Jeran WOLCOTT
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 1176
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Cause of Death:
AFN #:
Spouses and Children
1. *Anna MYNDE ( - )
Marriage:
Children:
1. Roger WOLCOTT (1211- )
Notes
General:
New England (Connecticut); Royals
Entries: 10247 Updated: Thu May 23 09:29:11 2002 Contact: Gordon Fisher <[email protected]>
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ID: I740
Name: John (1) WOLCOTT
Given Name: John (1)
Surname: WOLCOTT
NSFX: Knight
Sex: M
Title: Knight
Note:
23rd and 24th ggf of Gordon Fisher
"Through the researches of Mr. Somerby, of Boston, in the *Herald's*office, among the subsidy rolls, wills, and parish records of England,the genealogy of Henry Wolcott, Esquire (the emigrant) [HENRY (1)WOLCOTT of this database], has been traced through fifteengenerations, back to Sir John Wolcott, knight, as follows:" Eachentry in the list is placed here in its proper position in the tree,with the present JOHN (1) WOLCOTT as root.
--- William F. J. Boardman, *The Ancestry of William Francis JosephBoardman, Hartford, Connecticut*, 1906, p 312
"The name in Somersetshire is spelled *Wol*; in Shropshire,Lincolnshire, and elsewhere, *Wal*. The ancestral seat in England ofthe family which came to Windsor was at Tolland Co. Somerset, thoughits branches reside in adjacent parishes. "Tolland," says H. G.SOMERBY, Esq., in a letter to the family, "is one of the mostsecluded, quiet, and picturesque villages in England. The GaldonManor, which I sketched, and which is now occupied as a farm-house,must at one time have been very extensive, and the principal room verysplended for the period. It is still richly ornamented with carvedwork, etc. I visited the old Mill, which belonged to the Family atleast 300 years ago. The house connect with it, now somewhatdilapidated, is the same which was then standing, and is a curiousspecimen of architecture, both internally and externally. The mill isalso the original one, with a modern addition to one end; I made asketch of the house and mill. The manor-house, which is stillstanding, is said to be of very great antiquity and extent. It wasoriginally a splendid mansion, designed, as well for the purposes ofdefense against the excesses of a lawless age, as for the purposes ofa permanent family residence. It is still richly ornamented withcarved work, and if left to itself unassailed by the hand of violence,it will stand for ages. The familiar motto of the family arms,borrowed from the Roman poet, is still to be seen upon the walls ofthe manor house, its bold words informing us that the family who haveadopted it as their text of life were "accustomed to swear in thewords of no master: (*Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri*). Itis alike in keeping with the independent spirit of an Englishgentleman of the middle ages and with that of a Puritan of the 17thCentury, who spurned the dictation of ecclesiastical domination."
--- Henry R. Stiles, *Genealogies and Biographies of AncientWindsor, Connecticut*, vol. 2, 1892, p. 798
From http://osu.orst.edu/~wolcottj/england.htm 7 Aug 1998
THE WOLCOTT FAMILY IN ENGLAND
This material is copywrited 1997, and may not be used for gain orwithout attribution. It may not be duplicated without permission fromJohn B. Wolcott,
[email protected].
Papers brought to America by Henry Wolcott include an ancientmanuscript, dated 1618, conveying to Henry's brother, ChristopherWolcott, land in the parishes of
Tolland and Lydiard St. Lawrence in the county of Somerset "which noware or lately were parcel of the Manor of Galdon." These lands wereinherited by Henry
Wolcott when Christopher died in 1639.
Frederick Henry Wolcott, a descendant of Henry Wolcott, visitedTolland in 1848. He hired H. G. Somerby, a professional researcher, tofind what he could about
the family's English roots. In 1849 Mr. Somerby reported that he hadfound the names of William and Thomas Wolcott on the subsidy rolls ofTolland for 1525. He
also located several Wolcott wills, including the wills of Henry'sfather and grandfather. These are now among papers deposited in theNew England Historical and
Genealogical Society Library.
American Wolcotts came to believe that the property Henry Wolcottinherited from his brother was the principle residence at Tollandknown as Gauldon Manor.
An Inquest Post Mortem, taken at the time that Christopher Wolcottdied, however, shows that the property purchased by Christopher wasonly part of the manor,
consisting of three houses and a mill. One of these houses with theadjascent mill was apparently the home of Henry's father andgrandfather, as well as Henry's
birthplace. This house has been renovated and is now a residencecalled Watersmeet Farm.
