  I  read  "The  Glory  of  the  Country,"  by  Susan 
Gaspell,  and  that  gives  this  principle  in  beautiful  terms.  A  picture 
of  a  statue  representing  a  woman  carrying  a  soldier  on  her  shoulders 
from  the  battlefield.  In  his  hand  is  tightly  grasped  a  broken  sword. 
The  woman  is  looking  backward.  The  discussion  of  this  statue  is 
the  keynote  of  the  world's  situation.  When  we  get  through  with  this 
senseless  struggle  in  Europe — this  awful  carnage — then  peace  may 
reign  for  a  thousand  years,  but  the  awful  effects  of  the  struggle  will 
last  for  a  century/' 

Mr.  Fredrick  Wolcott  of  Cleveland  was  next  called  upon.  He 
said : 

Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  hour  I  shall  be  like  the  man  who 
rose  in  protracted  meeting  and  said:  "What  shall  I  say!  What  shall 
I  say!"  to  which  a  wag  responded:  "Just  say,  Amen."  I'll  say,  Amen. 

Mr.  Judson  E.  Wolcott  of  Cleveland,  responding  to  "Cleveland  in 
1920,"  said: 

Cleveland  in  1920  means  1,000,000  people.  Then  Baltimore  will 
probably  be  grieving  over  their  little  750,000.  To  this  Mrs.  Bruce 
Wolcott  remarked:   "Mr.  Wolcott,  come  down  and  see." 

Among  others  who  responded  were  Mrs.  Charles  V.  Paterno  of 
New  York  City;  Mr.  C.  F.  Wolcott,  State  Vice-President  from  Ohio; 
Mrs.  Katherine  Wolcott  MacMillan  of  Chicago;  Mrs.  Judson  E. 
Wolcott  of  Cleveland;  Mrs.  Sereno  Wolcott  of  East  Orwell,  Ohio, 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Society;  Dr.  Charles  V.  Paterno  of  New 
York  City. 

A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  given  to  Miss  Robeson  for  her 
splendid  musical  treat  and  to  Mr.  Judson  E.  Wolcott  for  his  excellent 
arrangements  for  the  banquet. 


—  20  — 


Morning  Session,  Thursday,  Sept.  3d 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  Thursday  morning  the  report  of 
the  Treasurer  was  read  as  follows: 

The  finances  of  the  Society  vary  considerably  from  year  to  year, 
as  some  members  pay  dues  for  only  one  year,  some  leave  them  for 
two  or  three  years,  and  then  pay  up  arrears  and  some  pay  only  for 
the  years  in  which  they  can  attend  the  reunion. 

The  present  financial  condition  of  the  Society  is  as  follows: 


Receipts: 

Balance  in  Treasury  on  August  7,  1913   $8.63 

Received  from  Dues  and  Reports   221.15 

Special  Subscription,  Mrs.  Annie  Clay  Wolcott..  2.00 

Sale  of  Pins   55.00 

Sale  of  Stationerv    30.37 

Sale  of  Badges    10.00 

Left  from  Banquet    2.00 

Contributed,  Mr.  C.  F.  Wolcott   3.50 


Total    $332.65 

Expenditures: 

Printing    $87.65 

Letter-Heads,  Envelopes   $10.75 

1,300  Invitations    12.25 

500  Circular  Letters    5.00 

200  Banquet  Tickets   75 

Card  40 

500  Reports    58.50 

Postage    24.76 

Die  for  Stationery    15.00 

Stationery  (embossed  coat-of-arms)    16.38 

Pins  (official,  with  coat-of-arms)   55.00 

Badges    11.10 

Salary  Secretary-Treasurer    50.00 

Two  Banquet  Tickets   .'   4.00 

Expenses,  State  Vice-President    3.50 


Total    $267.39 


Balance  on  hand   $65.26 


This  does  not  include  the  postage  of  the  Historical  Committee. 

