USA > Connecticut > The governors of Connecticut : biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history > Part 3
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The Governors of Connecticut
military ability to choose him commander-in-chief of the forces then engaged in war against King Philip. By his gallantry and bravery he was chiefly instrumental in ridding Northfield and Springfield of the Indians who infested that locality.
When the Indians made their assault upon Hadley, Treat drove them from the village; and in the celebrated fight with the Narragansetts on December 19, 1675, near what is now South Kingston, Rhode Island, his courage rivaled Captain Mason, before him and General Putnam in the following century. With the Connecticut troops he led the forlorn hope against the block-house where Philip's sharp-shooters had more than once driven back the men of Massachusetts. He was one of the last to leave the fort when the Indian power was broken. His prowess was fully recognized and in 1676 the freemen chose Treat as deputy governor.
In 1683 he was elected governor of the colony, serving in that office for fifteen years. Then he declined to act longer and was chosen deputy governor. In 1683 Governor Treat was a member of the commission to settle the controversy between Connecticut and the governor of New York. New York claimed that three towns-Rye, Greenwich, and Stamford-belonged to that colony, but a compromise was agreed upon whereby New York retained the town of Rye, and Greenwich and Stamford were conceded to Connecticut.
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The Governors of Connecticut
During the period of the Andros usurpation Governor Treat steered the destinies of Connecticut in what is generally conceded to be a masterly manner.
When Sir Edmund Andros became governor of New York and chief magistrate of English America, Governor Treat feared that the colony would be divided and he decided upon a pacific course. The people of this colony acted loyally toward Andros when he went to Hartford, October 1, 1687, and Treat was made a member of his council a month later. Connecticut suffered but little from Andros, which is undoubtedly due to Treat's great tact. The English Revolution came in due time and when the news of it reached Boston, in April, 1689, Andros was thrust into custody. Treat was quietly awaiting his chance, and on the 9th of May he resumed the office of governor. The assembly was ordered to meet in June, and William and Mary were proclaimed with enthusiasm. The old time government swung into motion again and the story of Andros entered into history.
Governor Treat died at his home in Milford on July 12, 1710, having reached the great age of eighty-nine years. His son, Samuel Treat, was a distinguished clergyman in Massachusetts and grandfather of Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In summing up the life of Robert Treat, Hollister's opinion of him seems the best. He says: "Governor Treat was not only a
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The Governors of Connecticut
man of high courage, but was one of the most cautious military leaders, and possessed a quick sagacity united with a breadth of understanding that enabled him to see at a glance the most complex relations that surrounded the field of battle. He was a planter of that hospitable order that adorned New England in an age when hospitality was accounted a virtue, and when the term gentleman was something more than an empty title. His deep piety has still a traditionary fame in the neighborhood where he spent the brief por- tion of his time that he was allowed to devote to the culture of the domestic and social virtues.
There existed between Robert Treat and John Winthrop the most cordial friendship, growing out of the admiration that each felt for the character and abilities of the other, and also on account of the part they took-the one procuring the charter, the other in vindicating its jurisdiction and in preserving it from the violence of its enemies."
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The ROYAL GOVERNOR of
CONNECTICUT
was
SIR EDMUND ANDROS
An English aristocrat of the king's court who temporarily usurped the power of government and demanded the surrender of the colony's charter during a crisis in the early history of the commonwealth but was deposed after brief authority
SIR EDMUND
ANDROS
S TUDENTS of Connecticut history have hesitated whether or no they should consider Sir Edmund Andros a rightful governor of this commonwealth, but it has been generally held that he was a usurper during the time the government was in his hands. Good authorities in our constitutional history differ as to the legality of his title, but as good historian as the late Charles Jeremy Hoadly remarked one day, in scornful allusion to some who objected to having Sir Edmund's portrait in the state library : "He was as really governor of Connecticut as any of the rest of them."
In either case, it would appear that a sketch of this able royal governor should be included in the volume of the lives of Con- necticut's executives.
Sir Edmund Andros was an English aristocrat, reared in the lap of English society, and his early life was passed among the lords and nobles that composed the court of the English king. He was born in London, December 6, 1637, where his father was an officer of the royal household. The boy decided upon a military career and at an early age became a soldier in Rupert's dragoons; two years later he succeeded the elder Andros as bailiff of Guernsey.
