Major Robert Treat (né Trott; February 23, 1622 – July 12, 1710) was an English-born politician, militia officer, and colonial administrator who served as the eighth governor of Connecticut Colony from 1683 to 1687 and 1689 to 1698. In 1666, he co-founded the colonial settlement of Newark, New Jersey.
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Early life
Robert Treat was born on February 23, 1622 in Pitminster, Somerset and emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his family in 1630. His father was Richard Treat and his mother was Alice Gaylord. In 1637, his family were early settlers at Wethersfield, Connecticut. He settled in Milford, Connecticut 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 in 1666 where they were joined by other dissidents from Branford, Connecticut, another part of the former New Haven Colony. The dissidents from Branford were led by Abraham Pierson, the elder. 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.