Wolcott

Henry Wolcott b. 1578

/ Kirstin Miller

Henry Wolcott 12th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

Henry was born in December 1578 in Lydeard St Lawrence, Somerset, England and baptized there on December 6 at Lydeard St. Lawrence Church. In 1606 he married Elizabeth Saunders in the same church. The Wolcott family left for America in 1630 on the The Mary and John. They lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts for a year or so, then moved to 100 miles west to Windsor, Connecticut.
In Dorchester Humphrey was an assessor, fenceviewer and selectman. He was a deputy of the Court, constable and tax collector in Windsor. Henry’s brother John was living in Lydeard in April 1636 and wrote a letter to Henry. John wrote Henry of their brother Christopher’s death, King Charles at war with Scotland, how times had changed and prayers for Henry’s safety in the new country.

Henry and his wife died within a couple months, “Mr Henry Wolcot dyed may 30th 1655. The wife if Henry Wolcot dyed July 5 1655”. They’re buried in Palisado Cemetery in Windsor, CT. They share a tombstone added years after their deaths, Henry’s inscription on one side, Elizabeth’s on the other.

Henry made his will o the day he died, “The thirtieth of May (1655), I HENRY WOLCOTT, sick of body, but of perfect memory, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, in manner and form following. First I commend my soul to God my maker, hoping assuredly through the only merit of Jesus Christ my Saviour, to be a partaker of life everlasting; and I commend my body to the earth, whereof it was made. I will that my wife shall have all my house lot, orchard, garden, hopyard and my lot in Plymouth meadow, during the term of her natural life. Also, I give unto my wife two of my cows, and half the household goods in my dwelling house”. Henry mentions each child and gifts them specific items.

Sources

Job Drake b. 1622 and Mary Wolcott b. 1622

/ Kirstin Miller

Job Drake, 11th great grandfather married Mary Wolcott. Job was b. in Devon, England 1622/3. Mary was born in Tolland, England 1622/3. They both arrived at Boston in 1630 on the “Mary and John”. Job was 7, not sure who he arrived with. Mary was 8 and came with her family. [Source listed on Ancestry.com for these facts: SPEAR, BURTON W. “Passengers Aboard the Mary & John.” In The Second Boat (Pentref Press, Machias, ME), vol. 1:2 (Aug. 1980), pp. 4-8.]

It’s a coincidence they arrived in America on the same ship. Mary’s family ends up in Connecticut by 1636. Job’s family location is not known. On June 25, 1646 they marry, probably in Windsor, Connecticut. I wonder if they ever knew they arrived together in America- did people of those times talk about things like that in getting to know each other?

An even bigger coincidence is that this husband and wife die on the exact same day: September 16, 1689. Their double headstone is at FindAGrave in the Palisado Cemetery,
Windsor, Connecticut: Mrs. Marih Drake, Mr Job Drake.

Sources

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Place: Boston, Massachusetts; Year: 1630; Page Number: 8. Listed as source for this $ source: “Passengers Aboard the Mary & John.”  by Spear, Burton, -at Ancestry $ 

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, free via Ancestry. The Drakes