I  find  that  my  predecessors  in  office  reported  interest  received 
on  money  deposited.  It  is  the  custom  in  New  York  banks  to  de- 
mand that  from  $100  to  $500  be  kept  in  the  bank  in  order  to  main- 
tain a  checking  account.  Otherwise,  from  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar 
per  month  is  charged  for  the  privilege.  It  is  by  especial  courtesy 
to  your  Secretary-Treasurer  that  we  do  not  have  to  pay  considera- 
tion for  caring  for  our  funds.  This  is  the  reason  I  have  no  interest 
to  report. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

MARY  WOLCOTT  GREEN, 

Treasurer. 


—  21  — 


iIk  [Treasurer's  report  was  accepted,  Mr.  Judson  E.  Wol- 
cott  suggested  thai  Miss  Robeson  ,be  paid  foi  hei  singing  at  the 
banquet.  Upon  motion  oJ  Mr.  Fred  Wolcott,  seconded  by  Mr.  War- 
ren Wolcott,  a  check  for  $20.00  was  sent  to  Miss  Robeson,  as  a 
token  of  appreciation. 

I'pon  motion  of  Mi.  I' red  Wolcott  it  was  decided  that  the  re- 
union should  be  always  held  on  the  second-  Wednesday  and  Thurs- 
day in  A.UgUSt.     The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.   Warren  Wolcott. 

Imitations  were  received  from  Warren,  Ohio,  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
Chicago,  111.,  and  New  York  City,  as  places  for  holding  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Society.  After  some  discussion  it  was  decided  to 
hold  the  next  reunion  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  August  11  and  12,  1915. 

It  was  moved  by  Mr.  Dorr  Wolcott  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Bruce 
Wolcott  that  the  salary  of  the  Secretary-Treasurer  be  increased  to 
$100.00  per  year,  providing  the  finances  of  the  Society  warrant  the 
same.  Carried. 

The  Nominating  Committee,  Warren  Wolcott,  Jefferson,  Ohio, 
Chairman;  Fred  J.  Wolcott,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Mrs.  Bruce  L.  Wolcott, 
Baltimore,  Md.;  Mrs.  Katherine  Wolcott  McMillan,  Chicago,  111.;  and 
Charles  F.  Wolcott,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  submitted  the  following  ticket, 
which  was  unanimously  elected: 

President,  Duncan  Brewster  Wolcott,  Kent,  Ohio. 
First  Vice-President,  Judson  E.  Wolcott,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Second  Vice-President,  Dr.  Edwin  H.  Wolcott,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Secretary-Treasurer,  Mary  Wolcott  Green,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Chair.  Historical  Committee,  Chandler  Wolcott,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
,  Chair.  Executive  Committee,  Clarence  E.  Wolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


STATE  VICE-PRESIDENTS 

California — Nelson  A.  Wolcott,  Los  Angeles. 
Colorado — C.  H.  Wolcott,  Axial. 

Connecticut — Robert  Robbins  Wolcott,  Wethersfield. 
Delaware — Mrs.  Henry  Clay  Wolcott,  Harrington. 
District  of  Columbia — Mary  Wolcott  Durham,  Washington. 
Georgia — Charles  W.  Wolcott,  Atlanta. 
Illinois — Henry  K.  Wolcott,  Batavia. 
Indiana — Eben  H.  Wolcott,  Wolcott. 
Iowa — Mrs.  Webb  Souers,  Des  Moines. 
Kansas — Darwin  B.  Wolcott,  Garfield. 
Maryland — L.  Bruce  Wolcott,  Baltimore. 
Massachusetts — Herbert  Wolcott,  Springfield. 
Michigan — Lorena  Wolcott  Johnson,  St.  Johns. 
Minnesota — J.  E.  Wolcott,  Fergus  Falls. 


—  22  — 


Nebraska — Ethan  C.  Wolcott,  Omaha. 

New  Hampshire — Ada  M.  Wolcott,  Dover. 

New  Jersey — Wilfred  B.  Wolcott,  Camden. 

New  York — (Eastern)  Mrs.  Helen  M.  E.  Dwight,  New  York. 

(Western)  Clarence  K.  Wolcott,  Corning. 
New  Mexico — Leo  A.  Wolcott,  Silver  City. 
Ohio — Newton  A.  Wolcott,  Warren,  Ohio. 
Oregon — Allen  D.  Wolcott,  Marshfield. 

