Robert Treat (February 23, 1624July 12, 1710) was a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

colonial leader, militia officer and governor of the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

between 1683 and 1698. In 1666 he helped found

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

Biography

Treat was born in

Pitminster Pitminster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 956. The parish also includes the villages of Angersleigh, Blagdon Hill and Stapl ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and emigrated to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

with his family in 1630, when he was six. His father was Richard Treat and his mother was Alice Gaylord. In 1637, his family were early settlers at

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the nam ...

. He settled in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...

in 1639 and became one of the leaders of the New Haven Colony, serving in the General Court as its assembly was known. On Christmas Day, 1647 he married Jane Tapp in Milford, with whom he had eight children. Jane died on October 31, 1703. He then married Mrs. Elizabeth (Powell) Bryan, the daughter of Elder Michael and Abigail Powell of Boston, on October 24, 1705. She was twice widowed before marrying Gov. Treat. She died on January 10, 1706.

Career

When the Connecticut Charter of 1662 forced the New Haven Colony to merge with Connecticut in 1665, Treat led a group of dissidents who left the colony. They moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

in 1666 where they were joined by other dissidents from

Branford, Connecticut Branford is a shoreline town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, about east of downtown New Haven. The population was 28,273 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a to ...

, another part of the former New Haven Colony. The dissidents from Branford were led by

Abraham Pierson, the elder Abraham Pierson, the elder (1611–1678) was an English Nonconformist clergyman, known as a Congregational minister in New England. He reportedly came to the American colonies in 1639 to escape persecution for his Puritan views. Later, he and ot ...

. Treat wanted the new community to be named Milford. Pierson, a devout Puritan, preferred the name New Ark, and this place is now known as Newark. Treat returned to Milford, Connecticut in 1672 and lived there the rest of his life. Treat headed the colony's militia for several years, principally against the Narragansett Indians. This included participating in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

in 1676, where he was named Commander-in-Chief of Connecticut's forces. Treat, for example, had a crucial role in fighting that took place near

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massac ...

, along with 300 Connecticut militiamen. He also took part in the Great Swamp Fight, one of the bloodiest battles of the war, against the Narragansetts. He served on the Governor's Council continuously from 1676 to 1708. First elected Governor in 1683, Treat was supplanted by

Sir Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

in 1687, making Connecticut part of the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was an administrative union of English colonies covering New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies (except for Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania). Its political structure repres ...

. Treat is credited with having a role in concealing the state's charter in the

Charter Oak The Charter Oak was an unusually large white oak tree growing on Wyllys Hyll in Hartford, Connecticut in the United States, from around the 12th or 13th century until it fell during a storm in 1856. According to tradition, Connecticut's Roy ...

, and resumed his job as governor when the dominion scheme fell apart in 1689. He was re-elected annually until being defeated by Fitz-John Winthrop in 1698.

Death

Treat died in Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, on July 12, 1710. He is interred at Milford Cemetery in Connecticut.

Notable descendants

His descendants include: * Robert Treat Paine (1731–1814), signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

(1847–1931), inventor * Sidney Mason Stone (1803-1882), architect *

Margaret Sidney Harriett Lothrop was an American author also known by her pseudonym Margaret Sidney (June 22, 1844 – August 2, 1924). In addition to writing popular children's stories, she ran her husband Daniel Lothrop's publishing company after his death. ...

(1844-1924) author of Five Little Peppers children's series. * Nathaniel Treat (1798–1895), politician *

Joseph B. Treat Joseph Bradford Treat (December 22, 1836December 23, 1919) was an American businessman and Republican politician. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Green County, and later served as chairman of the Republican Pa ...

(1836–1919), politician * Charles Treat (1859–1941), general * Charles H. Treat (1842–1910), Treasurer of the United States from 1905 to 1909 * Charles W. Woodworth (1865–1940), entomologist * Treat Williams (b. 1951), Actor/Director/Singer/PilotTreat Williams
/ref>

References

External links