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The Governors of Connecticut
In 1674 he was appointed by James, Duke of York, to the office of governor of the province of New York, and he remained in that capacity for seven years. Because of his liberal claims of jurisdiction Andros became involved during this period in some warm disputes with the neighboring colonies. His trouble with Connecticut authorities commenced at Saybrook in July, 1675, the year after he received his appointment. During the month which saw the opening of King Philip's war at Plymouth, Sir Edmund sailed eastward through the Sound, and the voyage threw the Con- necticut authorities into consternation. Captain Thomas Bull, commanding at Saybrook, was notified by the officials at Hartford that the royalist governor was going through the Sound with the avowed intention of aiding the colony against the ravages of the Indians. He was instructed, in case the representative of the Duke of York should call at his station, to assure his excellency that Con- necticut had made its own necessary precautions against the Indians, and was allowed to infer that the colony had more to fear from an invasion by the governor of New York than from an onslaught of Indians. Captain Bull was also ordered not to permit the landing of troops from New York, who accompanied Andros. Royal governors were never popular in Connecticut, and the people did not take kindly to what they thought was to be an invasion of their territory.
The orders sent to Bull were terse but suggestive : "And you are to keep the King's colors standing there, under His Majesty's 48
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The Governors of Connecticut
lieutenant, the Governor of Connecticut; and if any other colors be set up there, you are not to suffer them to stand .... But you are in His Majesty's name required to avoid striking the first blow; but if they begin, then you are to defend yourselves, and do your best to secure His Majesty's interest and the peace of the whole colony of Connecticut, in our possession."
But there were no blows struck, and Sir Edmund contented himself with simply landing and reading the duke's patent, which proceeding was duly protested against by Captain Bull and other accredited officials. This ended the matter for the time being, but during the years that followed he was closely watched by the Con- necticut authorities.
In 1680 Andros seized the government of New Jersey and dethroned Philip Carteret, but the year following he was recalled by the king and accused of maladministration. After successfully clearing himself of such charges as the home government was able to bring against him, Andros retired to Guernsey. When James, the Second, became king, Sir Edmund was appointed in 1686 governor of all New England, which comprised the American settlements between Maryland on the south and Canada on the north, with the exception of Pennsylvania. This was an almost unlimited field for operations, and he proceeded to exercise his authority. The first step, so far as Connecticut was concerned, was when Governor Treat received in July 1686, two writs of quo
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The Governors of Connecticut
warranto against the colony of Connecticut, which had been issued the previous year. These called upon the officers of the colony to show proper authority for the exercise of their political powers or else abandon them altogether.
Andros landed at Boston on December 21, 1686, armed with his far reaching commission, and the people of Connecticut looked on with alarm; for they soon learned that the new royal governor meant completely to abrogate, if possible, their charter of 1662. After putting into operation at Boston some obnoxious laws that turned the people of that colony against him, he proceeded to rule with a high hand.
As one writer has said: "Although proclaiming religious freedom, he restrained the liberty of the press, arbitrarily levied enormous taxes, and compelled landowners to procure new titles to their property, for which exorbitant charges were made. These and similar actions performed in accordance with instructions received in England, gave great offense."
And well they might. Next, Andros turned his attention to Connecticut, on which he had looked with anxious eyes since the day eleven years before when he attempted to read his patent to Captain Bull. Late in December he wrote to Governor Treat that as he supposed the trial of the quo warranto writs had gone against the colony, he hoped the officials of Connecticut would make them- selves popular with King James by immediately surrendering their
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The Governors o f Connecticut
charter, and thus save any unpleasant experiences in the future. The advice of Andros was not accepted, but matters drifted along, although the records of the colony show that the leaders spent many anxious days considering the situation.
But when the General Assembly met in the fall of 1687, Sir Edmund Andros was present accompanied by an armed force of sixty members of the king's troops. He had expected to enforce the surrender of the charter at that time, it is said, and the members of the assembly were in a state of extreme perturbation. The story of the drama enacted at Hartford is familiar to all. The assembly was holding its session in the meeting-house; Sir Edmund had made his formal demand for the charter ; the members had exhausted their well-known powers of parleying for its continuance in their hands, and the royal governor was well nigh desperate. For years he had hoped to get possession of that instrument and now that he was clothed with the royal power to ask for its surrender he did not propose to concede to the requests of Connecticut men.