Pennsylvania — (Eastern)  Mrs.  Mary  Wolcott  Dunham,  Waverly, 
N.  Y. 

(Western)  Charles  F.  Wolcott,  Pittsburgh. 
RfeBtfe*  Island — Henrf  Wolcott,  Providence. 
Texas — Mrs.  W.  G.  Von  Vleck,  Houston. 
Vermont — Helen  S.  F.  Wolcott,.  Bennington. 
Virginia — Edward  E.  Wolcott,  Norfolk. 
Wisconsin — Mrs.  Theodore  Yates,  Milwaukee. 


COMMITTEES 
Executive  and  Program 

Clarence  E.  Wolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  Chairman. 
William  Wolcott  Wiard,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Fred  Wolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Judson  E.  Wolcott,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Dr.  Edwin  H.  Wolcott,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Mary  H.  S.  Johnston,  Humbolt,  Iowa. 

Finance 

Warner  Wolcott,  Jefferson,  Ohio,  Chairman. 
Stanley  Wolcott  Hayes,  Richmond,  Ind. 
Clarence  E.  Wolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Historical 

Chandler  Wolcott,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Chairman. 
Mrs.  Samuel  Wolcott  Ver  Planck,  Fishkill,  N.  Y. 
George  A.  Reynolds,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Badge 

Mrs.  L.  Bruce  Wolcott,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Chairman. 
Mrs.  Beulah  Wolcott  Frazer,  Chicago,  111. 
Mrs.  Judson  E.  Wolcott,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Poet  Laureate 

Wellman  Wolcott,  Columbus,  Ohio. 


—  23  — 


linn  d.t\  afternoon  the  members  were  taken  for  a  long  drive  in 
automobiles  around  Cleveland  and  through  the  Rockefeller  estate, 
i  i.«  evening  was  devoted  t<>  an  informal  program  and  an  enjoyable, 
real  old  time  familj  reunion,  with  music,  dancing  and  stories. 

Among  the  visitors  were:  Mr,  John  Wolcott  of  Harrisburg,  111., 
and  Mi.  William  Wolcott  of  Winchester,  Ky.,  relatives  of  if  not 
descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott.  Their  father  owned  the  Wolcott 
mill  in  Tolland,  England,  and  le.ft  there  when  Mr.  John  Wolcott  was 
aboul  Fourteen  years  of  age.  If  the  present  genealogical  researches 
prove  successful  it  is  hoped  that  they  may  be  enrolled  as  members 
of  the  Society  by  the  next  reunion. 

Another  visitor  of  interest  was  Mrs.  wtKen  Grant  ose 
anecestors,  the  Grants,  came  over  with  Henry  Wolcott  on  the  "Mary 
and  John,"  in  L630. 


—  24  — 


Extract  from  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of 
The  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott 

Article  I. 

This  organization  shall  be  known  as  "The  Society  of  Descendants 
of  Henry  Wolcott." 

Article  II. 

The  purpose  of  this  Society  shall  be  the  collection  and  preserva- 
tion of  records,  papers  and  other  data  of  historic  interest  and  value 
to  the  family;  the  compiling  and  bringing  to  date  the  genealogical 
records  of  the  family;  the  preservation  of  family  monuments  and 
antiquities;  and  to  bring  the  various  members  of  the  family  into  closer 
acquaintanceship  by  assembling  in  social  enjoyment. 

Article  III. 

Any  lineal  descendant  of  Henry  Wolcott  who  emigrated  from 
Tolland,  England,  May  30,  1630,  and  settled  in  Windsor,  Conn.,  may 
become  a  member  of  this  Society  upon  the  payment  of  such  dues  as 
may  be  required;  and  by  conforming  to  the  rules  and  regulations 
adopted  by  this  organization. 

Article  IV. 

The  annual  dues  of  this  Society  shall  be  the  sum  of  Two  Dollars, 
which  shall  be  paid  by  every  member  thereof.  Such  payment  by 
member  shall  extend  the  privileges  thereof  to  a  wife  or  husband  and 
to  all  children  under  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  fiscal  year  of  the 
Society  shall  extend  from  January  first  of  one  year  to  January  first 
of  the  next  year. 


