JOHN TREADWELL OHN Treadwell was the last of the Puritan governors of Con Jo necticut, and in him we see blended for the last time the theologian and statesman. He was born at Farmington, November 23, 1745, and lived there all his life. His father was a well-to-do mechanic, and a stern Puritan, who told his son when he reached the age of sixteen that he could have one week in which to decide whether he would receive a college education. The future governor accepted the offer before the week had expired, and Rev. Timothy Pitkin, a son of Governor Pitkin, set about preparing the young man for college. In 1763, at the age of eighteen, Treadwell entered Yale where he gave particular attention to the classics. It is said that John Locke's "Essay on the Human Understanding," and Jonathan Edward's "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will," were his favorite works. He was graduated from Yale in the class of 1767, and being heir to a considerable fortune he rejected the idea of pursuing a professional career, although he studied law with Judge Hosmer of Middletown. Soon after, Treadwell engaged in a mercantile business, hoping to increase his income but the result was an embarrassing failure. He began the manufacture of nitre later on, however, and extricated himself from the financial loss he had previously sustained. During the Revolutionary period Treadwell engaged in the struggle for freedom. In 1754 and 1755 he was active as a member of the "Committee of Inspection and Correspondence," and in 1776 his townsmen elected him as their representative in the General Assembly. This office he held for the next seven years, when in 1783, he was elevated to the governor's council. He continued as a member of this body by successive elections until 1798. Treadwell was a member of the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786. In 1789 he was elected judge of probate of the Farmington district and also a judge of the Supreme Court of Errors. These offices he held until 1809, and he was afterward a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for several years. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1798 and continued in this office until 1809, when he succeeded Trumbull as governor. Governor Treadwell held the office almost two years. In 1795 Governor Treadwell took an important part in negotiating the sale of lands in Ohio the proceeds of which constituted the Connecticut School Fund. He was one of the delegates to the convention at Hartford that ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1788. Thirty years later Governor Treadwell was also an important member of the convention which formed our present constitution. In 1800 Yale College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. The Governors of Connecticut Retiring from public life in 1811 Governor Treadwell spent a large portion of his time in writing on religious subjects. He was attentive to the scriptures from his youth up, and was assisted in the acquisition of religious knowledge by the study of the New Testament in the original Greek. The outcome was a series of essays on theological subjects, which are preserved, but were never published. Governor Treadwell was active in founding the "Connecticut Missionary Society," the first organization of its kind in North America. Governor Treadwell was one of the rich men of the section, his estate inventorying $74,000. He died at his home in Farmington on August 18, 1823. His death was a serious loss to the people of Farmington. Rev. Dr. Noah Porter, pastor of the Congregational church in Farmington, preached the governor's funeral sermon. Among other things he said, “He was never suspected of partiality, duplicity, or a timeserving policy. He was known to act uprightly, and with a sincere desire to promote the public good. Probably no man was better acquainted with the internal policy of the state. And it is a singular proof of his fidelity, if not his disinterestedness, that after this long and arduous course of public service he had only about the same amount of property that he had possessed when he began it. The emoluments of all his offices, together with the income of his farm, but little exceeded the expenses of his family." |