Professor Johnston tells the story: "Toward evening the case had become desperate. The little democracy was at last driven into a corner, where its old policy seemed no longer available; it must resist openly, or make a formal surrender of its charter. Just as the lights were lighted, the legal authorities yielded so far as to order the precious document to be brought in and laid on the table before the eyes of Andros. Then came a little more debate.
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Suddenly the lights were blown out, Captain Wadsworth of Hart- ford carried off the charter, and hid it in a hollow oak tree on the estate of the Wyllyses, just across the "riverett;" and when the lights were relighted, the colony was no longer able to comply with Andros' demand for a surrender."
Some historians have attempted to disprove this story and Professor Johnston says that it is traditional, but he adds that it is "difficult to see any good grounds for impeaching it on that account."
The Connecticut officials had done all they could do to pre- serve the Connecticut government under their charter, but they had to bow to an overpowering force, with the king back of it all. Governor Treat listened to the reading of the royal commission held by Andros and the royal governor ruled over Connecticut from October 31, 1687, until April, 1689. While Connecticut did not suffer greatly from Andros and his claims of royal authority, his administration certainly provoked the ill favor of the people.
On April 18, 1689, Andros was finally deposed and with fifty of his followers was arrested at Boston and thrown into prison. William and Mary were proclaimed, and Governor Treat and the other state officials resumed their places.
In 1690 Andros was sent to England to answer to charges preferred against him by a committee of colonists; but the home authorities did not press them, and the man who had harassed New
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The Governors of Connecticut
England, escaped without a trial. He returned to America as governor of Virginia in 1692, remaining there until 1698. His best work as a colonial governor was accomplished in that colony. His efforts for the promotion of agriculture and the development of trade and the part he took in establishing the college of William and Mary, the second oldest college in the United States, won for him high praise from the people whom he ruled.
He, however, became involved in a quarrel with the com- missary of the Bishop of London, Dr. Blair, and this led to his recall. Sir Edmund closed his stormy public career by being governor of the Island of Jersey from 1704 to 1706. The last eight years of his life were spent in London, where he died on February 24, 1714.
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The
NINTH GOVERNOR of CONNECTICUT was
FITZ-JOHN WINTHROP
A New Englander by birth and the first American-born to be chosen a political leader by the colonists in recognition of his bravery as a soldier, his unimpeachable integrity, and his lofty patriotism and fidelity to principle
FITZ - JOHN
WINTHROP
OHN Winthrop, commonly known in history as Fitz-John, and son of Governor John Winthrop, was born at Ipswich, Massachusetts; record of baptisms, Boston, 1638, Fitz-John, son of John and Elizabeth Winthrop, born March 14, 1637-8. He entered Harvard College, but did not take a degree as he left to accept a commission in the parliamentary army.
Winthrop saw much service in Scotland, where he commanded at Cardross, and afterward accompanied General George Monk on his famous march to London. When his regiment was disbanded on account of the Restoration, Winthrop returned to New England in 1663, settled in Connecticut and there passed the remaining por- tion of his career. During that trying period, when the discourag- ing Indian wars were in progress, Winthrop rendered considerable service to the colony in the field. When Connecticut joined with the other New England colonies in sending an army up the Hudson river to co-operate with Governor Philip's sea expedition, Fitz-John Winthrop was named as commander of the whole force, with Milborn as commissary. The army suffered greatly from the latter's inability to perform his duty, and both the matters of furnishing food and providing transportation for the forces were
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The Governors of Connecticut
hopelessly muddled. In the face of these gross irregularities, and also on account of the weak support of New York, Winthrop had no alternative but to retreat and the expedition proved an utter failure.
Jacob Leisler, the self-appointed governor of New York, branded Winthrop as an incompetent, and heaped considerable abuse upon him for the failure of the expedition, although histor- ians generally agree that the blame rested largely upon Milborn, a son-in-law of the governor.