Special  Announcements 

Paper  embossed  with  the  Wolcott  coat-of-arms  may  be  obtained 
in  any  quantity  from  the  Secretary,  at  the  price  of  twenty-five  cents 
a  dozen  sheets;  envelopes  at  the  same  price.  This  includes  the  postage 
by  parcels  post. 

The  pins  of  the  Society  with  the  coat-of-arms  of  gold  may  be 
purchased  from  the  Secretary.  The  price  is  five  dollars.  If  any 
calls  are  received  for  the  pin  in  silver,  arrangements  can  be  made 
with  the  same  jeweler.  As  a  pin,  it  has  a  ring  so  that  it  can  be  used 
as  a  charm  if  desired.  This  ring  turns  back  when  worn  as  a  pin. 
For  a  watch  charm  only  a  ring  is  put  on. 

The  Secretary  will  be  glad  to  receive  clippings  relative  to  the 
family  and  desires  all  news  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths  sent  that 
current  history,  may  be  reported. 

If  you  are  now  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry 
Wolcott,  kindly  send  your  checks  or  money  order  for  dues  to  Mary 
Wolcott  Green,  Secretary-Treasurer,  613  Prospect  Street,  West  New 
Brighton,  New  York  City,  as  soon  as  possible. 


—  25  — 


If  you  arc  not  .t  member,  will  you  not  look  up  your  genealogy, 

.ind  if  eligible  make  application  for  membership  through  the  Secre- 
tary Treasurer  .m<l  the  Chairman  of  the  I  [istoi  i< :al  Committee? 

For  the  firsl  time  the  report  is  printed  by  one  of  the  members  of 

the  Society,  Mr.  Edmund  Wolcott  of  the  J'atteson  1'ress  of  New 
York.     Mr  has  taken  a  personal  interest  and  this  shows  in  the  fine 

appearance  <>i  the  report. 


-26- 


Members  of 

The  Society  of  Descendants  of  Henry  Wolcott 


Adams,  C.  Eugene,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
Allis,  Mrs.  Marion  Yates, 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Anderson,  Herman,  Silver  Creek,  N.  Y. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  William  E., 

Houston,  Tex. 
Aten,  Mrs.   Marion  L.,  Chicago,  111. 
Aten,  Miss  Stella  Wolcott,  Chicago,  111. 
Bacon,  Addie  M,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
Barstow,  Mrs.   Mary  W., 

Wethersfield,  Conn. 
Bartlett,  Mrs.  Vesta  Wolcott, 

Waterford,  Ohio. 
Bedell,  Mrs.  Nettie  Wolcott, 

Cotman,  Ohio. 

Bonnell,  Mrs.  A.   R.,  Conneaut,  Ohio. 
Chittenden,  Mrs.  George  M., 

Meriden,  Conn. 
Chrisman,   George,  Sharon  Center,  Ohio. 
Chrisman,   Mary  W.,   Sharon   Center,  O. 
Churchill,  Anna  S.,  New  Britain,  Conn. 
Churchill,  Miss  Rose, 

New  Britain,  Conn. 
Clark,  Elsie  Wolcott,  Manchester,  Conn. 
Clark,  Mrs.  Fred  B.,  Manchester,  Conn. 
Dean,  Charles  R., 

Whitestone,  Long  Island,  N.  Y. 
Deming,  Mrs.  Ella  G., 

Wethersfield,  Conn. 
Dillon,  Mrs.  Cora  A., 

Huntington,  W.  Va. 
Dore,  Mrs.   Lottie,  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 
Dorr,  C.  W., 

Drisler,  Herman,   Mt.  Vernon,   N.  Y. 
*Drisler,  Mrs.   Kate  W., 
Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Dunham,  Mary  A.  Wolcott, 
Waverly,  N.  Y. 

Durham,   Mary  W.,  Washington,   D.  C. 

Dwight,  Mrs.  M.  E., 

Mount  Morris  Park,  West  New  York. 

Fisher,  Mrs.  Genevieve  Hudson, 
New  York  City. 

Fitch,  Mrs.  C.  C,  Struthers,  Ohio. 

