Wolcott, Oliver, 1760–1833, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1795–1800), b. Litchfield, Conn; son of Oliver Wolcott. Admitted to the bar in 1781, he served as Connecticut comptroller (1788–89), auditor of the U.S. treasury (1789–91), and U.S. comptroller (1791–95). A Federalist and loyal follower of Alexander Hamilton, he succeeded Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and was bitterly, but unfairly, attacked by Republicans for misappropriating funds. Wolcott left the Federalist party during the War of 1812, and was elected (1817) governor of Connecticut as a Republican, serving until 1827. As president of the 1818 state constitutional convention, he led the successful fight for a wider suffrage, an independent judiciary, and the disestablishment of the Congregationalist Church.
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