When he returned to Connecticut, Winthrop received the thanks of the General Court for his services. In 1693 he was made an agent of the colony and sent to England to obtain if possible a confirmation of the charter, as there was a belief that it had been superseded. Winthrop remained in England for four years an agent of Connecticut colony to the court of William III., and succeeded in obtaining from Lord John Somers, attorney general, a strong opinion that the charter of 1662 was valid. The opinion of the attorney general was concurred in by such able lawyers as Treby and Ward, and Lord Somers declared: "I am of the same opinion, and as this matter is stated, there is no ground of doubt." King William ratified this opinion in April, 1694, and when Winthrop returned to Connecticut he received the thanks of the people for having rendered such valuable service to the charter obtained by his father a generation before. In 1698 Winthrop was
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The Governors of Connecticut
chosen governor of the colony and continued in the office until his death in 1707.
In the fall of 1707 Governor Winthrop journeyed to Boston in an enfeebled condition to obtain medical assistance and visit his brother, Wait Still Winthrop. The Boston News Letter of Novem- ber 27, 1707, announced his death in this manner: "About four o'clock this morning, the Honorable John Winthrop, Esq., Gov- ernor of His Majesty's Colony of Connecticut, departed this life in the sixty-ninth year of his age; being born at Ipswich, in New England, March 14, Anno, 1638; whose body is to be interred here on Thursday next, the 4th of December." His body was interred in the same tomb with his father and grandfather in the burying-ground at King's Chapel.
Governor Winthrop lived in New London, and his home was long famous for its unbounded hospitality. Miss Caulkins says of him: " His death was an important event to the town. As a mem- ber of the commonwealth it had lost its head, and as a community it was bereaved of a true friend and influential citizen."
While Fitz-John Winthrop lacked the qualities of a states- man like his grandfather, or a scholar like his father, yet he is known in history as a brave soldier and an administrator of public affairs who won the absolute trust of his constituents. His integ- rity and lofty patriotism were unimpeachable.
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The TENTH GOVERNOR of CONNECTICUT was
GURDON SALTONSTALL
A New England theologian whose transition from the pulpit to the executive chair caused some amazement in his congregation but did much toward inspiring a love for education in the colony and bringing spirituality to the "temporal office"
-
Gsaltinstall
GURDON
SALTONSTALL
T HE name of Saltonstall carries with it a long line of men distinguished in theology, at the bar, in the army and navy, and as statesmen. Richard Saltonstall, the first of note to bear the name, was a nephew of a lord mayor of London, and a patentee of Connecticut. He returned to England and was one of the judges that sentenced Lords Holland, Norwich, and Capel, the Duke of Hamilton, and Sir John Owen to death for treason. His great-grandson, Gurdon Saltonstall, was born in Haverhill, Mass- achusetts, March 27, 1666. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1684, studied theology and was ordained the 19th of November, 1691, as the minister at New London.
His career as a preacher was not only eminently satisfactory, but he was regarded as a scholar of finished qualities. It is said that his thorough knowledge of men and affairs, his polished majestic bearing and his strong loyalty to the colonies made him one of the most valuable men in Connecticut. He was one of the originators of the plan to establish a college in Connecticut, and it is recorded by writers on the subject that he did much to have the institution situated in New Haven instead of Hartford. He is credited with having made the plans and estimates for the buildings.
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The Governors of Connecticut
Among the clergymen of the colony he enjoyed great popu- larity.
In 1698 Saltonstall was a member of a committee appointed to welcome the Earl of Bellomont when he visited this country.
Governor Fitz-John Winthrop and Saltonstall were close friends; in fact, during a long illness through which the governor passed, the minister acted as his chief adviser. Through this agency Saltonstall became intimately acquainted with the routine business of the colony, so that he was as familiar with the questions of state as the governor himself. When, therefore, Governor Winthrop died in 1707 a special session of the General Assembly, called a month later, elected the Reverend Saltonstall as his successor. He began the duties of the office January 1, 1708, and in the May following was regularly elected by the people. Then began his long career as governor, which was terminated only by his death.
