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Oliver Wolcott, Jr.
2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office February 3, 1795 – December 31, 1800
Preceded by	Alexander Hamilton
Succeeded by	Samuel Dexter
Born	January 11, 1760 Litchfield, Connecticut, USA
Died	June 1, 1833 (aged 73) New York City, New York, USA
Political party	Federalist
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
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Oliver Wolcott Jr. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833) was United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1795 to 1800 and governor of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827.

He was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, son of Oliver Wolcott, Sr. and Laura Collins Wolcott. He graduated from Yale University in 1778, later studying law at Litchfield Law School and being admitted to the bar in 1781.

Wolcott was appointed in 1784 as one of the commissioners to mediate claims between the U.S. and the state of Connecticut. After serving as state comptroller of Connecticut from 1788-90, he was named auditor of the federal treasury, and became Comptroller of the Treasury in 1791.

He was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by George Washington in 1795 to succeed Alexander Hamilton; as Secretary, he was Washington's intermediary in getting the Collector of Customs for Portsmouth, New Hampshire to ship a runaway slave-woman back to Mount Vernon if it could be done quietly; it could not be, and she remained there.^[1] He resigned in 1800 due to unpopularity, and a particularly vitriolic campaign against him in the press in which, among other things, he was falsely accused of setting fire to the State Department building.

In 1799, as Secretary of the Treasury, he designed the United States Customs Service flag.

From 1803 to 1815 he operated in private business in New York City, afterwards retiring to Litchfield. He was elected governor in 1817 as a "Toleration Republican", following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and serving ten years in the post. His tenure was noted for the economic growth and moderate policies that attended it. Additionally, he presided over a convention that created a new state constitution in 1818.

Wolcott died in New York City and is interred at East Cemetery in Litchfield. Prior to his death, Wolcott had been the last surviving member of the Washington Cabinet.

The town of Wolcott, Connecticut was named in honor of Oliver Jr. and his father Oliver.

1. ^ Wills,Negro President p. 209.

• Oliver Wolcott, Jr. House
• The Ingraham Library
• Oliver Wolcott, Jr. at Find A Grave

v • d • e United States Secretaries of the Treasury

Hamilton • Wolcott • Dexter • Gallatin • Campbell • Dallas • Crawford • Rush • Ingham • McLane • Duane • Taney • Woodbury • Ewing • Forward • Spencer • Bibb • Walker • Meredith • Corwin • Guthrie • Cobb • Thomas • Dix • Chase • Fessenden • McCulloch • Boutwell • Richardson • Bristow • Morrill • Sherman • Windom • Folger • Gresham • McCulloch • Manning • Fairchild • Windom • Foster • Carlisle • Gage • Shaw • Cortelyou • MacVeagh • McAdoo • Glass • Houston • Mellon • Mills • Woodin • Morgenthau • Vinson • Snyder • Humphrey • Anderson • Dillon • Fowler • Barr • Kennedy • Connally • Shultz • Simon • Blumenthal • Miller • Regan • Baker • Brady • Bentsen • Rubin • Summers • O'Neill • Snow • Paulson

v • d • e Governors of Connecticut

Trumbull Sr • M Griswold • Huntington • Wolcott, Sr. • Trumbull Jr • Treadwall • R Griswold • Smith • Wolcott, Jr. • Tomlinson • Peters • Edwards • Foot • Edwards • Ellsworth • Cleveland • RS Baldwin • Toucey • Bissell • Trumbull • Seymour • Pond • Dutton • Minor • Holley • Buckingham • Hawley • English • Jewell • English • Jewell • Ingersoll • Hubbard • Andrews • Bigelow • Waller • Harrison • P Lounsbury • Bulkeley • Morris • Coffin • Cooke • G Lounsbury • McLean • Chamberlain • Roberts • Woodruff • Lilley • Weeks • S. Baldwin • Holcomb • Lake • Templeton • Bingham • JH Trumbull • Cross • R Baldwin • Hurley • R Baldwin • Snow • McConaughy • Shannon • Bowles • Lodge • Ribicoff • Dempsey • Meskill • Grasso • O'Neill • Weicker • Rowland • Rell

v • d • e Cabinet of President George Washington (1789-1797)
Vice President	John Adams (1789-1797)
Secretary of State	Thomas Jefferson (1789-1793) • Edmund Randolph (1794-1795) • Timothy Pickering (1795-1797)
Secretary of the Treasury	Alexander Hamilton (1789-1795) • Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1795-1797)
Secretary of War	Henry Knox (1789-1794) • Timothy Pickering (1795-1795) • James McHenry (1796-1797)
Attorney General	Edmund Randolph (1789-1794) • William Bradford (1794-1795) • Charles Lee (1795-1797)
Postmaster General	Samuel Osgood (1789-1791) • Timothy Pickering (1791-1795) • Joseph Habersham (1795-1797)

v • d • e Cabinet of President John Adams (1797-1801)
Vice President	Thomas Jefferson (1797-1801)
Secretary of State	Timothy Pickering (1797-1800) • John Marshall (1800-1801)
Secretary of the Treasury	Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (17970-1801) • Samuel Dexter (1801)
Secretary of War	James McHenry (1796-1800) • Samuel Dexter (1800-1801)
Attorney General	Charles Lee (1797-1801)
Postmaster General	Joseph Habersham (1797-1801)
Secretary of the Navy	Benjamin Stoddert (1798-1801)