RO BE RT T R E AT

FOU N DER FARMER SO LD I ER STAT ESMAN , , , ,

GOV ERN OR

5 ( a per read before the (N E w H A V I N COLO N Y H I S T OR ICA L S OC I E T Y

B y G E N E R A L G EORG E H A RE F ORD

A ril 1 7th 191 1 p ,

R e rin t from V me V I I I N E W H A V E N C N Y H S T R CA S C E T Y ( p olu , OLO I O I L O I ,

ished A i publ pr l ,

RO BE RT T R E AT

DE F MER SOLD I ER STATESMAN FOU N R, AR , , ,

GOVERN OR

( a per read before the N E W H A V E N COLON Y H IS T OR I CA L S OC I E T Y

B y G E N E RAL G E ORG E H A R E F OR -I ) l l

A i 1 7th 1 91 1 pr l ,

R e rin t m V m e V I I I N E W H A V E N C N Y H S T R CA S C E T Y ( p fro olu , OLO I O I L O I , A D E R F A ME BE T T E T ( F N RO R R OU , R R,

L D I E S T A T E S MA N G OV E N O . S O R, , R R

D By GEORG E HARE F OR .

R e A 1 7 ( ad pril ,

n Of John Fiske, in his history of the Beginni gs New Eng “ Of t land, says, The native Connecticut or Massachuset s who

- of wanders about rural England to day, finds no part it so homelike as the cosy villages and smiling fields and quaint

Of . market town s . Countless little features remind him home

In many instances the homestead which his forefathers left, when they followed Winthrop or Hooker to America , is still

- f n to be found, well kept and com ortable ; the ancient ma or house, much like the New England farmhouse, with its long

o an d eas em en ts sloping ro f, its narrow from which one might

e e out I V hav look d upon the anxious march Of Edward , from

H aven s ur the of p to field victory, in days when America was u nknown . In the little par ish church which has stood for perhaps a

i e thousand years, pla n enough to suit the taste of the stern st ’ on e own Puritan, one may read upon the cold pavement s name ’ and the names of one s friends and neighbors ; and yonder on

v on e e a the illage green, comes with bat d bre th upon the simple

of on inscription which tells some humble hero who that spot,

f r o . in the evil reign Ma y, suffered death by fire The colonial history of New England is so associated with

of u Of c that the r lers the mother country that, to omprehend

a the existing conditions, it becomes necess ry in a measure to consider the characteristics of the m en and the methods that

t O n con rolled ld as well as New E gland duri ng this period .

( 0I A 3 7 4 7 9 0

( UL I 3 l 9l4 We“ 1 63 ROBERT TREAT .

of I of In the latter part the reign Of James , bands Puritans

were found studying the subject of immigration to America .

too Considering the climate South too hot and North cold , they x “ decided to foun d their American colony on Del aware Bay .

M ower on The ayfl sailed its tempestuous voyage, and, driven “ on an d by adverse winds , landed the New England stern rock ” of m boun d coast, instead Delaware Bay, making Ply outh Rock famous and Massachusetts the a cciden tal foun dation of

N ew E n gl and . The founders Of Massachusetts and Connecticut were men

conspicuous for their high character and marked ability . Liver “ more says of the New Haven colony ( The compan y was

remarkable . Davenport and Eaton surpassed all other com rades in dignity and influence and in the colon y were many ” wealthy Londoners .

O ; u of ther disting ished men were Hopkins , the founder three

grammar schools ; five able ministers , four school teachers

e of one b came the first master Harvard College , and the other

the first New Englander to publish an educational work . Pre

b ns ceded y Winthrop , Salto tall , Wareham , Hooker and others , important companies had arrived and settled in Massachusetts

and the upper part Of Conn ecticut .

fir - h r fi Among the st comers at Wet e s el d appears Mr . Richard “ ” i Trott, the name Trott being the original English fam ly f m “ ” f name o the A erican Treat . The family history o this settler Of Wethers fiel d is readily traced back to John T rott

n 1 4 5 8 . of Staple Grove, Tau ton, England, as far back as

o Taunt n, a place Of English antiquity, was originally a Roman settlement and the family of Trott were evidently Of Roman 1 5 1 origin , as an entry made in the records Of 7 refers to “ ” “ ” Richard as Rici and Robert as R obtu s . This occurs

in a deed from father to son which , translated from the original , provided that the conveyance was made on condition that the said R obtus was n ot to sell or surrender the premises to an y

or person persons except by the family name Of Trotte .

of This Taunton Manor, County Somerset, by a coincidence ,

is the same parish from which came Thomas Trowbridge, one of 4 1 6 ROBERT TREAT .

