USA > New York > Prominent men and women of New York; individual biographic studies with character portraits, Vol. III > Part 1
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.7 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Gc 974.7 P936 v. 3
Prominent men and women of New York.
PROMINENT MEN AND WOMEN OF NEW YORK
WOLCOTT AND ALLIED FAMILIES
1
PROMINENT MEN : AND WOMEN OF
NEW YORK
INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIC STUDIES WITH CHARACTER PORTRAITS
LIBRARY EDITION
Published by HISTORICAL RECORDS, INC. NEW YORK
Copyrighted, 1940 By Historical Records, Inc.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
1
NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI
Wolcott
WOLCOTT
ARMS-Argent, a chevron between three chess rooks ermined.
CREST-A bull's head erased argent, armed or; ducally gorged, lined, and ringed, of the last.
MOTTO-Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri.
HE Wolcott arms of the family herein given are of great antiquity. Copies of the shield etched on the silver tankard and cup of Governor Roger Wolcott (1679-1767) and en- graved on the tombstone or tablet of Cap- tain Samuel Wolcott (1679-1734) in the old Windsor churchyard, apparently are not copied from each other or from books of heraldry, but point to a traditional copy which has disappeared.
The English ancestry of the Wolcott family, given hereafter, was established through the research of "Mr. Somerby of Boston."* It is as follows:
Sir John Wolcott, knight, had issue, probably among others,
Jeran Wolcott, of Wolcott, who married Anna Mynde, of Shropshire. A son was
Roger Wolcott, of Wolcott, who married Edith Donnes. Issue,
Sir Philip Wolcott, of Wolcott, knight, who married Julian Herle. Issue, possibly among several children,
John Wolcott, of Wolcott, who married Alice Lloyd. His son,
Sir John Wolcott, of Wolcott, was apparently knighted in the year 1382. His son was
Thomas Wolcott, who had a son,
* H. G. Somerby, the antiquarian. This line is given in the "Wolcott Genealogy," by Chandler Wolcott.
John Wolcott, whose son,
John Wolcott, of Wolcott, married Matilda Cornwall, of Bereford. Issue, probably among others,
Roger Wolcott, of Wolcott, Esq., who married Margaret Lloyd. Issue, a son,
William Wolcott, who removed to Tolland, Somerset- shire, England. His son and namesake,
William Wolcott, died circa 1500, the year in which his will was drawn; married Elizabeth Issue, possibly among others,
Thomas Wolcott, who was a resident of Tolland; living as late as the year 1552. Issue, a son,
John Wolcott, who was apparently born in Tolland; called of "Galdon Manor in Tolland"; died in 1623, his will being probated on November 10th of that year. Issue, among others,
Henry Wolcott, the founder of the family in America, of whom below, baptized December 6, 1578, in the parish of Lydiard St. Lawrence, Somersetshire, England, the sec- ond "sonne of John Wolcott, of Tolland."
WOLCOTT THE FAMILY IN AMERICA
I
ENRY WOLCOTT, the American progenitor, son of John Wolcott, was born in Tolland, near Taunton, Somersetshire, England, and baptized in the contiguous parish of Lydiard St. Lawrence. He was a member of Mr. John Warham's church at Exeter, Devonshire, England, who was selected as pastor of the new church to be organized in the new world, in which office he was installed at the inauguration of the church at Plymouth, England, in 1630; transferred to Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, May 30, 1630; removed to Windsor, Connec- ticut, in 1635, where he erected a church and continued his labors up to April 1, 1670, when he "slept in the Lord."
Henry Wolcott sold his estates in England for about eight thousand pounds sterling, and was one of the pas- sengers on the ship Mary and John, Captain Squib, mas- ter, who set out to form a colony in the new world. His fellow passengers included the Reverend Mr. John War- ham, Mr. John Warham, Mr. John Marrick, Mr. Edward Rossiter, Mr. Roger Ludlow, Mr. Roger Clap, and other members of Mr. Warham's church and congregation from Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire. While await- ing in Plymouth the sailing of the ship, they organized the independent church to be planted in the new world, which became the First Church in Windsor, the oldest in the state of Connecticut. The ship left the port of Plymouth March 20, 1630, and arrived at Nantasket, after a voyage of two months and ten days, May 30, 1630, and as it was the Lord's Day they delayed their landing until the next day, May 31, 1630.
