Discovering the Walcott connection

Family history lore in McKean County had long advanced the notion that the wife of Isaac Burlingame, Sophronia Wolcott, had been a descendent of Oliver Wolcott, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. But, back in 2002 and 2003, I checked the lineage of Oliver Wolcott's descendants and could find no obvious connection.

I decided to email John Wolcott, the person who maintains the Wolcott family history website (http://wolcottfamily.com/ ). Researchers connected to the site have found various spelling variations -- Woolcot, Willcot, Walcott and Walcott, for example. John was very kind to provide a quick reply and he easily found Sophronia in his records. He told me that her family had changed the spelling of their name from the original 'Walcott' to 'Wolcott'. With this new information, I learned that Sophronia Wolcott is actually descended from Jonathon Walcott, the head of militia for the town of Salem, Massachusetts. (See the link elsewhere on this site for information the Walcotts of Salem, descendants of William Walcott (who arrived in America in 1640).

Under John Wolcott's creative leadership, a worldwide DNA analysis project has been initiated through the male descendants of the various lines. The Walcott's of Eastern England page provides the following DNA analysis related to Sophronia's ancestors (and her descendants):

The Wolcott/Walcott/Wilcott DNA project has found that descendants of Emmanuel Walcott of Buckinghamshire (c.1570-c.1650) and Thomas Walcot of Hampshire (c.1680-1722) share somewhat similar DNA. There is also some similarity between these two Walcott participants and the descendants of William Walcott who immigrated to Salem MA in 1638. All show a Nordic origin, unlike the Walcots of Shropshire who have Celtic DNA, or the Wolcotts of Devon and Somerset, both who have Anglo-Saxon genetic origins. Additional participants from English Walcott families are encouraged to participate in the DNA project to confirm and expand the knowlege of these families' relationships. For more information about the DNA project, return to the index and go to the DNA project web page.

DNA results indicate that the Walcotts of Eastern England descended from Danish invaders that settled in Eastern England in the 10th century. They took their surname from one or more of several settlements named Walcott. Walcot in the counties of Lincolnshire and Wiltshire, Walcott in Norfolk, and Walcote in Leicestershire and Warwickshireshire were listed in Domesday in the 11th century. Thomas de Walcote, ancestor of the Norfolk Walcots, was at Walcott, Norfolk in 1240. Warin de Walcote, ancestor of the Walcotes of Warwickshire was at Walcote, Warwickshire c.1240. Nicholas de Walcote was on the 1273 Lincolnshire subsidy roll, and Alexander de Walcot was at Walcot, Lincolnshire, in 1332. Robert de Walcote appears in Yorkshire in 1240, but his name does not appear to be taken from a Yorkshire place name. (Source: http://wolcottfamily.com/wolcottfamily/eastern.html )