the original settlers of New Haven, from whom the distin guished family Of that name have des cended . The parish rec B ords of Taunton, I am told by Mr . Francis . Trowbridge, 0 carry that family name back to 1 5 7 . m With the authorities at com and, we must assume that the f Am s name of Treat is absolutely o erican coinage, as it doe not exist in England . As far as known every person in the U nited States by the name Of Treat is descended from Robert “ ” T reate Treat . In the early records it was spelled even the name of the wife of Governor Treat is so engr aved upon her tombstone at Milford .

or The high social rank of Richard Trott Treat, of Wethers

Oifices of field, is demonstrated by the various honor and trust that he held . Titles then amounted to something . Mr . was “ ” a mark of importance . Esq . attached to a name indicated,

O - n as in ld England, a land ow er, and these titles were as highly

as . . esteemed Hon is now, not more than five per cent of the m com unity being then entitled to their use . Richard Trott or Treat was frequently referred to in the “ ” “ ” records as Mr . and Esq . Some of the early writers a ssume that he arrived in the Saltonstall Colony in 1 63 0 ; others that he was a deputy from Wethersfiel d as early as 1 63 7 both e es th ori are errors , as the records in England show that

( the e e atharine, youngest Of his nine children, was baptized th r

1 63 7 . l in February, The Connecticut co onial records show that he was chosen deputy in 1 64 4 and ann ually thereafter for four teen years ; then be ing chosen magistrate eight times in

c s suc e sion un til 1 665 .

t hr l Wi h the names of John Wint op, Mason, Go d, and Wol t cot , his name appears as one of the patentees of the charter e ur 1 660 s c ed for the colony in from Charles II, by Governor

Winthrop . He is said to have been a person of wealth and own ed lar ge tracts of land in what is now the town Of Glaston bury . Frequent mention is made of him in the records as laying out lands . It is probable that Robert acquired some n d k owle ge of surveying from his father . Robert Treat was the second son and fifth child of Richard

fi - rst . a Treat, the comer He was baptized in England, Febru ry, 1 65 ROBERT TREAT .

1 624 on e of , and was the original company that settled in

1 63 9 . Milford in Then a very young man, his name with nine others is recorded separately immediately after the forty- four church members . ( These ten not being conceded the privileges of citizenship . ) e Lambert says that at the first meeting of the plant rs, Robert, x ll on e of then under si teen , being ski ed in surveying, was the nine appointed to lay out the home lots . Stiles refers to him as being then seventeen years old . Some writers assume that he was studying theology under Peter Prudden , and thus came from Wethersfiel d to Milford with the Prudden family . While

n t he did o have the advantages of a college training, he was

r a l ce t in y well educated, as is shown in after years , when he frequently made use of Latin and other languages . He immediately became a conspicuous character in the town f and the colony . Lambert gives him the credit o being the first f 1 64 4 o o 0 1 6 8 . t wn clerk Milford, from to This must, to a

i of certa n extent, be tradition as the fragments the records of the town of that period that are preserved do n ot confirm this . The New Haven Colonial Records first mention his

1 64 4 1 65 3 c name in and not again until . This is ac ounted for by the fact of the loss of the records of that period, except

. 1 65 3 e so far as they refer to magistrates From the year , r cords preserved show that he was chosen deputy to the General Court from Milford and each year following until the court

1 65 9 . of May, , when he was advanced to magistrate He con tin ued 1 664 in that office until , when , although again chosen, he declined to accept . Magistrates then n ot onl y constituted what

of is now the upper house the General Assembly, but the f Supreme Court o the State . The confederation of New Haven colony effected in 1 64 2

f Mil f r G f r f k o o de u il o de S tam orde Yen n icoc consisted , , and

m r ( Southold). The Govern ent fo the whole jurisdiction was fully organized this year and for the first time are distinctly recorded the names of governor, deputy governor, magistrates and deputies .