Most of the remainder of the lands that once were the manor ofGauldon, including the main farm called Gauldon Farm, a fulling milladjascent to it, twelve acres of
wood, and two enclosed lots of eight acres called Serles, waspurchased by John Turberville of Sampford Peverell, Devon in 1615.Gauldon Farm was refurbished
by the Turbervilles with the ornate plaster decorations, which includethe Turberville coat of arms, that distinguish the house today. Thehouse remained in the
Turberville family until 1731, after which it passed to successiveowners. The house is known today as Gauldon Manor and has recentlybeen reburbished and
beautifully landscaped. It is now open to the public on certain daysfor a fee. Wolcotts never owned or occupied it, although Henry'swife's aunt, Anne Sellack, lived
there for a while before the Turbervilles purchased it.
Another belief held by some of the American Wolcotts was that theWolcotts of Tolland were related to the Walcott family of Shropshire.This was assumed
because some early members of the American Wolcott family used acoat-of-arms which had been granted to the Shropshire Walcotts. Thesearms are engraved on
a tombstone of Samuel Wolcott of Wethersfield, Connecticut, who diedin 1734, and on a cup said to have belonged to Roger Wolcott who diedin 1767. This
coat-of-arms, showing three chess rooks and a chevron, was granted toJohn Walcott of Shropshire about 1415. A genealogy, created by H. G.Somerby in the
last century, purported to trace the family of Henry Wolcott backthrough 14th generations to the Walcotts of Shropshire:
"1. Jeran Walcott, son of Sir John of Walcott who married Anna,daughter of John Mynde of Shropshire
2. Roger Walcott of Walcott who married Edith, daughter of Sir WilliamDonnes, knight
3. Sir Phillip Walcott of Walcott who married Julian, daughter of JohnHerle
4. John Walcott of Walcott who married Alice, daughter of Davil Lloyd
5. Sir John Walcott of Walcott
6.Thomas Walcott
7. John Walcott
8 John Walcott ofWalcott who married Matilda, daughter of Sir RichardCornwall (1413).
9. Roger Walcott of Walcott who married Margaret, daughter of DavidLloyd
10. William Wolcott, settled Tolland, Somersetshire
11. William Wolcott, who married Elizabeth. His will is dated 1500
12. Thomas Wolcott, who was living in Tolland in 1525
13. Thomas Wolcott, who married Alice. Will dated Nov. 4, 1572
14. John Wolcott of Golden Manor, in Tolland. Will proved Nov. 10,1623
15. Henry Wolcott - the emigrant."
The first nine of these names are from a pedigree registered by theWalcott family in the Visitation of Shropshire in 1623. The 8th named,John Walcott, living in
1415, was granted the arms with chess rooks that the American Wolcottsused. John's son, Roger (9), fathered Edward Walcott (10) who was bornabout 1450.
There is no record of Edward ever having a brother,William, which Mr.Somerby assigned to him. William's name was apparently added toconnect this family to a
William Wulcote of Dulverton, Somerset, whose will dated 1500 andproved 1530 was found by Mr. Somerby in England. This will leavesbequests to William's
wife, Elizabeth, and several godchildren, but makes no mention of anychildren, indicating that he probably died childless.
The names of William and Thomas Wolcott of Tolland that appear on theTolland subsidy rolls in 1525, are also on Tolland tax rolls of 1535and 1539. The William
who lived at Tolland as late as 1539 could not have been the Williamof Dulverton whose will was proved in 1530. In addition, the ThomasWolcott (13) who died
in 1572 was actually Henry's great uncle, not his grandfather. Inshort, this genealogy was apparently fabricated and there seems to beno evidence supporting a
relationship between the Walcott family of Shropshire and the Wolcottfamily of Tolland.
This was the opinion of Samuel Wolcott, who was author of the firstWolcott genealogy, published in 1881. In it he says: "Besides thenotes above, Mr. Somerby
prepared an elaborate genealogy table which has been widely publishedand which carried the family back to the 11th century in Wales andtraced it's descent
through a titled Walcott family of Shropshire, basing his argument onthe identity of the family arms and names. We appreciate the force ofthese considerations, but
as this table is conjectural and as we reserve these pages for papersof clear authority, we no not reproduce the list." Samuel was apersonal friend of Fredrick
Wolcott who hired Mr. Somerby and used Frederick's papers in writinghis book. He was in a position to know if Somerby's conclusion wassupported by facts.