Frazer,  Mrs.  Beulah  Wolcott, 
Chicago,  111, 

Gray,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  Sutton,  Neb. 

Green,  Euphemia  M.,  West  New  Brigh- 
ton, Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 

Green,  Craig  W.,  New  York  City. 

Green,  Harry  C,  New  York  City. 

Green,  Mrs.   Marion  E.  Wolcott,  West 
New  Brighton,   Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 

Green,  Mary  Wolcott,  West  New  Brigh- 
ton, Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 

Griffen,  Mrs.  Orin  A.,  Warsaw,  N.  Y. 

fDeceased. 


Grush,  Mrs.  Jane  Ellsworth, 

Manchester,  Conn. 
Hadlock,  Mrs.   Byron  S.,  Litchfield,  Pa. 
Harvey,  Mrs.  Kate  Wolcott, 

Waterford,  Ohio. 
Harbison,  Mrs.  Hugh,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Havens,  Mrs.  Cora  Wolcott, 

Meriden,  Conn. 
Hayes,  Stanley  Wolcott,  Richmond,  Ind. 

Hemingway,  Mrs.  Buell, 

Watertown,  Conn. 
Hoyt,  Albert  E.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Hudson,  Anna  L„  Wolcott, 

Kalamazoo,  Mich,  i 
Hull,  Mrs.  Freddie  Wolcott, 

Maumee,  Ohio. 
Hunt,  Mrs.  Ruth  D.,  Auburn,  N.  Y. 
*Jackson,  Gen.  Joseph  Cook, 

New  York  City. 
Jackson,  Schuyler  B.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Jones,  Nathan  H.,  Poultney,  Vt. 
Johnson,  Anna  W.   M.,  Urbana,  Ohio. 
Johnson,  Mrs.   Lorena  Wolcott, 

St.  Johns,  Mich. 
Johnston,   Mrs.   Mary  H.  S., 

Humboldt,  Iowa. 
Kibbey,  George  H.,  Medina,  Ohio. 
Kline,'  Mrs.  John  E.,  Lynn,  Mass. 
Kreutzer,  Mrs.  A.  L.,  Warsaw,  Wis. 
Laylin,  Mrs.   L.   C,  Washington,   D.  C. 
Lent,  Mrs.   Bertha  Wolcott, 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Linn,  Dr.  Emma  Wolcott,  Chicago,  111. 
Mackie,  Mrs.   Robert  A.,   Bradford,  Pa. 
Marshall,  Fannie  C.  K.,  New  York  City. 
Meffert,  Mrs.  Sarah  W., 

Hortonville,  Wis. 
Metcalf,   Mrs.   Celia  Fletcher,  Erie,  Pa. 
Montgomery,   Belle  E.,  Youngstown,  O. 
Moore,  James  B.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Morrison,  J.  E.,  Ashtabula,  Ohio. 
Nash,  Miss  A.  S.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Nash,  Miss  E.   S.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Nowlen,   Mrs.  J.  W.,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa. 
Newbury,  William   P.,  Chardon,  Ohio. 
Olmstead,  A.  M.,  East  Hartford,  Conn. 
Olmstead,   E.   S.,   East  Hartford,  Conn. 
Randolph,  Henry  Wolcott,  Vernon,  Mich. 
Reddick,  W.  B..  Wilkinsburg,  Pa. 
Reddick,   Mrs.   W.   B.,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa. 
Reid,  Mrs.   Carrie  Wolcott,  Chicago,  111. 
Reynolds,  G.  A.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Roberts,  Mrs.  Jennie  C,  Basom,  N.  Y. 
Roberts.  Ziba,  Medina,  N.  Y. 


—  27  — 


Robins,  Miss  Louise  Bsrnum, 

A. In. in,  Muli. 

Robinson,  Mrs,  C, 

(  ll>  ahojja     lulls.    <  ). 
Starl.  .    Mrs.    (  harlcs  I!., 

(  imbi  Idge,  Mass. 

