John Wolcott, IV

Joanna Woolcott, b. 1687 Newbury MA, d. 1751; m. Samuel Wheeler 1704 Brookfield MA, great-grandson of Pilgrim, William White. 

(4) Ruth Woolcott, b. c.1693, d. 1723 Brookfield, unmarried.
(4) John Woolcott IV, b. 1695 Brookfield MA; mentioned in Rev. Fisk's "Historical Discourse": "Oct. 13, 1708, early in the morning, John Wolcott, a lad about 12 or 14 years old, was riding in search of the cows when the Indians fired at him, killed his horse under him, and took him prisoner.... John Wolcott, the lad above mentioned, was carried to Canada where he remained six or seven years, during which time by conversing wholly with Indians he not only entirely lost his native language but became so naturalized to the savages as to be unwilling for a while to return to his native country." He returned to Brookfield and was granted 40 acres at Brookfield 1718, 60 more in 1719, 20 more in 1720, and 80 more in 1721; served in Capt. Wright's Co. 1723-5; reported killed by Indians on the upper Connecticut River in 1728 while returning from a hunting trip with a cargo of furs. He is now believed to have deserted his family and returned to live among the Indians. Wilcott Island above Fort 4 on the Connecticut River was apparently where he lived. John Wilcott m. his sister-in-law, Dinah Walker, 1727 Brookfield MA. Dinah Woolcott m. (2) Peter Rice 1730 Brookfield MA. John is thought to have taken an Indian wife, either before returning from captivity or after returning to the wilderness, where he raised a son, John Wolcott, and possibly other children.
An article about this, published in the April 2008 Wolcott Family Newsletter, appears below:

THE ILLUSIVE WILCOTTS

         Our Wolcott DNA project has established some genetic patterns, one of which connects several of our "missing link" families to the Wolcotts of Brookfield, Massachusetts.  Most of these families spelled their surnames "Wilcott" in the early records.  Most of their descendants later used the "Wolcott" spelling and definitely carry Wolcott DNA.  These "missing links" start in 1772 when a John Wilcott appeared in Pennsylvania and Abner Wilcott appeared in Connecticut.  DNA tests of their descendants show that John and Abner's descendants had identical DNA. The ages are such that it is probable that Abner was John's eldest son.  Abner was born in 1747, so John would have been born about 1725.  Another missing link family, that of Barnabas Wilcott of Pennsylvania, shares the same markers, and he was probably a younger son of John.  In addition to the unique DNA markers these families share, they also carry a marker that is specific to the Brookfield Woolcotts.  Woolcotts at Brookfield are few in number and quite well documented.  There are very few Brookfield Woolcott males who could have been John's ancestor.  

John Woolcott, born at Brookfield in 1695, aroused our interest as a possible ancestor to these missing links. His is a very interesting story: "Early on the morning of October 13, 1708, John Woolcot, a lad of about 12 or 14 years old, was riding in search of the cows, when the Indians fired at him, killed his horse under him and took him prisoner…. John Woolcot, the lad above mentioned, was carried to Canada, where he remained for six or seven years, during which time, by conversing wholly with the Indians, he not only entirely lost his native language, but became so naturalized to the savages, as to be unwilling for a while to return to his native country. Some years afterwards, viz. in March 1728, in a time of peace, he and another man having been hunting, and coming down the Connecticut River with a freight of skins and fur, they were hailed by some Indians; but not being willing to go to them, they steered for another shore. The Indians landed at a little distance from them, several shots were exchanged, at length Woolcot was killed.”
When John returned from Canada in 1718, he was given 40 acres of land. The following year he was granted another 100, a year later another 70, and a year after this another 70 acres. In 1724 his father gave or sold him 41 additional acres at Brookfield, in which deed he is referred to as a "husbandman" or farmer. Six years later, in October 1727, he acquired a wife, the sister of his younger brother' wife. It was only a few months later that John went up the Connecticut River on the hunting expedition from which he never returned. In June 1728 his wife delivered a son whom she named John. It is our opinion, based on historical and DNA evidence, that John IV probably did not die on the Connecticut River in 1728, as had been reported, but instead went back to the Indians with whom he had lived for many years. The subsequent tale of his death in a fight with the Indians was probably a story to explain his disappearance.Added by Elwin C. Nickerson About This Ancestor: John Woolcott IV, b. 1695 Brookfield MA; mentioned in Rev. Fisk's "Historical Discourse": "Oct. 13, 1708, early in the morning, John Wolcott, a lad about 12 or 14 years old, was riding in search of the cows when the Indians fired at him, killed his horse under him, and took him prisoner.... John Wolcott, the lad above mentioned, was carried to Canada where he remained six or seven years, during which time by conversing wholly with Indians he not only entirely lost his native language but became so naturalized to the savages as to be unwilling for a while to return to his native country." He returned to Brookfield and was granted 40 acres at Brookfield 1718, 60 more in 1719, 20 more in 1720, and 80 more in 1721; served in Capt. Wright's Co. 1723-5; reported killed by Indians on the upper Connecticut River in 1728 while returning from a hunting trip with a cargo of furs. He is now believed to have deserted his family and returned to live among the Indians. Wilcott Island above Fort 4 on the Connecticut River was apparently where he lived. John Wilcott m. his sister-in-law, Dinah Walker, 1727 Brookfield MA. Dinah Woolcott m. (2) Peter Rice 1730 Brookfield MA. John is thought to have taken an Indian wife, either before returning from captivity or after returning to the wilderness, where he raised a son, John Wolcott, and possibly a son Joseph.
An article about this, published in the April 2008 Wolcott Family Newsletter