Frederic Collin Walcott (February 19, 1869April 27, 1949) was a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Biography

Born in New York Mills,

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

, the son of William Stuart Walcott and Emeline Alice Welch Walcott, Walcott attended the public schools of

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

and graduated from

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

(

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

) in 1886, from

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

(

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

) in 1887, and from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1891, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

. He married Frances Dana Archbold February 14, 1899, and she died the same year. He married Mary Hussey Guthrie on April 3, 1907, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the nephew of

William H. Welch William Henry Welch (April 8, 1850 – April 30, 1934) was an American physician, pathologist, bacteriologist, and medical-school administrator. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1907 and engaged in the manufacture of cotton cloth and banking. When Walcott moved to

Norfolk, Connecticut Norfolk () is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Regi ...

, in 1910, he continued his business connections in New York City until 1921, when he retired from active business pursuits. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Walcott served with the

United States Food Administration The United States Food Administration (1917–1920) was an independent federal agency that controlled the production, distribution, and conservation of food in the U.S. during the nation's participation in World War I. It was established to prev ...

as assistant to Herbert Hoover; he was decorated by the government of France with the Legion of Honor and by Poland with the Officer's Cross. He was president of the Connecticut Board of Fisheries and Game from 1923 to 1928 and chairman of the Connecticut Water Commission from 1925 to 1928. He was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Connecticut in 1924, 1928, and 1932. Walcott was a member of the

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

from 1925 to 1929, serving as president pro tempore from 1927 to 1929. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1929, to January 3, 1935, and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1934. From 1935 to 1939, Walcott was commissioner of welfare of Connecticut, and a member of the advisory committee of the Human Welfare Group of Yale University from 1920 to 1948, and of Bethume Cookman College, Daytona, Florida, from 1922 to 1948. He also served as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

from 1941 to 1948.

Death

Walcott died in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

on April 27, 1949, (age 80 years, 67 days). He is interred at New Milford Center Cemetery in New Milford.

References

External links

* Frederic Collin Walcott papers (MS 529). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library

Govtrack US Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Frederic 1869 births 1949 deaths Lawrenceville School alumni Phillips Academy alumni Republican Party United States senators from Connecticut Yale University alumni Republican Party Connecticut state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate People from New York Mills, New York People from Norfolk, Connecticut Members of Skull and Bones 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly