1625 - 1710

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• Birth	25 Feb 1624/1625	Pitminster, Somerset, England
  Christened	Pitminster, Somerset, England
  Gender	Male
  Buried	EST Jul 1710	Old Burying Ground, Milford, Connecticut   [5]
  Died	12 Jul 1710	Milford, New Haven, Connecticut
  Person ID	I9537	Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
  Last Modified	31 May 2005 00:00:00
  Father	Richard TREAT, b. 28 Aug 1584
  Mother	Alice GAYLORD, b. 10 May 1594
  Family ID	F4298	Group Sheet
  Married	25 Dec 1647
  Family ID	F4306	Group Sheet
  Married	24 Oct 1705  [6]
  Family ID	F4307	Group Sheet

• Notes

  From "Biographies of American & Colonial Governors" by Meckler TREAT, Robert, Governor 1683-1687, 1689-1698 Born circa 1622 in Pitminster, Somerset, Englan d, the second son of Richard and Alice (Gaylard) Treat (or Trott). A Congregati onalist. Brother of Richard, James, Honor, Joanna, Sarah, Susanna and Catherine . Married circa 1647 to Jane Tapp, by whom he was the father of Samuel, John, Mary, Robert, Sarah, Hannah, Joseph and Abigail; after his first wife's death i n 1703, remarried on October 24, 1705 to Elizabeth (Powell) Hollingsworth Bryan ; no children by his second wife. Immigrated with his parents to America, prob ably late in the 1630's; later became one of the early settlers of the town of Milford in New Haven Colony. Was serving as a Deputy in the New Haven General C ourt by 1653, representing Milford; also named Lieutenant and Chief Military O fficer of Milford in 1654. Selected as a Magistrate of New Haven Colony in 1659 , a position which he held until he declined to serve in May 1664. Following th e formal merger of New Haven with Connecticut in 1665, acted briefly as a memb er of the Connecticut General Assembly, but soon moved to Newark in East Jersey ; served as a Deputy in the East Jersey Assembly from 1667 to 1672; also held o ffice as Magistrate and Recorder of Newark. Returned to Connecticut early in t he 1670's, and became an Assistant of that colony in 1673. From 1675 to 1676 pl ayed a major military role during King Philip's War, serving as Commander-in-Ch ief of the Connecticut forces deployed against the Indians. Elected Deputy Gov ernor of Connecticut in May 1676, a position he retained until he succeeded the deceased Governor William Leete in April 1683. Except for the period between November 1687 and the spring of 1689, when Sir Edmund Andros governed the colon y as part of the Dominion of New England, Treat served as chief executive of Co nnecticut from 1683 to 1698. A political moderate, Treat agreed to serve as a member of Andros' Council during the eighteen months of Dominion rule, but he a lso wished to avoid unnecessary encroachment by Crown officials. Consequently, after the demise of Andros, Treat advocated resumption of government under Con necticut's old charter, a charter which had never been legally invalidated. The impressive victory by Treat in the gubernatorial election of May 1689 was a ma jor triumph over both the conservative Gershom Bulkeley, who claimed that the overthrow of Andros had been illegitimate, and the popular James Fitch, who att acked Treat's complicity with the Dominion government. Following his tenure as chief executive, the aged Treat continued to serve as deputy governor until 17 08. He died on July 12, 1710. Bibliography: John Harvey Treat, the Treat Famil y (Salem, Mass., 1893); George W. Solley, "Major Robert Treat," Pocumtuck Valle y Memorial Association, Proceedings, V (1912), 62-78; George Hare Ford, "Robert Treat, Founder, Farmer, Soldier, Statesman, Governor," New Haven Colony Histo rical Society, Papers, VIII (April 1914), 163-80; Charles A Scully, Robert Trea t, 1622-1710 (Philadelphia, 19599), DAB. _____________________________________ _________________ From the "History of Newark, NJ" by Joseph Atkinson (1878): FOUNDER OF NEWARK Robert TREAT is described as "the flower and pride of the w hole company." In establishing and laying out the town he was among the most ac tive and energetic. More than any other settler he is justly entitled to be rem embered as THE FOUNDER OF NEWARK. To none more than to Treat is the Newark of today indebted for the natural beauty of its location, the order of its origina l plan, and the width and attractiveness of its leading thoroughfares, more esp ecially Broad street. In evidence of the esteem in which he was held by his fe llow settlers of Newark, the town records tell that when the town was parceled into lots, he was given first choice by universal consent, and besides, two ext ra acres or lots in recognition of his services Milford, New Haven, Connecticut

• Sources

  [S234] Ancestral File v4.19, LDS Church Family History Library, (http://www.familysearch.org). [S242] Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, National Society Colonial Dames XVII Ce ntury (1915-1975) compiled by Mary Louise. [S243] #836. [S235] Ancestral File v4.19, LDS Church Family History Library, (http://www.familysearch.org). [S241] Copy presented to the Historical Society of West Caldwell on permanent loan fro m the West Caldwell Public Library Oct 19. [S2010] by Meckler.