William Leete

William Leete ( – 16 April 1683) was an English-born lawyer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Haven Colony from 1661 to 1665 and governor of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683.

Early life

Leete was born about 1612 or 1613 at Keyston, Huntingdonshire, England, the son of John Leete and his wife Anna Shute, daughter of Robert Shute,

Career Leete was town clerk of Guilford, Connecticut from 1639 to 1662, and Justice of the Peace there in 1642. He served as town magistrate at Guilford from 1651 to 1658, and as deputy from Guilford to the New Haven Colony General Court from 1643 to 1649. He was Commissioner of New Haven Colony (1655-1658), Deputy Governor (1658-1661), and Governor of the New Haven Colony from 1661 to 1664. After the consolidation of New Haven Colony and the Colony of Connecticut, he became Governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1676 to 1683. He is the only man to serve as governor of both New Haven and Connecticut.

Personal life He married three times. His first wife, and mother of all ten of his known children, was Anne Payne, daughter of Reverend John Payne of Southoe. They married on 1 August 1636, and she died on 1 September 1668. His second wife, whom he married on 7 April 1670, was Sarah, widow of Henry Rutherford; she died on 10 February 1673. His third wife survived him for several months, dying on 13 December 1683. Leete's Island in Guilford/Branford, Connecticut, is named for him.