The territory of the United States state of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 was first settled by Europeans in the 1620s, when Dutch traders established trading posts on the Connecticut River

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

. English settlers, mainly Puritan

Puritan

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

s fleeing repression in England, began to arrive in the 1630s, and a number of separate colonies were established. The first was the Saybrook Colony

Saybrook Colony

The Saybrook Colony was established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in present day Old Saybrook, Connecticut by John Winthrop, the Younger, son of John Winthrop, the Governor of Massachusetts. The former was designated Governor by the original settlers which included Colonel...

 in 1635, based at the mouth of the Connecticut; it was followed by the Connecticut Colony

Connecticut Colony

The Connecticut Colony or Colony of Connecticut was an English colony located in British America that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, it was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English...

 (first settlement 1633, government from 1639) and the New Haven Colony

New Haven Colony

The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...

 (settled 1638, government from 1639). The Saybrook Colony merged with the Connecticut Colony in 1644, and the New Haven Colony was merged into Connecticut between 1662 and 1665 after Connecticut received a royal charter.

The Connecticut Colony was one of two colonies (the other was the neighboring Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...

) that retained its governor during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. The last colonial governor, John Trumbull

John Trumbull

John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...

, became the state of Connecticut's first governor in 1776.

Saybrook Colony, 1635–1644

The Saybrook Colony was established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 in present day Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,367 at the 2000 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.-History:...

 by John Winthrop the Younger, son of Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

 founder and governor John Winthrop

John Winthrop

John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...

. The former was designated governor by the original settlers who included George Fenwick

George Fenwick (Parliamentarian)

-Early life:Fenwick was the son of George Fenwick of Brinkburn, Northumberland, and Dorothy, daughter of John Forster of Newham, was born about 1603. Fenwick was called to the bar at Gray's Inn on 21 November 1631, and admitted ancient on 24 May 1650....

 and Lion Gardiner

Lion Gardiner

Lion Gardiner , an early English settler and soldier in the New World, founded the first English settlement in what became the state of New York on Long Island. His legacy includes Gardiners Island, which is held by his descendants.-Early life:...

. They claimed possession of the land via a deed of conveyance from Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick

Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick

Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...

. The colony was named in honor of Puritan

Puritan

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

 Lords Saye (William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury, in Oxfordshire. He was the only son of Richard Fiennes, seventh Baron Saye and Sele...

) and Brooke (Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke

Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke

Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was an English Civil War Roundhead General.Greville was the cousin and adopted son of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, and thus became 2nd Lord Brooke, and owner of Warwick Castle. He was born in 1607, and entered parliament for Warwickshire in 1628...

), who were prominent Parliamentarians and the colony's principal investors.

The colony was little more than a single community. It came under the de facto governorship upon the arrival of Fenwick, who was the only signer of the deed to actually live the colony. In 1644 Fenwick conveyed the right of government to the flourishing Connecticut Colony, although issues surrounding this transfer led to litigation over property rights afterward. Fenwick returned to England and served in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, and Winthrop continued to be active in Connecticut politics.

#	Governor	Took office	Left office
1	John Winthrop the Younger	1635	1639
2	George Fenwick George Fenwick (Parliamentarian) -Early life:Fenwick was the son of George Fenwick of Brinkburn, Northumberland, and Dorothy, daughter of John Forster of Newham, was born about 1603. Fenwick was called to the bar at Gray's Inn on 21 November 1631, and admitted ancient on 24 May 1650....	1639	1644

New Haven Colony, 1639–1665

The New Haven Colony was established by the Puritan colonist Theophilus Eaton

Theophilus Eaton

Theophilus Eaton was a merchant, farmer, and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut.-Early life and first marriage:...

, who was of the opinion that the policies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were too lax in enforcing Puritan standards. After some exploration he purchased land from local Indians at the mouth of the Quinnipiac River

Quinnipiac River

The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...

 in 1638. The colony in 1639 established a government modeled on that drafted by the leaders of the Connecticut Colony, which called for annual elections of its governor. Eaton was elected governor until his death in 1658. Following the restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 of King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 to the English throne in 1660, the colony became a subject of his ire when it harbored two fugitive regicides of Charles I, Edward Whalley

Edward Whalley

Edward Whalley was an English military leader during the English Civil War, and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England.-Early career:The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown...

 and William Goffe

William Goffe

William Goffe was an English Roundhead politician and soldier, perhaps best known for his role in the execution of King Charles I and later flight to America.-Early life:...

. In 1662 Charles II issued a royal charter for the Connecticut Colony that merged the two colonies. The process of merger was not completed until 1665. The colony's last governor, William Leete

William Leete

Governor William Leete was Governor of the Colony of New Haven from 1661 to 1665 and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683....

, also later served as governor of Connecticut.

#	Governor	Took office	Left office
1	Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton was a merchant, farmer, and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut.-Early life and first marriage:...	1639	1658
2	Francis Newman Francis Newman Francis Newman was an English colonist in America and Governor of the New Haven Colony in 1658-59. He was born in England and emigrated to New Hampshire in 1634, but shortly thereafter removed to the Connecticut valley and became prominent in the affairs of the colony at New Haven.In 1653, he was...	1658	1660
3	William Leete William Leete Governor William Leete was Governor of the Colony of New Haven from 1661 to 1665 and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683....	1661	1665

Connecticut Colony, 1639–1776

The Connecticut Colony was formed from the towns of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield. Between 1639 and 1655, consecutive terms were not allowed, so the governorship rotated between John Haynes

John Haynes

John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...

 and Edward Hopkins

Edward Hopkins

Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...

 each year, except for 1642 when George Wyllys

George Wyllys

George Wyllys or Wyllis served for a year as one of the early governors of the Connecticut Colony.Born at the manor of Fenny Compton in Warwickshire, England, to Richard and Hester Willis, part of an old, wealthy family. His first cousins Thomas and Richard, were baronets of Fen Ditton,...

 served.