Mr . Eaton was annually chosen Governor while he lived and a gener lly Mr . Goodyear, Deputy Governor . They had no salary 1 66 ROBERT TREAT .

but served solely for the honor and the public good . Francis 661 a o . 1 Newman succeeded Mr . Eaton as Govern r In Willi m

Leete of Guilford was elected Governor, continuing in that office until the union with the Connecticut Colony was effected . 1 65 4 t At the General Court at New Haven, the cour was “ informed that Milford have chosen Robert T reate l eiuten an t ” for their town e and desire he may be confirmed by this court . 1 64 of d T a In 7 he married Jane, the daughter E mund pp , who was on e of the original founders an d on e of the seven pillars of the church .

n e A pretty story, told by Lambert and freque tly repeat d, is as follows At a spinning bee or frolic on a Christmas

o k night, Robert, being somewhat older, t ok Jane upon his nee ‘ ’ ‘ and began to trot her . Robert, said she , be still , I would ’ e e rather be treated than trotted . She soon b came the brid

n of Robert Treat . The story is conceded to be a clever refere ce

f a to the name of Trott or Treat . The result o this m rriage was

a eight children, four boys and four girls , although Sav ge, in

the - the his genealogy, gave number as twenty one evidently children of his son Robert were counted in this estimate .

the wn an William Fowler, first magistrate in the to and f o . ancestor Mr Henry Fowler English, the donor of this build

the ing to New Haven Colony Historical Society, was commis s ion ed the s to erect the first mill in colony. He was a sisted

a n in the enterprise by Robert Treat, who evidently ret i ed a share in the mill , as it is mentioned in his will . “ Charles I , the star chamber ruler, was claimed to be a

m an good but a bad king . He had a cultured mind, was a

e devot d husband and fond father ; but an unscrupulous ruler .

n ot r He ruled, because England chose him o considered that .

l n he ru ed for the good of Engla d or n ot. He assumed that he was placed upon the throne by the Lord of Hosts and he there

wn fore governed according to his o ideas . A victim of his own n a e misma gement, his defeat at Marston Moor was follow d f by his death on the scaf old, to which he was condemned by his own - n fift - judges, his death warra t being signed by y nine, includ

f D ixwel l ing the regicides Gof e , Whalley and , whose history is so closely interwoven with that of New Haven Colony . 67 ROBERT TREAT .

’ During the two years stay of the regicides Goffeand Whalley in Milford, tradition says that Robert Treat was among their selecte d acquaintances and friends and that when the letter was

n n received from Charles II, comma di g their arrest, Treat immediately signed a warrant and commanded the inhabitants

e of Milford to make a diligent search , well aware that no s arch , however diligent, would be successful in finding them within h t e to wn limits . A period of ten years followed without interference on the

a 1 660 p rt of the mother country, until , when we find Charles

II upon the throne . t Massachusetts and Plymou h had charter rights , Connecticut

f The and New Haven only a voluntary form o government . Gen eral Court of Conn ecticut immediately made formal acknowledgment of allegiance to the crown and applied for

n t a charter . New Haven Colony hesitated and fi ally omit ed to take such action . Governor Winthrop of Connecticut in the early part of the f year sailed for England . A number o his friends held high

ns positio at Court . Possessing an extraordinary ring given

n his gra dfather by Charles I, he found favor by presenting it to the ( ing, and returned with that most remarkable and liberal charter, so broad and comprehensive, which settled the

of whole boundary line Connecticut soil, including all that portion occupied by the New Haven Colony .

Great discontent prevailed in the colony . Treat and many

t to o hers favored a union with Connecticut, yet were opposed f many of the conditions . The controversy was intense or some f years . Davenport di fered with Governor Leete on the subject . Many declined to pay their taxes and ignored the New Haven

f n laws . The debt o the colo y was increasing . Milford broke off from New Haven and declined to send deputies or magis trates to the General Court . U nder these conditions a Special Court was held at New

of of Haven, at which the members the court and the elders the f colony consulted upon the subject o a proposed union . After

E s much discussion Robert Treat, q , and Richard Baldwin of 1 68 ROBERT TREAT .

Milford were appointe d a committee to accomplish the business with Connecticut .

The selection of Robert Treat was especially fitting, not

ns . only from his ability, but from his birth and connectio His

- in ( father, Richard, as well as his brothers and brothers law were patentees in the charter grant and occupied important n c e pos itions in Connecticut . By marriage Treat was co ne t d with the influential settlers Tapp and William Fowler, magis trates and pillars of the church .

f on 1 1 665 As the resul t o the negotiations May , , both b colonies, consisting of nineteen towns, amica ly united and John

. o r . n Winthrop, Esq , was ch sen Gove nor ( Bra ford was the onl y town that declined to accept the conditions of the union that were in many respects unsatisfactory to Robert Treat . ) t About this time Davenport, dishear ened with the trend of

to o . events , removed Bost n

Twice during the controversy between the two colonies , with

n nn o bv Benj amin Fen and Deacon Gu , R bert Treat was sent a company of distinguished settlers and dissenters to negotiate with the Dutch Governor for a settlement in New Jersey. It is said that the Governor took them in his private barge to 1 666 examine Newark Bay and in the spring of , Robert Treat sailed into the Passaic River with forty heads of families fl in the company, chie y from New Haven, Milford and Bran