His sudden transition from the preacher's desk to the governor's chair was too sudden for the parishioners at New London. They were filled with grief and amazement, we are told, and Trumbull adds that the Assembly sent a letter to his people explaining that "their minister was called to engage in another important course of service and using arguments to induce them to acquiesce in the result." He was criticised and even censured for having given up the work of the ministry for a "temporal office," and the Rev. Isaac Backus, a Baptist preacher and author of repute, wrote : "He 64
The Governors of Connecticut
readily quitted the solemn charge of souls for worldly promotion." The governor always retained his interest in the church at New London.
One of his first acts as governor was to suggest the appoint- ment of a synod of ministers and laymen for a more thorough system of ecclesiastical discipline. The outcome of this was the assemblage of Congregational clergymen at Saybrook, which framed the famous "Saybrook Platform."
In 1709 he was an agent of the colony to convey an address to Queen Anne, urging the conquest of Canada.
In 1711, when Connecticut placed four hundred men in the field against Quebec, Governor Saltonstall personally conducted them as far north as Albany. The disaster which befell stupid Sir Hovenden Walker, commander of the expedition, in Canadian waters, is well known.
Governor Saltonstall practically introduced the printing press in Connecticut, as he put one into his house as early as 1709.
He died suddenly of apoplexy on September 20, 1724, at his home in New London, and was buried two days later with high military and civic honors. "The horse and foot marched in four files; the drums, colors, trumpets, halberts, and hilts of swords cov- ered with black, and twenty cannon firing at half a minute's dis- tance." Rev. Eliphalet Adams, in his funeral sermon, referring to his work for the college said: "Under his wing and care our
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The Governors of Connecticut
little nursery of learning hath sprung up to that consistence, obser- vation and strength that it is this day; and now it heartily bemoans the loss of its best friend under God.
"After the remains of the governor had been deposited in the tomb, two volleys belched from the fort, and then the military com- panies marching in single file, as each respectively came against the tomb, discharged, and so drew up orderly into a body as before and dismissed."
Governor Saltonstall was a great man and an able executive. Pro- fessor Dexter has truly said: "Yale College, in common with the whole colony, and indeed with all New England, suffered a great loss in his sudden death."
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The ELEVENTH GOVERNOR of CONNECTICUT was
JOSEPH TALCOTT
A son of Connecticut by birth and the first scion of the common- wealth to enter its politics in youth and through years of faithful service to receive steady promotion until he became governor of the colony
-
JOSEPH
TALCOTT
J
OSEPH TALCOTT was the first person to occupy the office of governor who was born in Connecticut.
John Talcott, his grandfather, was a member of the com- mittee that sat for the first time with the Court of Magistrates in 1637, and he was deputy every year following until 1659. He was also an assistant and treasurer of the colony. His son, the governor's father, was treasurer of the colony and resigned in order to take command of the troops raised by Connecticut to participate in King Philip's War. He was one of the patentees named in the charter, and died full of honors July 23, 1688.
Joseph Talcott was born in Hartford, November 11, or 16, 1669, and was the fourth son of Colonel John Talcott and Helena Wakeman. His first appearance in public was when he petitioned the General Assembly in 1691 against the division of his father's property in Hartford. He claimed possession of all the real estate by right of primogeniture. At the age of twenty-three years, in 1692, Talcott was chosen selectman of Hartford, and in 1697 he was re-elected. From that time he held many offices in the colony.
When the alarm of the Indian war flashed through Hartford and the colony in 1704, Lieutenant Joseph Talcott was appointed on a
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The Governors of Connecticut
committee "to proportion and lay out to each person how much they shall make of the fortifications agreed on to be done on the north side of the river."
He was also for twenty years a member of the committee which managed the affairs of the Hopkins Grammar School in Hartford. In October, 1697, Talcott was appointed ensign of the Train Band in Hartford, "on the north side of the riverette," and also held various military offices until he was elected governor. In fact, he spent so much time in looking after military affairs of the colony that the General Assembly in 1724 voted him the sum of fifteen pounds "to be paid to his Honor out of the public treasury for his good services in that affair." First chosen as a deputy from Hart- ford in 1708, he was then elected speaker of the lower house in the May session of 1710, and was made an assistant May, 1711. This latter office he held until elected deputy governor in October, 1723. In 1725 he was chosen governor and held the office during the next seventeen years, until 1742.
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