SelleW,    Mill    Mary.    Mra.lvillc.  Pa. 
Sinnus.   IMiilip   Wolcott,   I'niontown,  Pa. 
Smith,  George   M.,   Warren,  Oliiu. 
Sowers,    Mis.    Webb.    I  >€-s    Moines,  Iowa. 
Soiithnate,  Mrs.  John  W.,  Saginaw,  Mich. 
Spairow,  Jackson   \V.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Spencer,  T.  P.,  Warren,  Ohio. 
Scjiiire,    \li  s ,   Wilbui    II..   Mci  iden,  ( 'onn, 
Street,    Frederick  Hartford,  Conn. 

Talcott,   Mrs.   George  Sherman, 

New  Britain,  Conn. 
Thompson,  Col.  Charles  E., 

Hartford,  Conn. 
Yerplanck.    Mrs.  Kathcrinc, 

Fishkill-on-lludson,   N.  Y. 
Von   Vleck,   Mrs.   W.   G.,   Houston,  Tex. 
Ward,  Mrs.  James  F.,  Baltimore,  Md. 
W  elles,    Rev.  Thomas  Clayton, 

Kdilington,  Pa. 
Wheellock,  T.   S.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Wheellock,   Mrs.   T.   S.,   Hartford,  Conn. 
Wiard,  William  Wolcott,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Willey,  Mrs.  Ida  Wolcott,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Williams,   Mrs.   Catherine  H., 

New  Britain,  Conn. 
Wolcott,  Abigail  A.,  Wolcottville,  Ind. 
Wolcott,  Ada  M.,  Dover,  N.  H.  . 
W'olcott,  A.  J.,  Albion,  Mich. 
Wolcott  Mrs.  Alfred, 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
Wolcott,  Alferd  Perry,  Omaha,  Neb. 
Wolcott  Allen  Dwight,  Marshfield,  Ore. 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  Annie  M., 

Harrington,  Del, 
Wolcott,  Arthur  H.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Wolcott,  Arthur  K.,  Corning,  N.  Y. 
W'olcott,  Augustus  I., 

South  Orange,  N  J. 
\Yolcott,  Bert  Henry,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  Charles, 

Wethersfield,  Conn. 
WTolcott,  Carrie  B.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
Wolcott,  Carrie,  Ripon,  Wis. 
Wolcott,  Chandler,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Wrolcott,  Charles  A.,  Shinglehouse,  Pa. 
Wolcott,  Charles  F.,  Avalon,  Pa. 
Wolcott,  Charles  W.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 
Wrolcott,  C.  H.,  Axial,  Col. 
Wolcott,  Clarence  E.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
\Yolcott,  Clarence  E.,  Oil  City,  Pa. 
\Yolcott,    Clarence  K.,  Corning,  N.  Y. 
Wolcott,   C.   H.,  Jackson,  Mich. 
Wolcott,   Corwin,   Vincent,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   C.   P.,   McKeesport,  Pa. 


w  oleott,  (  harlei  (  diver, 
Bucklsnd,  (  onn. 

Wolcott,    Dai  win  Garfield,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  l).   B„  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Darwin  s.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa, 

Wolcott,    Mr.    and    Mrs.  Dorr, 

(  leveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,    Duncan    II.,    Kent,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Eben  H.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Wolcott,    Ebetl    II.,    Marion,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,    E.    Cm    Warren,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   Edward,  Gainesville,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,    Kdward   E.,  Joliet,  111. 
Wolcott,   Edward,   Norfolk,  Va. 
Wolcott,   Edmund,   New    York,    N.  Y. 
Wolcott,    Edwin   A.,   Ludlow,  Vt. 
Wolcott,  Dr.  Edwin  II., 

Rochester,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Edwin  S.,  Richland,  Iowa. 
Wolcott,   Elizabeth  E., 

