Sunday, April 16, 2017

Wolcott History – Biographies

One of the sections of Samuel Orcutt’s book on the History of the Town of Wolcott is a series of biographies of significant people in the town’s history. As this section is 143 pages, nearly a quarter of the book, it deserves coverage in my continuing blog about Wolcott history.  

However, as Orcutt was the pastor of the Congregational Church at the time, he also included biographies of many of the pastors who had preceded him. But many of these individuals had no particular connection to the town – they had been born elsewhere, came in for anywhere from a few months to several years, and ended their time in the town either through death, being dismissed, or moving to a pastorate elsewhere. Only a few of the ministers had any real connection to Farmingbury/Wolcott. Thus, I’d first like to give a list of all the men who served in this capacity in chronological order. Only those indicated with a “+B” will I cover in the biographical list which follows. (Note that this list is from pages 139-140 of Orcutt’s book.)


Ministers

1773-1791, Alexander Gillet +B
1792-1810, Israel B Woodward -B
1811-1813, Lucas Hart -B
1814-1822, John Keys -B
1822-1827, Deacon Isaac Bronson +B
1827-1829, Erastus Scranton *S
1829-1830, Mr. Wheelock *S
1831-1832, Nathan Shaw -B *S
1833-1833, Seth Sackett *S
1834-1835, Wm. F Vail *S
1837-1840, James D Chapman -B
1841-1842, Zephaniah Swift *S
1842-1857, Aaron C Beach +B
1857-1857, Z B Burr *S
1857-1858, Joseph Smith *S
1859-1863, Stephen Rogers ++
1863-1869, Lent S Hough -B *S
1869-1872, Warren C Fiske -B *S
1872-1874, Samuel Orcutt *S

+B - also listed in biographies, related to others in the town, see below for connection
-B - also listed in biographies, but came from elsewhere and not related to any other Wolcott residents
*S - “stated supply”, means that they were assigned to the town by the denomination. Some of these men were only short-term, anything from a few months to a year. Others stayed longer. Not listed in the biographies
++ - Stephen Rogers is the only man in this list who was connected to others in town but for whom a biography is not given. I had done prior research on him and found that he was my 3rd cousin, 6 times removed. He, along with Amos Bronson Alcott and Dr. William A. Alcott (who are listed below), were recognized as individuals who gave significant contributions of books to the early Wolcott Library. (See http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/05/genealogy-story-wolcott-library-early.html)


Biographies

The biographies take from pages 231-373 of Orcutt’s book. Where there are multiple members of the same family listed, I am only listing my connection to the first individual mentioned from that family. The others are then shown in an indented fashion.

John Alcock (Alcott/Alcox) [great*6 grandfather]
Capt. John Alcox – son of John Alcock
Amos Bronson Alcott – grandson of Capt. John Alcock
Louisa May Alcott – daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott
May Alcott – daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott
Dr. William A. Alcott, great-grandson of John Alcock
Rev. William P. Alcott, son of Dr. William A Alcott
Joseph Atkins [father-in-law of 3rd cousin, 5 times removed]
            Deacon Joseph Atkins, son of Joseph Atkins [married to 3rd cousin, 5 times removed]
Rev. Aaron C. Beach [husband of 5th cousin, 5 times removed]
            Rev. John Wickliffe Beach, son of Rev. Aaron C. Beach,
Deacon Isaac Bronson [2nd cousin, 6 times removed]
Timothy Bradley [husband of 2nd cousin, 6 times removed]
Judah Frisbie [great*6 uncle]
Rev. Alexander Gillet [husband of 2nd cousin, 6 times removed]
            Timothy Phelps Gillet son of Rev. Alexander Gillet
Deacon Aaron Harrison [husband of 1st cousin, 5 times removed]
Lucas Curtiss Hotchkiss [2nd cousin, 5 times removed]
Capt. Heman Hall [2nd cousin, 7 times removed]
Ephraim Hall, grandson of Capt. Heman Hall
Dr. Ambrose Ives [husband of 3rd cousin, 5 times removed]
Simeon H. Norton [husband of 4th cousin, 4 times removed]
Dr. John Potter [husband of 2nd cousin, 4 times removed]
Seth Thomas [husband of 3rd cousin, 5 times removed]
Rev. Benoni Upson [2nd cousin, 6 times removed]

Rev. Henry E. L. Upson [4th cousin, 4 times removed]

No comments:

Post a Comment