Person:Robert Treat (4)

Biography

TREAT, Robert, governor of Connecticut, born in England in 1622; died in Milford, Connecticut, 12 July, 1710. Early in the 17th century he came to Wethersfield, Connecticut, with his father, Richard, who died there in 1669. The latter was a deputy from 1644 till 1658, assistant or magistrate from 1658 till 1665, and a patentee of the charter that was granted to Connecticut by Charles II. in 1662. His estate of about 900 acres in what is now Glastonbury was long known as the Treat farm. The son removed to Milford in 1639, and, although only eighteen years of age, was appointed one of nine men to survey and lay out the land. He was a deputy in 1653-'9 and again in 1665, and was assistant from 1659 till 1664. Mr. Treat was active in opposing the movement for consolidation of Connecticut and New Haven. The dissatisfied faction of the New Haven colony determined to seek another settlement, and the result was the founding of Newark, New Jersey Robert Treat went with them, and was the first town-clerk of the new settlement as well as a deputy to the 1st assembly from 1667 till 1672. He was also granted a home lot of eight acres there. In 1672 he returned to Milford, where he had been made lieutenant in the train-band in 1654, and promoted captain in 1661. He became major in 1673. In 1675 he was chosen commander-in-chief of the forces for the war with King Philip, and drove the Indians from North-field and Springfield. In their assault upon Hadley he put them to flight, and he took an active part in the destruction of the fort of the Narragansetts, 19 December, 1675. Major Treat is said to have been the last to leave the fort. He was elected deputy governor of Connecticut in 1676, and served till 1683, when he was elected governor. He was chosen again to the former post in 1698 and served till 1708. In 1683 he was elected governor and served till 1698, not including the two years under Sir Edmund Andros. In 1683 a dispute arose with the governor of New York, who claimed that Rye, Greenwich, and Stamford belonged to his jurisdiction. Governor Treat was chosen one of the commissioners to settle the controversy, and a compromise was made by giving up Rye and retaining the two other towns. When King James II. determined to withdraw their charters from the colonies and place them under a governor appointed by the crown, the loss of the liberties of the colony seems to have been a foregone conclusion from the very beginning to Mr. Treat's mind, and he determined to delay the calamity as long as possible. According to the "instructions" that he drew up for the colony's agent, his duty was first to prevent if possible the loss of the charter, and secondly, failing in this, to plead that the colony might not be divided and united to others, but allowed to remain intact. Subsequently the hope was expressed that if Connecticut was to be united with some other colony, she might be annexed to Massachusetts rather than to New York. When Governor Andros demanded the surrender of the charter, the governor and council replied that they could not comply with the request till they had heard from the king. Finally Andros went to Hartford on 31 October, 1687, to take charge of the government, and, according to Dummer, an almost contemporary writer, he "seized their charter for the king." It is commonly supposed that he did not obtain the charter. (See ANDROS.) There is no record that he ever demanded it of the assembly. He had gained possession of the government, was loyally received by the people, and, moreover, the proceedings of the next day prove that. Andros could have known nothing of the hiding of the charter from him. This act of disloyalty would certainly have caused trouble: but the hiding of a charter may have been strictly true, though there is no mention of it in the records or by contemporary writers. On 1 November, Governor Treat, though on various pretexts he had refused to surrender the charter for about two years, was made one of Governor Andros's council, and within a week colonel of militia in New Haven county. Connecticut suffered less from the tyrannical acts of Andros than any other of the colonies, doubtless owing to the guidance of Mr. Treat. On 9 May, 1689, after the rebellion against Andros, Governor Treat and the old magistrates under the charter resumed the offices from which they had been deposed in 1687.

1. ↑ Robert Treat, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

   the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

   Robert Treat (February 23, 1624July 12, 1710) was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of the Connecticut Colony between 1683 and 1698 and the founder of Newark, New Jersey.

2.   Rabun, Joanne Todd. Robert Treat
   Robert Treat on genepool.com.
3.   Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
   4:327.

   "Robert (Treat), Milford, s. of the first Richard, b. in Eng. had liv. with his f. at Wethersfield, and was not, as oft. said, an early sett. at M. certain. not bef. 1647, was an Assist. of the New Haven Col. 1659, wh. rank of course, was not contin. aft. the union with Conn. where, tho. on withdraw. of his f. from that office in the older Col. 1665, he was put in nominat. but did not gain the honor until 1673, yet had the compliments of being a capt. and rep. under the new admin. in Philip's war, was command.-in-chief, and in 1676, when Leete was chos. Gov. aft. d. of Winthrop, he was made Dept. Gov. was oft. a commissnr. of the Unit. Col. of N. E. and aft. d. of Leete 1683, succeed. him as Gov. By the royal constitution of Sir Edmund Andros, to be head of all the Northern provinces, T. was nam. one of his council, and tho. he did not resist, but acquiesced, he was hailed Gov. on the overthr. In that place he serv. 15 yrs. retir. from old age, and d. 12 July 1710, aged 88. Lambert marks his d. 1712. He had two ws. Jane, only d. of Edmund Tapp, wh. d. 8 Apr. 1703; and he m. 22 Oct. 1705, a wid. Elizabeth Bryan, wh. d. 10 Jan. 1706. It is said he had 21 ch. (and very glad should I be to prove above half of the tradit. num.) but ten only have been heard of by me; viz. Samuel, bapt. 3 Sept. 1648, H. C. 1669; John, 20 Oct. 1650; Mary, 23 May, not 28 (as my correspond. writes), 1652, bec. this was Friday, and ch. in our country, without except. in that age, were bapt. on Sunday only; Robert, b. 14 Aug. 1654; Sarah, 9 Oct. 1656; Hannah, 1 Jan. 1660, wh. m. Rev. Samuel Mather of Windsor; Joseph, a. 1662; Abigail, wh. m. Rev. Samuel Andrew of Milford; beside Jane, and Ann, wh. d. bef. their f. If any respect for tradit. would solicit explana. of its giv. twenty-one ch. to the Gov. it may be guessed to have sprung from the fact, that his ch. add. to the ten of the first w. of s. Samuel made up the desired number. Being above 83 yrs. old, when he took his sec. w. none by her was expect. Very observa. is it that in Goodwin's Geneal. Notes, 229, after the heading, 'Descend, in the line of Robert,' not one is giv. wh. must be regard. as a misfortune attending Goodwin's d. bef. one eighth of the vol. was print. for he was not the man to be frightened by such a mythical host. On p. 328 the list that was intend. to be insert. and may perhaps now seem imperfect, is found, and some error is seen, if the Milford rec. be correct. The Gov. in his will of 5 Jan. 1708, names only these seven ch. Samuel, John, Mary, Robert, Hannah, Joseph, and Abigail. No doubt the other three were d. and prob. the date of Abigail's b. in Goodwin is wrong."

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Richard Treat, in Jacobus, Donald Lines, and Edgar Francis Waterman. Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. (Hartford: The Connecticut Historical Society, 1952)
   767.

   "Robert (Treat), bapt. (Pitminster) 25 Feb. 1624/5; d. at Milford, Conn., 12 July 1710 ae. 88 (g. s.); …"

5. ↑ Gov. Robert Treat, Sr., in Find A Grave.
6. ↑ Wikidata.
7.   Named in father's will as 2nd son.