. on e ford, with Rev Abraham Pierson, afterward of the

s Y founders and the first rector or first pre ident of ale College , as their spiritual leader . Adopting such art icles as were cited in the fundamental agree

of ( o ment twenty seven years previous at New Haven, the t wn “ ” 1 667 settled by them was called Milford until , when the “ ” name Newark was adopted out of honor to the English

. . of home of Rev Mr Pierson . Every male member the com pany signed the agreement an d the signatures might well indi cate to some that Davenport and Eaton were located on the

of i i ia k banks the Passaic ins tead of on the banks of the Qu n n p c . ’ In the agreement Robert Treat s name heads the list .

out Honoring Treat as their leader and pioneer, in laying the lots, he was given first choice and chose the lot in Newark 1 69 ROBERT TREAT .

n ow bounded by Market Street, Mulberry Street and Broad ’ Street . He was Newark s first town clerk and recorder . At

the 1 668 first General Assembly in New Jersey in , Captain Treat is referred to as on e of the Deputies and later on as one ’ of the Governor s Commissioners . Barber and Howe in their Historical Collections of New ’ Jersey speak of Newark s being indebted to him for its wide

of main streets and the beauty and extent the public square , f while Stearns in his history speaks o Mr . Treat as follows “ fl of Next comes Robert Treat, the ower and pride the whole

of company . To his wise energy, Newark owes much its early ” order and good management .

1 672 firs t- In Treat returned to Connecticut and his love,

Milford, never having sold his property there . He , however,

e two of on of l ft his children the soil New Jersey, and a mem or y in Newark that is cherished to the present day, and by all historical writers on the subject and at all historical local

celebrations , Robert Treat is referred to as , and conceded to be , f f the father and the founder o the city o Newark .

We now approach the military career of Robert Treat . As L o 1 65 4 fore mentioned, as early as , he was chosen lieutenant of the Train Band at Milford and by the General Court com

i mi ss oned to take charge of the military affairs of the town . 1 661 In he was elected captain . The year following his return from New Jersey he was commissioned as major and appointed second Commander- in ( Chief of the forces to be raised in the fl Colony and sent against the Dutch . The existing con ict with the Dutch kept the colony in constant anx iety . Treat formed “ ” what was known as a Committee of Safety .

6 r The year 1 7 5 was a serious year fo the New England Colony .

who of 1 63 7 The Indians , , after the conquest the Pequots in , for

ul e . a long period seemed to be fairly peacef , now b came restless

New outbreaks occurred in the Plymouth Colony, in Massa

hu ff c setts and Rhode Island . While Connecticut did not su er

n as did the other colonies , her allia ce with the New England

n a Colo ies m de the situation serious . In this year, with a burst

o m of unc m on fury, came the organized efforts of the various

in s l ( tribes combined ho tilities, resu ting in the famous ing 1 70 ROBERT TREAT .

’ n n N ew Philip s War, the most disastrous of the I dia wars in

Englan d history . One thousand men were ordered for active service by the n U n ited Colonies , the quota of Connecticut being three hu dred and fifty . an d John Mason, for years the most important distinguished military commander of the State, was far advanced in years

. and infirm, and thus retired from further service Robert

n , Treat, looked upo as his most able military successor was “ chosen Comm ander - in - Chief of the Connecticut forces and commission ed to take charge of all the military forces with such arms, ammunition, provisions and appurtenances , all

. oflflcers and all soldiers , marshaled, maintained and disposed of

About the time Treat assumed command, Captain Lathrop

a f of Massachusetts with a b nd o ninety picked men, known as “ ” e f the Flow r o Essex, and the best drilled company in the

nl colony, had been led into ambush, overwhelmed, and o y eight

n of their number escaped . The India s in large numbers were making attacks with arrows tipped with burn in g rags shot f o on the roofs o the houses , destroying towns , ruining the cr ps of the farmers and driving the inhabitants from place to place . Treat quickly moved his forces to Massachusetts in defen se and

D eerfiel d N orthfiel d dl began his brilliant campaign at , , Ha ey,

an d n an d e s Bloody Brook Spri gfield, by his swift movem nt , arriving as he always did at a critical moment, turned defeat e into victory . During this campaign, which last d until fall , he had frequently been called back with his comm and to defend Connecticut and the promptness and skill of his manoeuvers was remarkable and gave him great prestige as a commander.