On the first day of the meeting of the first general court assembled in Boston (not as representatives, but as individual freemen), before representatives had been chosen, Henry Wolcott's name appears in the first list of freemen made so by the oath of allegiance prescribed by the colonial government and he became a member of the first legislative body of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The company remained in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Col- ony; spies had been sent out to view the lands in the wild- erness of Connecticut, and through information gained from the Dutch settlers of New York they learned of the available tract of land on the Connecticut River, where they were hospitably received by the Indians, and the report of John Oldham and the others of the exploring ex- pedition determined the bodily removal of the church in the care of Mr. Warham to this promising land. In 1634 they applied to the general court for permission to go in quest of new adventures in a better land. In the summer of 1635 a number of Mr. Warham's people prepared to bring their families and make a permanent settlement at Windsor. The journey proved full of peril, entailing prop- erty loss as well as personal hardship.
In 1637 the first general assembly of Connecticut was organized, with Henry Wolcott as a member of the house of representatives, which comprised twelve members, and in this way he became a pioneer in the organization of civil government in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1640 his name headed the list of inhabitants of Windsor; in 1643 he was elected to the house of magistrates, the higher branch of the legislature, and he was annually re- elected during his lifetime. He was esteemed, next to the minister, as the most distinguished man in Windsor. By the decease of his elder brother, Christopher Wolcott, with- out issue, he became proprietor of the family estates in England, which included the manor house and mill, and in 1640 he visited England in the interests of his acquired
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estate. On January 11, 1640, he was granted from the plantation, for a home lot, twelve acres; also, in the great meadow, twenty-two acres, and in the Plymouth meadow eight acres; and also at Herteford sixty-eight acres, and over the great river twenty-four acres, besides other val- uable tracts. He continued as an honored citizen of Wind- sor and a member of the upper house of the colonial legis- lature up to the time of his death. His will, which was dictated on the day of his death, mentions his wife, and sons Henry, Christopher, George, and Simon, his son Henry being named as overseer of his will and testament. This will was proved October 4, 1655. His widow survived him about five weeks, and died July 7, 1655, having signed her will by her mark, July 5, 1655, not being physically able to hold a pen to enable her to write her name. The inventory of the estate, exclusive of the property in Eng- land, amounted to seven hundred and sixty-four pounds, eight shillings and ten pence, which sum in no measure represents the large expenditures which he made during his lifetime in making settlements and assisting his fellow colonists of lesser means in planting and fostering the early English colonies on the Connecticut River. His body, with that of his widow, found sepulture in the churchyard in Windsor; here an arched monument of brownstone marks the place, and this is said to be the oldest monument of this style in the country. Around it are monuments mark- ing the graves of their children and children's children. The monument to Henry and Elizabeth Wolcott was erect- ed only thirty-five years after the landing at Plymouth of the "Mayflower" passengers, and it is still in perfect pres- ervation, and the church which they helped to organize in Windsor observed its "Quarter Millennial Celebration" in 1881.
Died, in Windsor, May 30, 1655.
Married, January 19, 1606, Elizabeth, daughter of
Thomas Saunders, of Lydiard, St. Lawrence, baptized in that parish December 20, 1584.
Issue, among seven children,
SIMON WOLCOTT, of whom below.
II
SIMON WOLCOTT, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Saun- ders) Wolcott, was born circa 1625, in England. Being a very young boy when his father, mother, and brothers sailed for the new world, he remained with his two sisters, their parents not wishing to submit them to the hardships they knew they would encounter in selecting and building a home. The date of his arrival in America is not on record, but we find him before the general court of Connecticut Colony in 1654, at which time he was thirty years of age, and was admitted to all the privileges of a freeman of the colony.
