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Largely because of his knowledge of the native languages, Willett very soon thereafter accompanied a successful negotiating party north to the [[Iroquois]] to secure for the English the excellent relations that the Iroquois had maintained with the Dutch. Colonel Richard Nicholls, who was given command of the transfer from Dutch to English governance, sent a request to [[Thomas Prence]], then governor of the Plymouth Colony, that Willett be relieved of his duties to that colony so that he could assist in the transfer. His letter stated that "Mr. Willett was more acquainted with the manners and customs of the Dutch than any English man in the country, and that his conversation was very acceptable to them". This request was granted and Willett resigned his official duties with Plymouth.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhistor1907wate/page/163/mode/1up Burgess, p. 163.]</ref>
When the colony was reorganized with the name of New York, Willett was appointed the first mayor of the town (June 1665) with the approval of the English and Dutch alike; he had apparently maintained a residence in New Amsterdam for some years<ref>Burrows and Wallace, p. 78.</ref> in addition to his long-establish trading relationships. The next year he was elected alderman, and became mayor again for another year in mid-1667. He was a member of the New York governor's executive council at times from 1665 to 1672 under [[Francis Lovelace]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Jj8OAAAAIAAJ
===Return to Plymouth and legacy===
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One of the greatest services Willett provided to the colony for many years, along with his father-in-law John Browne, was maintenance of good relations<ref>Philbrick, pp. 197, 213-4, and 315-6.</ref> with the Pokanokets whose main village was near Rehoboth, close to Mt. Hope. The relations with the colony soured with Willett's absences to New York and for his other merchant activities, and even more so after his death. The military affairs of the colony were increasingly assumed by [[Josiah Winslow]], who pursued a much more aggressive approach. Alexander, Massasoit's eldest son who had become the leader of the Pokanokets, died while in the custody of Winslow in 1662.<ref>Philbrick, pp. 200-6.</ref> Philip, the next eldest son, then became the Pokanoket's leader; relations eventually deteriorated to the point of open warfare between the English colonies and most of the New England tribes in 1675. This became known as [[King Philip's War]].
After his first term as New York mayor, Willett apparently spent time in Rehoboth in early 1667 where he was appointed Captain of the town's militia<ref>[https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0304newp/page/145/mode/1up Shurtleff, '''IV''' (April 2, 1667): 145.]</ref> and was the principal in the establishment of the Township of Swansea.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyofswansea00wrig/page/47/mode/1up Wright, pp. 47-51.]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0304newp/page/169/mode/1up Shurtleff, '''IV''' (October 30, 1667), p. 169.]</ref> Swansea was originally part of Rehoboth; they divided after a Baptist congregation originally led by [[Obadiah Holmes]], and subsequently by [[John Myles (minister)|John Myles]], arose and had differences with the existing congregation of the town.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyofswansea00wrig/page/3/mode/1up Wright, p. 3.]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3qHVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA30
After having lost his first wife, Willett married Joanna Boyse in September 1671.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/peterpruddenstor00prud/page/56/mode/1up Prudden, Lillian Eliza (1901). ''Peter Prudden: a story of his life and New Haven and Milford, Conn.'' New Haven, Conn.: Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor. p. 56.]</ref>
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Joanna Prudden, widow of Rev. [[Peter Prudden]] and second wife of Thomas Willett, married Willett in Milford, Connecticut, on September 20, 1671.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/peterpruddenstor00prud/page/56/mode/1up?q=willett Prudden, Lillian Eliza (1901). ''Peter Prudden: a story of his life and New Haven and Milford, Conn.'' New Haven, Conn.: Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor. p. 56.]</ref> After Willett's death in 1674, she soon returned to Milford and remarried again, this time to Rev. John Bishop.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/peterpruddenstor00prud/page/58/mode/1up?q=willett Prudden, Lillian Eliza (1901). ''Peter Prudden: a story of his life and New Haven and Milford, Conn.'' New Haven, Conn.: Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor. p. 58.]</ref> She was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, in 1616 and died on November 8, 1681, in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is also buried.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34716079/joanna-bishop Find a Grave Memorials: Joanna Boyse Bishop.]</ref>
Mary Willett, eldest daughter of Capt. Thomas Willett and his wife Mary, married in 1658 Rev. Samuel Hooker, son of Rev. [[Thomas Hooker]], Puritan divine and founder of [[Hartford, Connecticut]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=r17mNhtcPRwC
There is some thought that Willett's son, Thomas Willett (Jr.), was the major in the militia of [[Queens County, New York|Queens County]] who was a councilor under Governors [[Sir Edmund Andros]] and [[Henry Sloughter]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/hudsonmohawkgene00reyn/page/254/mode/1up Reynolds, Cuyler (ed.) (1911). ''Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs''. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. '''I''': 254-5.]</ref><ref>Burrows and Wallace, p. 101.</ref> According to Hillman<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jNcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA120 Hillman, E. Haviland. "Ancestry of Colonel Marius Willett". ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record''. '''XLVII''' (April 1916): 120.]</ref> it is probable that this Major Thomas Willett was actually a member of another Willett family which had settled on Long Island. They were possibly cousins<ref>[http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/willets.htm The Willets family of Long Island]</ref><ref>[https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~marshall/esmd211.htm Willett Family of Long Island]</ref> of the Thomas Willett who is the subject of this article.
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