of At the close the campaign, however, Treat resigned his

m . n ot . e com ission His resignation was accepted Inst ad, the General Assembly passed a vote of thank s for his good services

s and reque ted that he continue, giving him increased powers to raise and command all the troops necessary. Authorities say he was rapidly becoming second to none in the colony except perhaps the Governor .

e Wint r was approaching. The Indians had gone into winter

e ( . i quart rs at their Narragansett fort near ingston, R . I to wa t 1 7 1 ROBERT TREAT .

f until spring, when the shelter o the leaves would afford them f e or . great r advantages warfare The Colonies, however, deemed o it wise to make an attack upon them while massed t gether, and

1 0th of 1 6 5 a the December, 7 , was the day ppointed on which th e attack was to be made . Every Englishman capable of bear ing arm s was comm anded by proclamation of the Governor ’ to hold himself in readiness to march at a moment 8 notice . Major General Josiah Winslow was to command the exp edi

of tion, with Maj or Samuel Appleton Massachusetts , Major Robert Treat of Conn ecticut and Major William Bradford of Plymouth commanding their respective forces ; Treat being

selected as second in command to General Winslow . The entire

c 4 5 0 force onsisted of men ; from Connecticut, with 2 00 O Mohicans under neco.

e It was a cold Decemb r day when Major Treat, with his

o command , left New London and began his march to j in the

forces near Wickford, camping in the open air in the midst

of heavy snow . The Narragansett fort stood on a hill in the center of

am or a vast sw p , which was an island of about five six acres surrounded by high palisades and in which were Indian l warriors . The on y entrance was over a fallen tree protected “ aul ed by a block house, which , Hubbard says , sorely g the ” men who first attempted to enter .

The beginn ing was most disastrous . Connecticut troops were

driven back with heavy losses . Four Connecticut captains were killed at the head of their command and a fifth received a f mortal wound . A bullet passed through the hat o Major Treat . The situation was critical when Oneco offered to scale the

. an d wall and force a real entrance This was accomplished,

the Connecticut men under Major Treat entering the fort, saved h t e day .

hi n n T s battle , k ow as the great swamp fight, was of great h import ance to t e English . It was the most remarkable in

n New England and in the a nals of the early colonies , and was

won x of at the e pense many lives , including brave and valued

e f officers . The Narragans tts never again o fered any organized

n resista ce . 1 72 ROBERT TREAT .

Treat with the remainder of his army returned home imme i l m d ate y . Sometime afterward he was com issioned as Colonel of the militia in New Haven County. This being the first official reference on the records to a Colonel for New Haven 1 687 County, we must assume that November, , was the birth of what is now the Second Regiment, Connecticut National Guard ; that such a regiment has been continuously in existence since that period ; and that Robert Treat was its

first Colonel . Complications arose in reference to boundary lines between

an t the Dutch and the New Engl d Colonies, the Du ch claiming all the land in Connecticut south of the Connecticut River . The commissioners agreed upon to settle the dispute were

Robert Treat, Nathan Gold, John Allen and William Pitkin . ’ The conference resulted in the formation of Connecticut s “ ” n R id efiel d A n the western border line know as the g gle, and surrender to New York of the towns on Long Island previously

n u the belonging to Con ecticut, and sec red for Connecticut

n m present tow s of Greenwich, Sta ford, New Canaan, Darien l k and a part of Norwa . In the midst of these boundary disputes occurred the death

f of o Winthrop after eighteen years distinguished service . He was succeeded by William Leete who had been Governor of the New Haven Colony before the un ion of the colonies and Deputy of the Connecticut Colony under Winthrop after their union . Robert Treat was now chosen Deputy Governor and was annu

ee 1 68 3 ally r lected until the death of Governor Leete in , when he was elected the eighth Governor of Conn ecticut and the e ffi third under the new charter . By re lection he held this o ce

e fift en years, then declining to become Governor again was

n elected Deputy Governor for the following te years . We may with profit pause here for a moment and contemplate

n the high character of the early Colonial Governors . Joh

n c Haynes , the first Governor of Co ne ticut, was said to have been an ideal representative of the civil life, as Hooker was

. r to the apostle of the religious Coleridge, in refe ring him, “ ” calls him a religious and moral aristocracy . 1 73 ROBERT TREAT .

