Peter Olcott

Who was Peter Olcott?

Peter Olcott was a Vermont public official and military officer who served as a Brigadier General in the colonial militia and Lieutenant Governor.

Born in Bolton, Connecticut. He moved to Norwich, Vermont in the early 1770s and served in numerous local offices, including Overseer of the Poor, Justice of the Peace and County Judge.

Olcott was active during the American Revolution. He served as Sequestration Commissioner for Tory Property in 1777 and was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1778. He was a Colonel in the Vermont militia, and his regiment took part in the Battles of Bennington and Saratoga. From 1781 to 1788 Olcott was commander of the Vermont militia's Third Brigade with the rank of Brigadier General.

He was a member of the Governor's Council in 1779, and again from 1781 to 1790. Olcott served on the Vermont Supreme Court from 1782 to 1784. He served as Vermont's Lieutenant Governor from 1790 to 1794, and served in the Vermont House again in 1801. Olcott was also a Trustee of Dartmouth College from 1788 until his death.

Olcott died in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was buried in Norwich's Meeting House Hill Cemetery.