Oliver Wolcott

Oliver Wolcott was born in 1726 in Windsor, Connecticut, the son of a colonial governor, and graduated from Yale before studying law. He served as sheriff, judge, and a member of the governor's council, and was sent to the Continental Congress. He was often away from Philadelphia on military duty; he signed the Declaration after the principal signing of 2 August 1776. As a militia general he helped turn out Connecticut troops, including men sent toward Saratoga in 1777, and he later served in the defense of the state. After the war he remained a judge and was elected governor of Connecticut in 1796. Wolcott died in office the next year. His public life joined legal office with the practical work of raising and leading militia in a long war.

See also: Signers of the Declaration · Roger Sherman · Samuel Huntington · William Williams