He settled on land on the road to Hartford, opposite his father's homestead in Windsor, which land he had pur- chased from Goodman Whitehead. We then find him pos- sessed of a grant of land in Simsbury, in 1667, at which time he was prominent in town affairs. In 1668 he was a member of a committee appointed by the general court to supervise planting by the new settlers. He removed from Windsor to Simsbury in 1671, and was made captain of the train band of the new town, August 11, 1673, and a selectman of the town in 1674. During King Philip's War all the settlers of the town were driven from their homes by the Indians, and it is said that he hid the silver belong- ing to the family in a brass kettle and buried the kettle and contents in a swamp near the house; however, it sank too deep and was never recovered. In 1680 the general court granted him two hundred acres of land, and at that time he was one of the six pioneer settlers to be honored by the honorable title of "Mr." He removed across the river in 1680 with his family, and began to clear a farm
on his grant. He had begun to build a new house and to clear the land for cultivation, but had made only little progress when he died, whereupon his widow and sons took up the work and completed his plans, in which his widow was assisted by her second husband.
Died, in Simsbury, Connecticut, September 11, 1687.
Married, first, March 19, 1657, Joanna Cook, daughter of Aaron Cook, a pioneer settler of Windsor. She was born August 5, 1638 and died April 27, 1657.
Married, second, October 17, 1661, Martha Pitkin, sister of William Pitkin, of East Hartford, attorney-general and treasurer of the colony, and before the charter an assis- tant of Massachusetts Bay Colony. From him descended the honorable Pitkin family of Hartford. She was born in England about 1640 and died at Simsbury, Connecticut, October 13, 1719, aged eighty years. She married, as her second husband, in 1689, Daniel Clark, who took up the work on the new farm laid out by Simon Wolcott, and completed the house and became the head of the family, bereft so early in life of a father's care. Of his mother, Governor Roger Wolcott says: "She was a gentlewoman of bright and natural parts, which were well improved by her education in the city of London. She came to New England in 1661, and the same year was married to my father. The rest of her useful life she spent in the wilder- ness in doing good and setting an example of piety and prudence, charity and patience."
Issue (all by second wife); among nine children,
ROGER WOLCOTT, of whom below.
III
HONORABLE ROGER WOLCOTT, son of Simon and Martha (Pitkin) Wolcott, was born January 4, 1679, at Windsor, Connecticut. He was a man of exceptional tal- ent and high renown; an author, jurist, soldier and states- man.
He was apprenticed to a mechanic at the age of twelve. His first office of note was that of deputy to the General Court in the year 1709. The following year he became a justice. In 1711, he served as commissary of the Connecticut forces in the expedition against Canada. A member of the governor's council in 1714, he became a judge of the county court in 1724, a judge of the superior court in 1732, and chief justice of the supreme court and deputy governor in the year 1741. In the successful ex- pedition against Louisburg in 1745, Roger Wolcott served as major-general, commissioned by Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, second in command to Sir William Pepper- ell. He attained his highest position when in 1750/51, he was made Governor of the Connecticut Colony, serving as such until the year 1754.
Versatile in public life, Roger Wolcott was also a vers- atile author. His "Poetical Meditations" was published in 1725. He left, also, a long manuscript poem descriptive of the Pequot War, which was preserved in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society. He published as well two other prose works, one ecclesiastical and the other political. A patron of art, his home built in South Windsor just after the attack on Deerfield, 1704, featured a painting of the episode which covered the walls of the front room.
Reverend Samuel Wolcott wrote concerning Honorable Roger Wolcott as follows:
"We have no portrait of him. In one of the political squibs of the day he is referred to as 'stately, smoking Roger.' For the following description of his public appear- ance, in his official costume, we are indebted, through a friend (Hon. Isaac W. Stuart), to a lady in Wethersfield, Miss Marsh, the daughter of a venerable clergyman long since deceased, who gives it as she received it from her mother, whom had often seen him in her childhood. 'He was a visitor at her father's, and the costume of an officer
under the regal government was too imposing to pass un- noticed. Several times a week he rode out on horseback, and never appeared abroad but in full-dress. He wore a suit of scarlet broadcloth. The coat was made long, with wide skirts, and trimmed down the whole length in front with gilt buttons, and broad gilt vellum button-holes, two or three inches in length. The cuffs were large and deep, reaching nearly to the elbows, and were ornamented, like the sides of the coat, as were also the pocket-lids, with gilt vellum button-holes and buttons. The waistcoat had skirts, and was richly embroidered. Ruffles at the bosom and over the hands were of lace. He had a flowing wig, and a three-cornered hat with a cockade; and rode slowly and stately a large black horse, whose tail swept the ground.' "
Died, May 17, 1767, at the home of his daughter, Eliza- beth (Wolcott) Newberry, in Old Windsor.
Married, December 3, 1702, Sarah Drake.
Issue, among sixteen children,
ROGER WOLCOTT, of whom below.
IV
MAJOR ROGER WOLCOTT, son of Honorable Roger and Sarah (Drake) Wolcott, was born September 14, 1704, at Windsor, Connecticut. He was a true son of his father, and but for an untimely death might have equalled, if not exceeded the paternal achievements.
Major Wolcott was commissioned as an officer of Con- necticut troops, and he served as deputy to the General Court, as a member of the council, and as a judge of the superior court.
Died October 19, 1759.
Married, first, October 10, 1728, Marah Newberry.
Married, second, June 19, 1759, Eunice (Colton) Ely, daughter of John Colton, and widow of John Ely.
Issue, by first wife, among eleven children, EPAPHRAS WOLCOTT, of whom below.
V
EPAPHRAS WOLCOTT, son of Major Roger and Marah (Newberry) Wolcott, was born May 2, 1740. Little is known of his career other than that he served in an expedition against Canada as a member of Captain Giles Wolcott's Company.
Died January 1, 1825. Married, June 14, 1762, Mabel Burnham.
Issue, among four children, JAMES WOLCOTT, of whom below.
VI
JAMES WOLCOTT, son of Epaphras and Mabel (Burn- ham) Wolcott, was born April 19, 1766, apparently in Con- necticut. He removed to Wheatland, Monroe County (pos- sibly before the year 1821, when the locality was part of the town of Caledonia, Livingston County), New York, in that great westward exodus that marked the period im- mediately following the Revolutionary War.
Died, April 30, 1849, at Wheatland, New York. Married, in January, 1786, Miriam Munsell.
Issue, among seven children, EPAPHRAS WOLCOTT, of whom below.
VII
EPAPHRAS WOLCOTT, son of James and Miriam (Munsell) Wolcott, was born April 7, 1789, probably in Connecticut. He was employed at the armory in Spring- field, Massachusetts, circa 1807, when he left to walk to New York State. It is said that he left his direction entirely to chance, throwing his cane over his shoulder and going
where it pointed. Be that as it may, he journeyed to On- tario County, New York, and settled at Bloomfield. Several years later, he was joined there by his brother, Anson Wolcott, from Windsor, Connecticut.
In 1827 Mr. Wolcott left Bloomfield to establish a home on the eastern bank of the Genesee River, within the pres- ent bounds of southern Rochester, New York. He pur- chased a large tract of land, a portion of which is now in- cluded in the beautiful Mt. Hope Cemetery. He was held in high regard by his neighbors and was frequently a speaker at public meetings. He was a member of the local First Baptist Church.
Died, August 25, 1852, at Rochester, New York.
Married, May 25, 1811, Naomi, daughter of Lemuel Paul, of Bloomfield, now East Bloomfield, New York. She was born August 19, 1791, and died November 11, 1853.
Issue, among six children,
GEORGE PAUL WOLCOTT, of whom below.
VIII
GEORGE PAUL WOLCOTT, son of Epaphras and Naomi (Paul) Wolcott, was born November 24, 1816, at Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York. He removed to Rochester, New York, with others of the family and re- mained there throughout his lifetime. He resided in the home built by his father along the Genesee River.