The second Governor , Edwin Hopkins , was also a distin

- ( uished . in of n of g man He was son law Eaton , first Gover or

who the New Haven Colony, was a wealthy London mer

in chant . He engaged extensively trade and commerce ; he established trading posts and country stores from New England to Delaware and left property in his will to establish the

( t to . grammar schools bearing his name, that are in exis ence day U n pon the death of Governor Hopkins in E gland, George f l Wy l l y s was elected the third Governor or on e year . Wyl y s

- was then seventy two years of age, and is said to have been

an d . a gentleman of leisure, of high character standing He owned the square in the center of the City of Hartford on which the charte r oak stood .

t for tw Thomas Welles , the four h Governor, held the Office o

terms . He was the first Treasurer of the colony and came t M o erica in the interests of Lord Say in settling S aybrook .

of t John Webster, the fifth Governor, founder the Webs er

of family in America, an ancestor Noah Webster, was said f f to be the most scholarly o the early Governors o the colony .

r . x r s John Winthrop , J , the si th Gove nor, younge t son of

of of the famous Governor Winthrop Massachusetts, was one the foremost men in New England and his worth is expressed “ in a single sentence quoted from Mather , God gave him favor f in the eyes o all with whom he had to do . s Governor William Leete, seventh Governor, was a de cendant of a distinguished family, which, as early records show, were 1 3 land owners as early as the th century. He was noted for ffi his integrity, was a popular O cial, and enjoyed the distinction of being Governor of both New Haven and the Con necticut

Colonies . O o ur little commonwealth, the Constitution State, den minated “ ” of l by historians as the Birthplace politica freedom, as well “ ” l as The land of steady habits , has a history rep ete with dramatic incidents and full of events that excite interest and veneration . The three periods which comm and the most intens e interest T occurred under the administration of Governors Robert reat, 1 4 7 ROBE RT TRE AT .

Jonathan Trumbull and William A . Buckingham . These three men may justly be referred to as the three war Governors of

Conn ecticut . Soon after the election of Governor Treat, com plications arose in England . James II proposed to revoke the Colonial charters and withdraw the privileges granted by

Charles II in both Old and New E n gland . This was undoubt edl y the most critical period in the history of New Englan d .

The charters of all the New England Colonies were called for . It was proposed to annex Connecticut either to Massachus etts e or to the Netherlands, or else to cut it in two at the Conn cticut

River and divide it between the two . The situation was peril ous and the prospect of Connecticut bein g wiped from off the f map as a State was or a time imminent . “ Of Sir Edmund Andros , referred to as the Tyrant New ” of England, was appointed Governor all the New England 1 68 6 Colonies . He arrived in Boston in December, , authorized to take the government of all the settlements in New England

own . R into his hands Plymouth, Massachusetts and hode

Island surrendered at once . He then notified Governor Treat that he proposed visiting Conn ecticut to take command of its ff a airs and possession of its charter . Treat opened n egotia tions and consumed months in writing, attempting to pacify

n s him, and u der one preten e and another succeeded in causing

or O a delay of nearly a year until the ctober following, when Andros became impatient and sent a messenger to notify Treat of his intention of coming to Connecticut at once .

m n The General Assembly im ediately conve ed . Sir Edmund

of an d arrived, attended by a retinue and a bodyguard troops, w was received ith great ceremony and hospitality. Govern or m w Treat escorted him to the Asse bly, sho ing him marked atten tion . He was introduced, and the ceremonies and discussion

an d of that famous afternoon evening were begun . ’ ( Treat s plan and instructions were First, prevent, if pos

n sible, the loss of the charter ; second, faili g in this, plead that the colony be allowed to remain undivided and unattached to any other . It is said that the argumen ts on the part of Treat were made with great diplomacy . At all times he referred to A ndros with

1 76 ROBERT TREAT . he made him a member of his council and j udge in this territory. ’ Governor A n dros s administration was highly tyrann ical . All the colonies from Maine to the Delaware were brought was to e under his arbitrary rule, and this a severe blow th ir

ns to ( prosperity . He was respo ible no one but the ing for whatever he might choose to do . While his headquarters were in

n e a . Boston, o of the princip l meeting houses there was seized

Taxes were imposed . Nothing was allowed to be printed with

n out permission . All the records of New Engla d were ordered

to to be brought to Boston . Deeds and wills were required be registe red in Bos ton and excessive fees were charged for this

of work . The titles land were ordered revised, and those who

en wished the title confirmed had to pay a heavy tax. G eral

. to Courts were abolished Dudley, first assistant Sir Edmund , openl y declared the people had no further privileges except not to be sold for slaves . When the news of the landing of the Prince of Orange in

A 1 68 9 e England was received in Boston in pril, , drums b at to arms and signal fires were lighted on Beacon Hill . The militia poured in from the country towns . The people rose in revolt an d demanded Andros to sur render his position . ’ to Attempting escape the authorities , disguised in woman s

on clothes, he was caught and imprisoned board a ship and sent bam o England .