Fishkill-on-Hudson,    N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Elizabeth  E.,  Talmadge,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,  Ella  L.,  Eimira,  N.  Y. 
Wolcott,   Emily  J.,   Utica,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Emma,  New  Britain,  Conn. 
Wolcott,  Elsie,  Manchester,  Conn. 
Wolcott,  Ethan  C,  Omaha,  Neb. 
Wolcott,  F.   Cm  Coldwater,  Mich. 
Wolcott,  F.  J.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Wolcott  Frank,  Buekland,  Conn. 
^Wolcott,  Frank  B.,   Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,    Fred,    Corning,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,  Fred  R.,   Syracuse,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,   George   R.,   Duke   Center,  Pa. 
Wolcott,  Dr.   Grace,   Boston,  Mass. 
Wolcott,   Grove  H.,  Jackson,  Mich. 
Wolcott,   Guy  E.,   College   Point,  Md. 
Wolcott,   Harry   K.,   Norfolk,  Va. 
Wolcott,   Hazel,   Grand   Rapids,  Mich. 
Wolcott,    Helen    L.,    Wethersfield,  Conn 
Wolcott,   Helen   S.    F.,   Bennington,  Vt 
Wolcott,   Helen   R.,   Springfield,  Mass. 
Wolcott,  Henry,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Walcott,  Rev.  Henry  B., 

Jamaica,   West  Indies. 
Wolcott,   Henry   B.,   Schenectady,   N.  Y 
Wolcott,   Mrs.    Henry  Clay, 

Harrington,  Del. 
Wolcott,  Henry  J.,    Lockwood,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   Henry  K.,   Batavia,  111. 
Wolcott,   Henry  R.,   Purchase,   N.  Y. 
Wolcott,   Herbert   R.,   Springfield,  111. 
Wolcott,  Herbert  W.,  Jackson,  Mich. 
Wolcott,  H.   O.,   Perry,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   Plomer  J.,   Lockwood,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   Horace,   Amherst,  Mass. 
Wolcott,   H.   W.   E.,   Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,    Isaac,    Heightstown,    N.  Y. 


*Deceased. 


Wolcott,  James,  Flint,  Mich. 

Wolcott,  James  G.,   La  Grange,  111. 

Wolcott,  J.  C,  Topeka,  Kan. 

Wolcott,  J.  E.,  Fergus  Falls,  Minn. 

Wolcott,  John   S.,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Wolcott,  J.  S.,  Benezette,  Elk  Co.,  Pa. 

Wolcott,  Judson  E.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Leo  F., 

Silver  City,  New  Mexico. 

Wolcott,  L.  A.,  Huntington,  Va. 

Wolcott,  Linn   Bruce,   Baltimore,  Md. 

Wolcott,  Mable  L.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Wolcott,  Mary  E.,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Wolcott,  Mary  E.,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Wolcott,  N.  A.,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Wolcott,  Nelson  Wesley,  Oakley,  Kan. 

Wolcott,  O.   C,   Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Wolcott,  Orvis  A.,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Wolcott,  Rev.  Peter  Clark, 

Highland  Park,  111. 

Wolcott,  Ralph,  Akron,  O. 

Wolcott,  Robert  B.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Wolcott,  R.  G„ 

Wolcott,  Robert  H.,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

Wolcott,  Robert  Robins, 
Wethersfield,  Conn. 


Wolcott,  Roger,  Boston,  Mass. 
Wolcott,   Rose,   Lakewood,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,   Ryland  A.,  Marion,  Ind. 
Wolcott,   S.   H.,   Warren,  O. 
Wolcott,   Stephen   C,   Dixondale,  Va. 
Wolcott,   Stella,   Topeka,  Kan. 
Wolcott,  Townsend 
Wolcott,   Walter  B.,   Newton,  Mass. 
Wolcott,  Warner,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,  Wellman,   Columbus,  Ohio. 
Wolcott,  Wilfred  B.,   Camden,   N.  T. 
Wolcott,  William  A.,   Hartford,  Conn. 
Wolcott,  William  F.,  La  Grange,  Ohi< 
Wolcott,  Wiliam  Oliver,  Riverton,  N. 
Wolcott,  William  Prescott, 

Readville,  Mass.. 
Wolcott,  Mrs.  William  Vernon, 

Boston,  Mass. 
Wolcott,  William  Warner, 

Jefferson,  Ohio. 
Wolverton,   Mrs.   Josephine  D., 

Columbus,  Ohio. 
Woodruff,   E.   A.,  Jefferson,  Ohio. 
Yale,  Mrs.  Mary,  Meriden,  Conn. 
Yates,  Mrs.  Marion  Jane, 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


PATTESON  PRESS.  N.  Y. 


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