Died, August 10, 1880, at Rochester, New York; buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery, August 13, 1880.
Married, at St. Luke's Church, Rochester, Reverend Thomas C. Pitkin officiating, May 26, 1846, Caroline Eliza- beth Moore.
Issue, among four children,
JAMES EPHRAIM WOLCOTT, of whom below.
James &. Wolcott
IX
JAMES EPHRAIM WOLCOTT, son of George Paul and Caroline Elizabeth (Moore) Wolcott, was born April 20, 1850, at Rochester, New York.
Mr. Wolcott received his education at the Rochester public schools and the private academy of Professor Satterlee. At the age of twenty-one he entered into busi- ness as a distiller and soon founded James E. Wolcott and Company on Wolcott Street, Rochester. In the year 1901 he disposed of that enterprise and thereafter devoted him- self to financial and investment affairs. His opinion in such matters was frequently sought, and he served as a director of both the Genessee Valley Trust Company and the Traders National Bank.
James E. Wolcott was a lover of thoroughbred horses. He maintained an excellently appointed stable and was active in the affairs of the Gentlemen Drivers Association. A prominent figure in the concerns of the Masonic order, Mr. Wolcott was a member of Rochester Lodge, No. 660, Free and Accepted Masons, of the Monroe Commandery, Knights Templar, and of the Consistory, having achieved the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite.
Died, November 24, 1906, at Norfolk, Virginia.
Married, at Rochester, New York, in 1874, IDA JOSE- PHINE CHASE.
0
Ida Josephine (Chase) Wolcott
+
4
NE
ALIS
C
FDE
Chase
CHASE
ARMS-Gules, four cross crosslets argent on a canton azure a lion passant or. CREST-A griffin's head erased holding in the beak a key. MOTTO-Ne cede malis.
ILLIAM CHASE, whose relationship, if any, to the emigrants Aquila and Thomas Chase, has not been traced, was born, probably in England, about 1595, and died at Yarmouth, Massachusetts, between May 4th and 13th, 1659. He is believed to have come to Amer- ica with Winthrop's fleet about 1630, and landed at Salem Village, now Danvers, Massachusetts. He was sworn as a freeman, May 14, 1634. Removing to Roxbury, Massachu- setts, he joined the First Church, of which Reverend John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, was then pastor. About 1638 William Chase left Roxbury and joined a company which settled at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Some author- ities say that he lived at Scituate for a short time. In 1639 he was appointed as constable and served for six months. "In 1641 complaint was made by William Chase that Nicholas Symkins had to set his fence that he hath taken in some small part of the lands of said William Chase." In 1642 he mortgaged certain land to Stephen Hopkins, and disposed of it in 1648. In 1645 he enlisted as a drum- mer in the expedition against the Narragansett Indians, and received five shillings extra pay. In 1654 he was pre- sented by the grand jury for driving a yoke of oxen five miles on the Lord's Day, during time of service. He was a carpenter by trade and his agreement to build a house for Dr. Thomas Starr for £5 has been preserved. Married, probably in England, Mary (whose surname is not re- corded). Issue, among three children,
WILLIAM CHASE, who was born probably in England, in 1622, and died February 27, 1685. He resided at Yar-
1
mouth, Massachusetts. His name and that of his father appear in a list of persons liable to bear arms at Yar- mouth, Massachusetts, in 1643, as "Wm. Chase, Sr., and Wm. Chase, Jr." His family lived near Herring River, on the east side of Bass River, at Yarmouth, now Dennis or Harwich, Massachusetts. The children were born about 1645 to 1672, and were connected with the Society of Friends in that neighborhood, and undoubtedly attended at Friends' Meeting, established in second month, 1681, at the house of Ivory Jones and John Dillingham, at or near Bound Brook. Married, name of his wife not re- corded. He had eight children, but because the early records at Yarmouth were destroyed by fire, it is impos- sible to give the dates of birth of his children. All of his children, except John and Elizabeth, are found of record in Rhode Island from 1680 to 1701, and all except Jacob, were named in Rhode Island Monthly Meeting records. Issue, among eight children,
WILLIAM CHASE, who was born probably at Yar- mouth, Massachusetts, about 1645, and died at Swansea, Massachusetts, between January 25, 1733, and August 16, 1737. He removed to Swansea about 1700, and was a member of the Society of friends there until his death. Married, first, Hannah Sherman. Married, second, Decem- ber 6, 1732, Priscilla Perry. Issue, all by first wife, among six children,
ISAAC CHASE, who was born probably at Yarmouth or Swansea, Massachusetts, or in eastern Rhode Island, about 1670/80, and died 1760. His will, dated October 17, 1757, was proved April 1, 1760. He resided at Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts, and was a mason. Married, first, 12 mo. 10, 1704/05, Elizabeth Blethen, born August 29, 1680, daughter of John and Jane (Lemarcom) Blethen, of Salem. Married, second, November 2, 1720, Mary Fowler, by whom he had issue seven children. Issue, by first wife, among five children,
JAMES CHASE, who was born at Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts, February 12, 1706, died at Middle- town, Newport County, Rhode Island, April 20, 1782. He removed to Middletown, about 1740. His will was dated December 2, 1780. Married, first, May 11, 1727, Alice An- thony, born about 1705; died in March, 1762, in her fifty- seventh year, daughter of William and Mary (Coggeshall) Anthony. Married, second, June 30, 1763, Mrs. Lydia (Goddard) Thurston, widow of Jonathan Thurston, and daughter of Daniel and Mary Goddard; she died June 16, 1784, by whom he had issue one son. Issue, by first wife, among eleven children,
JAMES CHASE, who was born at Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts, October 27, 1729; died before No- vember 14, 1784, and after December 2, 1780. He resided at Seaconnet Point, Little Compton, Rhode Island. By his father's will, James inherited one-half of a farm of about one hundred and eighteen acres in Little Compton. He and his brother Zaccheus were made heirs of "all residue and remainder of my personal estate not disposed of" and were made executors of the will. Married, first, "5 mo. called July, 20, 1749," Huldah Winslow. Married, second, 7 mo. 31, 1771, Sarah Wood, daughter of Henry and Con- tent (Thurston) Wood. Issue, by first wife, among eight children,
JAMES CHASE, born February 14, 1767; died December 31, 1848; married Esther Gifford; resided in Cayuga County, New York; issue, among others,
JAMES CHASE, born March 12, 1798; died October 21, 1855; aged sixty-seven years and nine months; married Phebe B. Seabury, daughter of Isaac Seabury. Issue,
HARVEY JAMES CHASE, born February 27, 1827; died October 21, 1866; married, September 17, 1848, Harriet R. Boughton. Their daughter,
IDA JOSEPHINE CHASE, was born December 27, 1852; died November 4, 1924; married James Ephraim Wolcott. Issue, among three children,
CHARLES JAMES WOLCOTT, investment broker, of whom below.
0
CHARLES J. WOLCOTT Investment Broker 1881-1937
OR many years Charles James Wolcott was an active figure in the financial life of Roch- ester, New York. From his youth he was familiar with the field of banking and fin- ance, and the greater part of his career was devoted to active service as an investment broker in the well-known firms of Ford, Enos and Wolcott, and Sage, Wolcott and Steel successively. In these con- nections he won a distinguished reputation which was his until his death.
Mr. Wolcott was born in Rochester on November 14, 1881, son of James Ephraim and Ida Josephine (Chase) Wolcott and a descendant of old English families. He was educated in private schools and at Hobart College, from which he withdrew after one year to enter the Genesee Valley Trust Company of Rochester. His association with this institution dated from the time of its origin and con- tinued for eight years. During the period under considera- tion there were only three in the bank to carry on all the necessary routine and as a result he acquired an un- usually broad experience in banking practice. This knowl- edge was very useful to him in his subsequent career.
After eight years, Mr. Wolcott resigned his position to enter the Rochester brokerage firm of Ford and Enos, later Ford, Enos and Wolcott. He quickly established the value of his services to the firm, was admitted as a partner and continued as such until 1912, when he withdrew to form the firm of Sage, Wolcott and Steel. In the business of the latter firm he was active until 1930, retiring at that time, but remaining as a silent partner. His knowledge of the credit structure of American business and the soundness of his judgment in the matter of security values led both clients and associates to place implicit reliance in his opinions, which were frequently consulted by important figures and always received with the highest respect.
Mrs. Charles J. Wolcott (Rachel Greene)
WILLIAM F. WOLCOTT
In addition to his business connections, Mr. Wolcott was a member of a number of community institutions, in- cluding the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Gen- esee Valley County Club, the Rochester Country Club and the Rochester Yacht Club. He was always very fond of outdoor life, particularly such sports as golf, riding and yachting, which were his favorite recreations. Mr. Wolcott was also a member and supporter of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. In politics he was a Republican and although he remained in the background by preference in civic matters, his influence was felt as an effective force in many phases of the community life.
On September 29, 1910, Charles James Wolcott married Rachael Greene, daughter of William C. and Alice (Nor- man) Greene. Her father was of English and Scottish ex- traction and her mother came of a Scottish family which emigrated from the Borough of Carlisle to the United States in the early years of the nineteenth century, settling at Lockport, New York, about 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott became the parents of two children: James Greene, born September 24, 1911; and William F., born June 16, 1914, died April 10, 1926.
The death of Mr. Wolcott was widely regretted in the Rochester community, which held him in highest respect. Although he had relinquished his active business duties some years earlier, his strict integrity and willingness to be of service to others won him many friends who always held him in the greatest regard. He died July 17, 1937.
0
James Greene Wolcott
Breene
GREENE *
ARMS-Azure, three stags tripping, or. CREST-A stag's head, erased, or.
T IS the considered opinion of David Maxon Greene, an authority on the Greene family, that the family under consideration is def- initely allied with that of the famous Revolu- tionary soldier, General Nathanael Greene. In a letter to GEORGE C. GREENE, dated April 21, 1897, he states:
"If I remember correctly you told me that your grand- father's name was Peter. This seems to have been a family name, and there can be no doubt that the three Johns who came to this country, about the same time, were of the same family in England. I believe we are all cousins ... "
I
JOHN GREENE, founder of his branch of the family in America, was born in England, and came with two broth- ers to the New World shortly before the Pequot War. William, brother of John, finally settled at Middletown, then a part of Newport, Rhode Island.
John Greene became one of the first settlers of Shrews- bury, New Jersey, where he died, leaving a son,
JOHN GREENE, of whom below.
II
JOHN GREENE, son of John Greene, was born at Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey, about the year 1665. As a young man he went to reside with his
* This sketch of the Greene family is based upon family records and manuscript data in the possession of Mrs. Howard A. Forman, of Buffalo, New York.
uncle William at Middletown, Rhode Island. As William died without issue John received his entire estate at Mid- dletown, not far from Newport, Rhode Island.
Married, about 1698, Sarah Peckham.
Issue, among others, JOHN GREENE, of whom below.
III
JOHN GREENE, son of John and Sarah (Peckham) Greene, was born about 1700, at Middletown, Rhode Is- land. He was a resident of Middletown for many years.
Married, Mary Weeden, of Middletown, Rhode Island. Issue, among others, THOMAS GREENE, of whom below.
IV
THOMAS GREEN(E), he spelled his name without the final "e", son of John and Mary (Weeden) Greene, was born in 1731, at Middletown, Rhode Island.
Married, second, by whom he had one child.
Issue, among eleven children,
PETER GREENE, of whom below.
V
PETER GREENE, son of Thomas and Lillis (Turner) Greene, was born at Middletown, Rhode Island, January 12, 1774.
Died March 29, 1796, and the inscription on his tomb- stone reads as follows:
"His early Piety and Zeal for Truth Formed an Example worthy of a Youth! But he is gone, whence he will not return; And left us here, his Absence for to mourn. But he is gone & left a world of sin To see, and praise his Savior & his King. Survivors All! Prepare to follow him!
Married, August 7, 1793, Lydia Sawyer, daughter of James and Lydia Sawyer; she was born October 25, 1769.
Issue, among others,
WILLIAM PETER GREENE, of whom below.
VI
WILLIAM PETER GREENE, son of Peter and Lydia (Sawyer) Greene, was born at Newport, Rhode Island, October 16, 1794.
Married, September 13, 1819, Mary Hough.
Issue,
GEORGE C. GREENE, of whom below.
VII
GEORGE C. GREENE, son of William Peter and Mary (Hough) Greene, was born January 16, 1833. He resided at Chestertown, Warren County, New York, about the year 1850, and at Lockport, Niagara County, New York, shortly thereafter.
Married, May 11, 1857, at Chestertown, Warren County, New York, Emma Frances Green.
William C. Greene
Issue, among four children,
WILLIAM C. GREENE, of whom below.
VIII
WILLIAM C. GREENE, son of George C. and Emma Frances (Green) Greene, was born August 4, 1858, at Lockport, New York.
Died August 29, 1901.
Married, June 28, 1883, ALICE PAULINE NORMAN.
orman
NORMAN
ARMS-Sable, a lion rampant or. CREST-A spear issuing in pale thrust through a savage's head, couped proper.
ILLIAM NORMAN, first of his family in the United States, was baptized November 17, 1802, at Hescot-in-the-Forest, Carlisle, Eng- land, son of Robert and Margaret Norman, of Bleaberrywhaite; sailed for the United States in 1832, with his wife and settled at Lockport, New York; engaged in a prosperous brewing and cooperage enterprise; a prominent and admired cit- izen of that portion of the town now known as East Lock- port; died November 3, 1871; married, in 1832, in England, Margaret Gash, who was born in 1806, at Carlisle, Eng- land. She was noted for unostentatious charity, and for sound religious faith. An active communicant of Christ Church in Lockport, she contributed greatly both in money and effort to the growth and success of the parish. At the time of her death, November 7, 1882, she was extolled as one of Lockport's earliest, well-known and best loved res- idents. Issue of William and Margaret (Gash) Norman, among others,
JOSEPH GASH NORMAN, who was born March 10, 1836, at East Lockport, New York; a lifelong resident of Lockport, he was active and prominent in business and civic affairs; received his education at local schools both public and private; entered his father's brewing concern in 1856, remaining therein for ten years; in 1866, he began to operate an independent distillery in partnership with Roland S. Daniels and Joseph Christy; operated a large fleet of grain boats as well; upon his father's death in 1871, he, with his brother William L. Norman, took over the man- agement of the paternal enterprise; a staunch adherent of the Democratic political party, Joseph G. Norman served
Alice Pauline Norman
as a village trustee in 1864, and a supervisor of the incor- porated city of Lockport in 1885; appointed customs house officer at Owens Sound, Ontario, in 1886, by President Grover Cleveland, and served in that capacity for three years; active in the affairs of Christ Episcopal Church, as was his mother, and served for many years as vestryman; died, March 31, 1922, "the oldest native of the city," and was buried in Cold Spring Cemetery; married, January 13, 1862, Sarah Mead. Issue, among three daughters,
ALICE PAULINE NORMAN, who was born December 1, 1862, at Lockport, New York; died December 10, 1896; married, June 28, 1883, WILLIAM C. GREENE.
Issue, an only child,
RACHEL GREENE, of whom below.
IX
RACHEL GREENE, daughter of William C. and Alice Pauline (Norman) Greene, was born May 6, 1885, at Lock- port, Niagara County, New York.
At the age of four she was a subject, with her great- grandmother, of a poem by Laura Le Balyard.
Married, September 29, 1910, CHARLES JAMES WOL- COTT.
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HECKMAN BINDERY INC.
SEP 93 N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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