- G v Bradstreet, in his eighty seventh year, was reinstated o ern r o of Massachusetts and Robert Treat in Connecticut . f “ Treat, in resuming his o fice, stated that the people had put ” him in and that he had ventured all he had above his shoulders . Immediately proclaiming the allegiance of the Colony to Wil liam and Mary, Treat by wise statesmanship secured a decision m f confir ing the val idity o the charter . At the age of seventy

( ( six he declined reelection to the office of Governor an d was

- succeeded by Fitz John Winthrop . The Colony being unwilling t c t o excuse him from public servi e, Treat was elected Depu y Governor for a second time and was continuously elected as

- ix such for the following ten years until at the age of eighty s , 1 77 ROBERT TREAT .

own e ffi at his request, he was xcused from o cial duties, and

H 1 6- 1 6 3 . e 67 8 retired from public life was Deputy Governor , ,

1 68 3 - 1 69 8 e e seven years ; Governor, , fift en years ; Lieut nant

- 1 69 8 1 7 08 . Governor, , ten years Treat was a Deputy from Milford for at least six years and from Newark five more , and Magistrate in the New Haven

for n General Court and assistant eight years , servi g nearly t f twen y years in the halls o legislation . He was seventeen years in the chair of Deputy Governor and fifteen years in that of n Governor, including the two years under Andros, maki g in all a period of thirty- two years as Governor and Deputy Gov

rn or or fift - t wo , a total of y years of public service, a record unequalled in the history of this State or of any other so far as history quotes where the offices were elective .

e During this period, in addition to the official duti s required him from in the various offices mentioned, he was frequently f appointed to hold court, to settle disputes o every kind and ff character that arose in the colony . He also adjusted di er en ces e betwe n ministers and the people , and established boundary lines between the State and the different towns in the

State . So well balanced was his judgment that he never made “ . the a legal mistake The Historian Sheldon says , He had faculty for always being in the right place at the right time .

Robert Treat was a practical farmer . It is said he was often found with his hands upon the plow and called to the stone

m or wall by the roadside to sign i portant papers, to leave a hal f- turned furrow and muster his troops to quell some Indian disturbance or resist some Indian invasion .

l ( o n ot own He was an important and h lder, only in his town but in various towns throughout the State, many of which he had assisted in founding or surveying . Three hundred acres of his are mentioned between New Haven , Farmington and

n ( of Wallingford ; three hu dred more in illingly, now Wind ham County ; while his holdings in Newark were among the

f r of largest in that colony . He left a large fortune o a man his

the o time . ( Among items of his personal property, the invent ry “ ” - shows two slaves appraised at eighty five pounds . ) 1 78 ROBERT TREAT .

It is said that no estate of consequence in Milford was settled between 1 670 and 1 700 without his assistance.

It is to be regretted that no portrait of Governor Treat exists . The chair that Governor Treat used officially is in good state of preservation and in possession of Mrs . Henry Champion, a des cendant of the Governor . “ ’ The house in which he lived is illustrated in Lambert s ” f a . 1 3 8 . amb History of the Colony o New H ven, p L ert dm a states that it stood upon the original plot of E und T pp,

3 5 1 64 6. ul number , as shown in the map drawn in This wo d indicate that the house stood on the east side of what is n ow

North Street, a few rods above the Plymouth Church and at ’ f f . t o the corner o Governor s Avenue Atwater, in his his ory the colony, also refers to it, but gives Lambert as authority . a of A buttonball tree, which stood for number years in his

( U dooryard, is said to have originated as follows sing a green sapling to drive his oxen, Governor Treat was called upon for some public service . He stuck the sapling into the ground temporarily where he could readily pick it up as he came out

o of the house . It was forgotten, r oted and became a handsome shade tree . In the early part of the last century a house was built upon the original cellar and foun dation of the Treat house by Mr .

Lewis F . Baldwin and his daughter . Mrs . John W . Bucking ham now occupies the house . Treat lived to see a distinguished family grow up around him . His children and descendants rose to positions of honor

an d . in this other colonies His oldest son, Rev. Samuel Treat, located in Massachusetts . Eunice, daughter of Samuel, mar

. o ried Rev Thomas Paine, father of R bert Treat Paine, Revo l ution ar of r y patriot, member the First Cong ess , signer of the

c Declaration of Independence, Attorney General and Justi e ( of f o . the Supreme Court Massachusetts His son, bearing the

