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

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

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 the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

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

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

and graduated from

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Scho ...

(

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.

) in 1886, from Phillips Academy (

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

) in 1887, and from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

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 student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. 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 or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

Norfolk, Connecticut Norfolk () is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Norfolk census-designated place, with a population of 553 at the 2010 census. Norfolk is pe ...

, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 preve ...

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 A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

from 1925 to 1929, serving as president pro tempore from 1927 to 1929. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

from 1941 to 1948.

Death

Walcott died in Stamford, Connecticut 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