Treat Yourself to Family History

Robert Treat: Founder, Soldier, Governor (Episode 4)

Connecticut hands Robert Treat command of its forces just as King Philip’s War erupts across New England. What follows is a relentless string of ambushes, forced marches, and rescues under fire — leading up to one brutal December assault that would haunt the war’s memory for centuries. We trace Treat’s year and a half in command, the disputed details historians still argue over, and the human cost on both sides of a the conflict.

Robert Treat: Founder, Soldier, Governor (Episode 3)

In the spring of 1666, thirty Puritan families abandoned their homes in Connecticut, sailing south to escape a royal charter they believed threatened their church's independence. Led by Robert Treat, they arrived on the shores of New Jersey ready to establish a brand-new settlement—only to hit an immediate brick wall the moment they started unloading their ships. What to do then? This episode follows how Treat navigated unexpected local opposition and competing claims to lay the groundwork for what would become Newark.

Robert Treat: Founder, Soldier, Governor (Episode 2)

In 1661, royal agents arrived in New England hunting two high-profile fugitives marked for death by the English crown. In the tight-knit Puritan town of Milford, local magistrate Robert Treat was ordered to track them down. Treat signed the official search warrant, but the paper trail didn't tell the whole story. Where were the fugitives? Was Treat playing a dangerous game, balancing between sworn duty to the king and loyalty to his neighbors?

Robert Treat: Founder, Soldier, Governor (Episode 1)

In November 1639, Robert Treat was just a fifteen-year-old kid standing on the edge of the Connecticut wilderness, handed a heavy surveyor’s chain to help lay out the brand-new plantation of Milford. Why would a settlement trust a teenager to help divide up its land? In this series opener, we dig straight into the earliest surviving town records to see what we actually know about Robert’s unexpected entry into public life—and put beloved family lore, like that famous Christmas spinning bee story, to the test against strict Puritan reality.

Forging Connecticut: The Richard Treat Family (Episode 5) - A Feud with the Minister and a Witch Trial

It's the final episode of our Richard Treat series! In 1650s Wethersfield, Connecticut, a bitter local dispute spiraled out of control when the town minister abruptly excommunicated a resident without a hearing. What to do when an unchecked authority targets your kin? Magistrate Richard Treat stepped into the legal fray to haul the church squabble before the civil courts. Then just a few years later he finds himself presiding over a Hartford witch trial. Where was the boundary between colonial law and religious power, or was there one?

Forging Connecticut: The Richard Treat Family (Episode 4) - The Making of "Mister" Treat

When Richard Treat arrived in Wethersfield, Connecticut, around 1639, he didn't waste any time. He quickly went on a buying spree, snapping up entire homesteads and hundreds of acres across town. And the paper trail in the local town records reveals just how quickly all of that land turned into serious influence, earning him the rare, elite title of "Mister." But what did an ordinary immigrant actually do with that kind of social standing? The answer reaches far beyond local farming, straight into the inner circles of colonial power.

Forging Connecticut: The Richard Treat Family (Episode 3) - Why the Treats Risked Everything

What makes an established landholder pack up his entire household and sail straight into the unknown? Sometime around 1638, that’s exactly what Richard and Alice Treat did, leaving their Somerset farm behind with nine children in tow. Genealogists always look for that one tidy record giving a reason, but finding an explicit answer was off the table here. The solution? Listen in as we explore the possible answers.

Forging Connecticut: The Richard Treat Family (Episode 2) - Why the Youngest Son Inherited Everything

When we trace Richard Treat back to 16th-century Somerset, England, surviving manor records reveal a surprising discovery: he inherited an entire working estate of farmland and cottages despite being a younger son. Why would an established yeoman family bypass the eldest son to hand the main holding to the youngest? The answer lies locked away in the ancient court rolls of the Manor of Taunton Deane, where local customs turned traditional English inheritance on its head.

Forging Connecticut: The Richard Treat Family (Episode 1) - Arriving Late and Building Influence

When Richard Treat and his wife Alice Gaylord arrived on the edge of Wethersfield, Connecticut, around 1639, they were five years behind the town's original founders. The prime riverfront land was mostly claimed, so how does a late-arriving family break into a closed colonial community? By digging into 17th-century parish registers, land deeds, and court rolls, we track how Richard and Alice turned a large family and raw agricultural grit into serious local influence. Join us as we look between the lines of these early records to piece together how this immigrant family secured a foothold on the colonial frontier.