John Winthrop the Younger was the governor of the combined Connecticut Colony in 1662, the year it received its royal charter. However, the regime change did not include an election for governor; Winthrop was merely retained in his position. The merger took three years to complete, during which time William Leete

William Leete

Governor William Leete was Governor of the Colony of New Haven from 1661 to 1665 and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683....

 remained in New Haven. A similar situation happened to Jonathan Trumbull

Jonathan Trumbull

Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. was one of the few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-Revolutionary colony and a post-Revolutionary state...

 in 1776; the royal government was discarded for state government without a gubernatorial election, making Trumbull the independent state's first governor.

Sir Edmund Andros

Edmund Andros

Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...

, who remains a true villain of Connecticut history, governed the colony when it was merged into the Dominion of New England

Dominion of New England

The Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...

 in 1687. As governor of the Province of New York

Province of New York

The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...

 in the 1670s, he had attempted to enforce the Duke of York's

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

 claims to territories as far east as the Connecticut River, and his assumption of Dominion control in October 1687 was marked by a failed attempt

Charter Oak

The Charter Oak was an unusually large white oak tree growing, from around the 12th or 13th century until 1856, on what the English colonists named Wyllys Hyll, in Hartford, Connecticut, USA...

 to seize the colonial charter. Andros is pointedly excluded from numbered lists of Connecticut governors; however, his portrait hangs, along with those of other governors, in Memorial Hall in the Connecticut State Supreme Court/State Library/State Museum building across from the State Capitol in Hartford.

#	Governor	Took office	Left office
1	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1639	1640
2	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1640	1641
3	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1641	1642
4	George Wyllys George Wyllys George Wyllys or Wyllis served for a year as one of the early governors of the Connecticut Colony.Born at the manor of Fenny Compton in Warwickshire, England, to Richard and Hester Willis, part of an old, wealthy family. His first cousins Thomas and Richard, were baronets of Fen Ditton,...	1642	1643
5	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1643	1644
6	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1644	1645
7	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1645	1646
8	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1646	1647
9	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1647	1648
10	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1649	1650
11	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1650	1651
12	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1651	1652
13	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1652	1653
14	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1653	1654
15	John Haynes John Haynes John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...	1654	1655
16	Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins Edward Hopkins was an English colonist and politician and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he was a founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, serving seven one-year terms as governor of Connecticut. He returned to England in the 1650s, where he...	1655	1656
17	Thomas Welles Thomas Welles Thomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary...	1655	1656
18	John Webster John Webster (Governor of the Colony of Connecticut) John Webster was an early colonial settler of New England, serving one term as governor of the Colony of Connecticut in 1656.-Life:...	1656	1657
19	John Winthrop the Younger	1657	1658
20	Thomas Welles Thomas Welles Thomas Welles is the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and from 1640–1649 served as the colony's secretary...	1658	1659
21	John Winthrop the Younger	1659	1676
22	William Leete William Leete Governor William Leete was Governor of the Colony of New Haven from 1661 to 1665 and Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683....	1676	1683
23	Robert Treat Robert Treat Robert Treat was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of Connecticut between 1683 and 1698....	1683	1687
*	Sir Edmund Andros Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...	1687	1689
23	Robert Treat Robert Treat Robert Treat was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of Connecticut between 1683 and 1698....	1689	1698
24	Fitz-John Winthrop Fitz-John Winthrop Fitz-John Winthrop was the governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1698 to 1707....	1698	1707
25	Gurdon Saltonstall Gurdon Saltonstall Gurdon Saltonstall was governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1708 to 1724...	1708	1724
26	Joseph Talcott Joseph Talcott Joseph Talcott was a governor of the Connecticut Colony from 1724 until his death in 1741. He was the first Connecticut-born governor of the colony. Descended from one Connecticut's founding settlers, Talcott was appointed an assistant in 1711...	1724	1741
27	Jonathan Law Jonathan Law Jonathan Law was the 27th Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, serving in that office from 1741 until 1750. His term followed that of Joseph Talcott, governor from 1724 until 1741, and preceded that of Roger Wolcott, governor from 1750 until 1754.Law was born in Milford in what was then...	1741	1750
28	Roger Wolcott Roger Wolcott (Connecticut) Roger Wolcott was an American weaver and statesman from Windsor, Connecticut. He served as colonial governor of Connecticut from 1751 to 1754.Roger was born to Simon and Martha Wolcott in Windsor, Connecticut...	1750	1754
29	Thomas Fitch	1754	1766
30	William Pitkin William Pitkin William Pitkin was a colonial governor of the Connecticut Colony. Born to a politically prominent family in Hartford, he was first elected to the colonial assembly in 1728, where he served through 1734, the last two years as speaker of the house...	1766	1769
31	Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. was one of the few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-Revolutionary colony and a post-Revolutionary state...	1769	1776