James Wolcott (pioneer)

James Wolcott (3 November 1789 – 5 January 1873) was an entrepreneur and foundational member of Maumee, Ohio. He assisted in growing the community with his plans for the future of Maumee through a prominent, long-standing business and political career. He built the now Wolcott House Museum in Maumee, Ohio.

Wolcott, one of thirteen children born to Guy and Abigail Wolcott, was born in Torrington, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States.

At a young age, Wolcott began working in woolen mills in search of fortune. He worked with his Uncle to construct and operate a woolen mill and later with Joseph H. Hughes of Delaware, Ohio. Wolcott continued his westward expansion into St. Louis, Missouri, in 1820. A year later, he married Mary Wells, daughter of William Wells and Sweet Breeze, thus granddaughter of Miami Chief Little Turtle.

The young couple took stead in Willshire, again for James' aspiring millwork. 1823, he built a Willshire home for Mary and their two sons. However, in search of prosperity, Wolcott brought his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana and eventually to the shores of the Maumee River, settling in Maumee, Ohio, in 1826. Wolcott believed that the canals of Ohio would be a good venture with their new apparatus in the Maumee River Valley. The Ohio and Erie Canal had good prospects at the time. The family set for Maumee via boat and lived in a hotel until Wolcott purchased four river tracts and began work on the "Mansion on the River." The mansion, still standing today, started as a story-and-a-half log house and grew to 14 rooms.

James Wolcott had a passion for the profits of shipping via the Maumee River, bringing goods and passengers to great ports such as Detroit, Sandusky, and Buffalo. The heyday of his enterprise reigned from 1835 to 1850. He owned two ships; in 1840, he launched the General Harrison and the James Wolcott in 1843. Before that, he served as acting agent for shipping lines and profited from the Forwarding and Commissioning business, which helped other frontier families acquire goods. He eventually built a mill for water power at the bottom of the hill leading into the river from his house. Wolcott could have seen his industry with a glance out of the southern window of his study, while passersby could gaze upon the federal-style mansion he accumulated for his family.

In 1838, James Wolcott was elected the first president of the Maumee Council. He was elected associate judge of the Lucas County Common Pleas court. The Wolcott ships were a hit and helped launch Wolcott further into the local political scene. In 1843, he served as mayor of Maumee. Wolcott was one of the individuals who helped assign Maumee as the county seat, as they believed in its long-term prosperity with river trade. Wolcott's effort helped construct a courthouse and county buildings within Maumee. In 1837, Wolcott donated a lot to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Maumee, where his family worshiped and eventually willed the mansion after the death of Rilla Hull in 1957, final member of the family to reside in the Wolcott House.

James Wolcott's political career expanded into his aid in founding the Lucas County Whig Party. Wolcott greatly supported Henry Clay, a whig, and named his fourth-born son after him. Serving as chairman of the Lucas County Whig party and traveling as a delegate to the state convention supporting Clay, Wolcott was disappointed when his wife's father's war comrade, William Henry Harrison, was chosen for the presidential nomination instead.

Unfortunately, by 1850, James Wolcott's entrepreneurial success had faded. He was left to his farming duties, which pertained to chickens, hogs, and cattle and the growing of corn, wheat, flax, peaches, and apples. The sharp turn from canals to railroads left Wolcott with near nothing but his estate and family.

In 1843, at 43, Mary Wells Wolcott died in February. James Wolcott married Caroline B. Davis in the November of the following year. Mary Ann Wolcott, the daughter of James and Mary, took the lead of the household in the interim after her mother's death and after the divorce of James and Caroline.

James Wolcott died on 5 January 1873

Legacy
The Wolcott Heritage Center resides in Maumee, Ohio. Today, offering tours teaching guests about a pioneering family of Maumee and other important local buildings that have been moved to the property

The family home passed through 4 generations. Namely through the women of the family until the death of Rilla Hull in 1957. The house was entitled to St. Paul's Episcopal Church and ownership was later transferred to the city of Maumee. In 1970, the house was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places