No link could be found by John Burton, author of a book about theShropshire Walcotts published in England in 1930, based on thatfamilies papers and
documents. This is also the conclusion recently reached by MichaelWalcott, a professional English genealogist who was hired toinvestigate the connection, and by
Somerset historian, Robin Bush, in his recent book, Somerset Stories.
Wolcott's are found in Devonshire, the county adjascent to Somerset,and it seems probable that the Wolcotts of Devon and Somerset aredescended from a
common ancestor. They are found in Devonshire as early as the 14thcentury and only show up in Somerset in the 16th century, so it seemslikely that the Somerset
branches originated in Devon.
In 1332, John de Wollecote was living at Thrushelton, a manor on theroad between Okehampton and Lydford in Devonshire. He may have beenthe father of
Ralph Wolcote of Thrushelton, who, with his wife, Meliora, arementioned in a deed dated 1419. Documents dated 1433 show that Melioragranted the Wolcott
lands at Thrushelton to John Bidlake as a marriage settlement upon hismarriage to Joan Wolcott. Joan is shown in these documents to havebeen a daughter of John
Wolcott of Sourton, son of Thomas Wolcott of Sourton. Thomas and John,therefore, were probably Ralph and Meliora's son and grandson. JoanBidlake and all
of her children died and the Wolcott properties at Thrushelton andSourton were returned by John Bidlake to a Wolcott line which lived atOkehampton. This line
probably included the John Wolcott who was mayor of Exeter in 1565.
Other information about the Wolcott family is found in the Visitationof Devon, recorded in 1620. In that document, Joan Bidlake's father,John Wolcott, is said to
have had a half-brother called John Wolcote of Chagford. TheVisitation names their father, Walter rather than Thomas, so perhapsWalter was John's half-brother
and John of Chagford was John's nephew. John Wolcote of Chagford issaid in the Visitation to have been the son of Alice, daughter of HughSkerret of Chagford.
John of Chagford probably lived from about 1400 until about 1470.
According to the Visitation record, John Wolcott of Chagford, "for hisgood services in the wars, had an addition to his arms of a chief, or,with a fleur de lis
between two annulets." Such an addition to a coat of arms was calledan "augmentation of honor" and was a distinction usually awarded bythe King, himself. To
have been given the augmentation, John must have already been theacknowleged bearer of a coat of arms. Based on the presence of thefleur de lis on the
augmentation, we can assume that this award was made for service onthe battlefields of France during the Hundred Years' War (1339-1453).The manor of
Sourton, where Thomas and John Wolcott, John's father andhalf-brother, held land, was owned by William Talbot, a member of aprominent military family of the
time. It is probable that John served the Talbots as a man-at-arms,and that he was awarded the augmentation some time around 1430 by JohnTalbot, Earl of
Shrewsbury, commander of the English forces in France.
Three sons of John of Chagford, John, Richard, and Thomas, are namedin the 1620 Visitation. The second eldest, Richard, was probably bornabout 1420. The
Visitation says that Richard's son, John Wolcott of Lustleigh, marriedMaude, widow of William Westcote of North Tawton. A Chanceryproceeding shows that
this marriage took place about 1467. According to the Visitation,John's son and heir was named Richard. Unless Maude was a second wife,Richard would have
to have been born some time around 1470. Richard's son and heir,according to the Visitation, was Peter Wolcott of Lustleigh.
Lustleigh is located southeast of Chagford on the Wrey River, directlyacross the river from the manor of Wreyland. Most of Wreyland manorwas technically part
of the parish of Bovey Tracy, a village four miles down river. A smallportion of the manor was included in the neighboring parish ofHennock. An entry in the
records of Wreyland Manor for 1501 says that Peter Wolcote was "withThomas Wolcote out of the King's assize." This meant that he wasliving with Thomas
Wolcott in Wreyland manor and was of an age to be registered infrankpledge. Registration was usually done somewhere around age 14.Peter of Lustleigh was the
only known Peter Wolcott living in 1501, and he would have been ayouth at that time.
Thomas Wolcott lived just across the river from Lustleigh at a farmcalled Wreyford. He seems likely to have been a younger brother ofJohn Wolcott of Lustleigh.
Peter's father, Richard Wolcott, may have been dead, for apparentlyThomas was acting as Peter's guardian. In 1524 Peter was an adultliving at Lustleigh. The
Visitation says that he purchased land in the neighboring town ofHennock which was the home of his son and heir, John. John Wolcott ofHennock is the only
Wolcott who appears on Hooker's list of the "principle gentry in QueenElizabeth's time."
