Christopher Parsons Wolcott was a Republican politician from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. He was Ohio Attorney General 1856–1860 and United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1862 to 1863.

Biography

Wolcott was born December 17, 1820, in Wolcott, Connecticut. In 1833 he was moved to

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city's name is deri ...

, and attended public schools. He attended

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" na ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, where he graduated in 1840. He read law with '' Tappan &

Stanton Stanton may refer to: Places United Kingdom ;Populated places * Stanton, Derbyshire, near Swadlincote * Stanton, Gloucestershire * Stanton, Northumberland * Stanton, Staffordshire * Stanton, Suffolk * New Stanton, Derbyshire * Stanton by Bri ...

'' in Steubenville, and was admitted to the bar and began practice in

Ravenna, Ohio Ravenna is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Akron. It was formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of P ...

. In Ravenna he partnered with Lucius V. Bierce. In 1846 he moved to

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. In Akron he partnered with William Otis, until Otis removed to Cleveland. He then partnered with

William H. Upson William Hanford Upson (January 11, 1823 – April 13, 1910) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer and judge from Ohio. From 1869 to 1873, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives Biography Upson was born in Worthingto ...

, which lasted the rest of his life. In 1856,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...

appointed him Ohio Attorney General to replace the deceased Francis D. Kimball. He was elected to a two-year term later in 1856, and another in 1858. His cases as attorney general included the Breslin Treasury defalcation and the Wellington Rescue, where his arguments before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

were widely celebrated. Ohio Governor William Dennison named Wolcott to replace the deceased John C. Wright at the

Peace Conference of 1861 The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The purpose of the conference was to avoid, if possible, the seces ...

. In May, 1862,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, fellow Steubenville native and Wolcott's brother in law, Edwin M. Stanton asked him to be First Assistant Secretary during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. Stanton was prophetic, as under the strain of the job, Wolcott's health gave out, leading to his resignation February, 1863. He returned to Akron. After two months of suffering, he died there April 4, 1863.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolcott, Christopher Parsons People from Jefferson County, Ohio Washington & Jefferson College alumni 1820 births Politicians from Akron, Ohio People from Ravenna, Ohio Ohio Attorneys General Ohio Republicans Ohio lawyers 1863 deaths People of Ohio in the American Civil War United States Assistant Secretaries of War 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers