4th of July + The Wolcott Family

All over America I'm sure other bloggers are cleaning camera lenses & hanging patriotic bunting in hopes of capturing a little slice of what family & country means to them. And I'll love perusing all of them, but I'd like to show you what it looks like to me... in a slightly different sense.

This is (obviously) the Declaration of Independence

And here it is again, only zoomed into the bottom left. Notice anything strange?

Yep, that totally says Oliver Wolcott. "Hey Lauren, isn't Wolcott your last name too? What a crazy coincidence!" That's no coincidence, my friends. My great-great-(I don't know how many greats)-uncle was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. We've also got some long-ago Governors in there, I guess the Wolcotts used to be kind of a big deal especially in the New England region. It makes a pretty good party story & typically the only person who can top it is Emma whose uncle is Michael Keaton. (I know you all just got twice as excited for Michael Keaton than ol' Oliver... no use denying it, I understand)

So lately I've been thinking of joining Daughters of the American Revolution. I'm 98% sure I qualify & I like the work they do with veterans, & hopefully someday that could benefit my hypothetical future daughter though scholarships. 

(P.s I totally received a small scholarship from the Wolcott foundation so I'm pretty certain my kids would be a shoo-in for that too. I've practically got their college covered before I even found their dad. haha)

And if the lineage wasn't enough, I'm sure my obcession with First Lady & my ability to make kick-ass patriotic cakes would get me in.  So I'll be diving knee-deep in genealogical research pretty soon for my application & might uncover some more family stories to share

So happy Independence Day, everyone! Have fun at your cook outs & fireworks, Uncle Oliver would be proud.

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."