In the Wreyland manorial accounts for 1480 we find a record of ThomasWolcott taking up tenancy in the farm called Wreyford, formerly heldby Henry Wreyford,
Sr., and later by Henry Wreyford, Jr., who died in 1480. It ispossible that Thomas was related to them in some way. Thomas' nameappears quite often in the
manorial accounts until they end in 1501. He served as reeve, a manorofficial who represented the manor tenants, in 1482, 1493, and in1498. Thomas' land
included land called "Mill land" and was directly adjascent toLustleigh mill.
The names of two other Wolcotts appear in the Wreyland Manor records.In 1488 John Wolcote entered into frankpledge with John Merdon, Sr. ashis sponsor.
This indicates that John was living with John Merdon and was bornabout 1474. This was the right age to have been a son of Thomas. JohnMerdon may have been
a relative, or perhaps John Wolcott worked for him as a hired hand. In1496, John Wolcott took tenancy in a farm vacated by a ThomasOlmstead. It was called
Middle Wreyland and was located directly adjascent to Thomas Wolcott'sland. Both Thomas and John Wolcott were living at Wreyland in 1501when the manor
accounts end. John was apparently the John Wolcott who lived atPullbrook, an ancient farm located about one mile from Wreyland in theparish of Bovey Tracy. In
1524 John Wolcott of Pullbrook was the third wealthiest Wolcott inDevonshire, paying a tax on goods valued at 18L per year. He isprobably also the John
Wolcot who held land in Newton Abbot, a town down-river from Wreylandand Bovey Tracy, in 1547. John of Pullbrook died in 1549.
Another entry in the Wreyland Manor accounts, dated 1500, says thatWilliam Wolcott was assigned with John Merdon, Sr., as pledge. Thiswas the same person
that John Wolcott was living with when he entered into frankpledge.William would thus have been born about 1486, and was apparently abrother of John of
Pullbrook, and another son of Thomas of Wreyland.
This is probably the William Wolcott who was involved in a dispute in1520. John Dawe, son and heir of John Dawe of Newton Abbot complainedthat his father
had held a farm in Moreton Sampford which he had leased to John Webberand his heirs. After both John Dawe and John Webber died, John Dawe,the son,
claimed the land as his inheiritance. William Wolcott and John Atwell,however, entered upon the land claiming title. It apears that WilliamWolcott and John Atwell
claimed the land as heirs of John Webber, so they may have been hisnephews or sons-in-law.
The death of a William Wolcott was recorded in the Bovey Tracy parishrecords in 1550: "William Ulcot de Crowd Subito obit in via Newton",that is, he was living
at Upper Crowd and died on the road to Newton. He was buried at BoveyTracy. There is a Crowde in the parish of Harberton, 15 miles south ofBovey Tracy.
Newton would be Newton Abbot, the town 7 miles southeast of BoveyTracy where John of Pullbrook owned land and where the John Dawe whobrought suit
against William Wolcott in 1520 lived.
William Wolcott was born at Wreyland about 1485 and was living in1520, so he should probably be listed in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524and 1525 which list all
the heads of families living in Devon. Those people listed were taxedon either land or goods or wages, whichever was the largest. The taxwas levied on them at the
location of their principle residence. There were two Williams mentionin these rolls. One was a William Wolcott living at Bovey Tracy, theparish in which Wreyland
lay. He is taxed on 3L in lands in 1524, but not listed on the roll of1525. The other is William Wolcott who is taxed on 3L in lands on theTolland subsidy rolls of
1525. Is it possible that William moved from Bovey Tracy to Tolland?
There are several facts that support this theory. William of Wreylandwas apparently the son of Thomas Wolcott of Wreyland. William ofTolland appears to have
been the father of Thomas of Tolland. Thomas of Wreyland's land waslocated adjascent to Lustleigh mill. Two of the sons of Thomas Wolcottof Tolland, and
perhaps Thomas himself, operated mills at Tolland, so there seem to beboth names and occupations in common.
William Wolcott's name is the first name to appear on the list of 17tax payers at Tolland. Thomas Wolcott is in the middle of the list,with land valued at 5L per
year. Nearly all of the other names are arranged in order according totheir wealth. William's name, however, comes first on the list, beforethat of the wealthiest man
in the parish, John Stodden, who held land valued at 30L per year.Examining the list, one can clearly see that the last name on it,Thomas Duddorad, has been
squeezed in. Could it be that William Wolcott's name was also addedlater and was put in at the top because there was no more room at thebottom, or in the place
that his tax would have placed him? If so, it is reasonable to thinkhe was a newcomer to the parish.
If William Wolcott of Wreyland was the William who engaged in adispute in 1520 with John Dawe, Jr., over land that had belonged toJohn Seller, these names
also tie in with the Wolcotts of Tolland. In 1535 and 1538 William andThomas Wolcott and Simon and John Seller all appear on tax roll atTolland. The will of
John Seller of Tolland, dated 1542, has Thomas Wolcott, Sr., as awitness. The will of Thomas Wolcott, Jr. of Tolland, dated 1572,mentions his brother-in-law
John Dawe. The will of John Seller of Tolland, dated 1572, has JohnWolcott, Sr. and John Dawe as overseers. The will of another JohnSeller of Tolland, dated
1581, has Thomas Dawe and John Wolcott the elder, both of Tolland, asoverseers.
We have not proven that the Tolland Wolcott were descended from theWolcotts of Devonshire. The facts we have, however, do seem to pointto that conclusion.
For those interested in heraldry, the following information about theWolcott coat of arms is given. The College of Arms, the officialauthority for authorizing and
recording English coats of arms, has registered the Wolcott coat ofarms as: "Per pale azure and gules, on a cross flory argent, fivemartlets sable. On a chief or, a
fleur de lis between two annulets pupure. Crest: a griffins headcouped avashed argent, gutty de sang, in the beak a fleur de lis azurecharged with three bezants" On
this manuscript there is a marginal note referring to an earliermanuscript, of the Tudor period or earlier, which gave these same armsfor John Wolcott of Exeter.
This probably refers to John of Chagford's eldest son, John ofChudley, or his son, John.
Several early rolls of arms give similar data with slight variations.Joseph Holland's Roll of Arms, dated about 1579, gives the same armswith "annulets of the same"
for "Walcot of Exeter". Hooker's Mss. 5827, made about 1580, givessimilar arms for Wolcott, without stating the color of the cross, buthas the chief contain "a
rose between two fleur de lis proper". Brooke's Mss 28834, dated about1587, gives the same arms as Holland with the "annulets gules", forWolcote. There is
another manuscript at the College of Arms, undated but thought to befrom the period of Henry VIII (1505-1546), which would make it olderthan any of the
aforementioned Rolls of Arms. It gives the arms of Wolcott the samewith the "annulets gules".
Burke's General Armory gives arms for the Woolcott family of Morstonlike that of the College of Arms, but with the shield "azure", andWalcot of Oxford like the
College of Arms, but with the cross "patonce" and the "annuletsgules." These two coats were used by descendants of John of Chagford'ssecond son, Richard. The
descendants of Maximillian Wolcott of Knole House, Devon, alsoRichard's descendants, used arms like the College of Arms, with thecross "or". Two other
variations are known, one for Woolcot with a chief charged with across between two fleur de lis, and one for Woolcott with the shieldgules and a chief with a fleur
de lis between two crosses formee of the first.
The first law regulating coats of arms in England were issued by KingHenry V in 1417. It was then proclaimed that no one could assume armsunless he held them
by right of inheritance or by the donation of some person who had thepower to give them "except for those who with us carried them at thebattle of Agincourt."
John Wolcott of Chagford is thought to have been born some time around1400, so in is conceivable that he may have been present at thatbattle.
Two treatices on arms of the period, one written in 1394 by John deBado Aurea, and the other written in 1466 by Nicholas Upton, statethat the martlet, when
used on arms, indicated that the first bearer of them had acquirednobility by his own exertions or by the patronage of a Lord or King,since the martlet is shown
without feet, indicating that he had lacked foundations of his own tobegin with. This seems to fit John of Chagford's acquisition of thesearms. The bleeding griffin's
head with the gold coins on the fleur de lis in it's mouth may referto wounds in battle against the French, leading to treasure obtained,perhaps, through the ransom
of prisoners taken on the battlefield.
1
Marriage 1 (w of John1 Wolcott) ---
Children
Jeran WOLCOTT b: in "of" Wolcott
Sources:
Abbrev: Imported GEDCOM file
Title: GEDCOM file imported on 6 Mar 2000.
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