1 77 5 . same name, born in , was a distinguished poet in his day

T R e T e ( n e n n T N ot i his ob rt r at ai was o rigi ally amed homas . w sh in e the n e T ( ne the A ei act L e i n g to b ar am of homas ai , th st, by of gislat o in 1 80 1 n e n in his am was cha ged to R obert T reat ( a e. 1 79 ROBERT TREAT .

in 1 8 0 3 Thomas Treat Paine, born , was a noted astronomer

e and left a large property to Harvard College . His r lative

n n n ou r n was the late Robert Treat Pai e, k ow in generatio as

f r of r a philanthropist, and o years President the Inte national

e s n the R ev . n n e Peace Congress , whos o George Lyma Pai is ’ f n d o . . a now Rector St Paul s Church , this city The church ou r e an d community are to be congratulat d , they welcome back f to the colony so promin ent a descendant o Governor Treat .

O son ne remained in Newark, where the family became prom i ’ l n en t . T w n an d n of o d o remai ed in Milford , ma y Milford s and honored men for the past two centuries have borne the f O e . o . name . ne daught r married Rev Samuel Mather Windsor f . on e o The other, Abigail , married the Rev Samuel Andrew, the founders of Yale .

of e n n Many his descendants , b ari g the ame of Treat and other prominent names, are men distinguished either as states

t or . men, leaders , minis ers military commanders ’

on 1 0 1 7 1 0 . Governor Treat s death occurred July , He was

ol d . buried in the cemetery at Milford The stone, unique in

of r n ( its character and in good state prese vatio , reads as follows

H ERE L YE T H I N TERRED T H E

D Y BO O F C OL L . ROBERT

F I T H F L L Y TREAT E S Q . W H O A U SERV ED TH I S C OL ON Y I N T H E ( OST O F G OV ERN OR A N D D E ( U TY G OV ERN OR N EAR YE S( A C E OF TH I RTY YE ARS A N D A T YE A G E OE F O U R S C ORE A N D EI G H T YEARS E( C H AN G ED TH I S L I F E

F OR ( U L Y 1 2 T H A BETTER, AN N O D OM( 1 7 1 0

f of His last will is full o expressions tenderness , such as this

Being aged in years and n ot kn owing how suddenl y the Lord

u t of may by death call me home from o this life, but being 1 80 ROBERT TREAT .

” un . at present of sound derstanding and memory, etc Then “ the will proceeds as a pledge of my fatherly love and farewell ” kindness to my dear and loving children . O 1 8 89 n the Memorial Bridge erected at Milford in , in com memoration of the two hundred and fiftieth ann iversary of

of the settlement the town, was placed on the Tower the largest slab in honor of Governor Treat . 1 797 “ Trumbull, , says , Few men have sustained a fairer ” character or rendered the public a more important service . “ a Connecticut as a Colony and a State , says of Tre t, ” - He was a beau ideal of a gentleman . Perhaps we cann ot better close our references to the life and s ervices of Robert Treat than to quote the tribute paid to “ ” of 1 8 5 5 him by Hollister in his History Connecticut, as it fl seems to round up brie y and concisely his many characteristics . It reads as follows

G e n T e wa s n ot n ma n e he was on e ov r or r at o ly a of high courag , but of the most cautious military leaders a n d possessed a quick sagacity un ited with a breadth of un derstan din g that en abled him to see at a glan ce the x n n fi most comple relatio s that surrou ded the eld of battle. N or did he excel on ly a s a hero ; his moral courage an d inheren t force of character shon e with the brightest lustre in the E xecutive Chair or L e e C a e en e the n and e en e gislativ h mb r, wh stimulat d by oppositio mal vol c m n An of such e as dros . H e a n e I n private life he was n o less esteemed . was pla t r of that hospitable order that a dorn ed N ew E n glan d in a n age when hospitality ‘ ’ was acco un ted a virtue an d when the term Gen tleman was somethin g more than a n empty title. His house was always open to the poor an d frien dless a n d whenever he gave hi s han d he gave his heart . Hen e W e e n the e ie S in fie ex en n i c , h th r marchi g to r l f of pr g ld or t di g h s

‘ e ofi e e he wne e m a in the charities to Whall y or G , whil dro d a t ar of sy p thy

fun an d ane e he a e o e a e ed . lively sparkle of cdot , was alw ys w lc m , lways b lov

His k sen e r i o , quic sibiliti s, his playful humo , h s p litical wisdom his n e a n d ee ie e a a firmness in the midst of da g rs, his d p p ty hav still tr di t n t ion a ry fame in the n eighborhoo d where he S pen t the brief por io of his th e an d time that he was allowed to devote to th e culture of e dom stic ” social virtues .