ALLEN, Ira - A Stan Klos Biography
ALLEN, Ira, soldier, born in Cornwall,
Connecticut, 21 April 1751; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 January 1814.
He was a younger brother of Ethan Allen, and was associated with him in the
dispute between New York and New Hampshire over the land grants. He was a member
of the Vermont legislature in 1776-'77, and also of the constitutional convention
of Vermont.
He was the first secretary of the state, then treasurer,
and surveyor-general. During the revolution he served in the militia and
participated in the battle of Bennington. In 1780-'81 he was a commissioner to
congress in behalf of Vermont, in opposition to the claims of adjoining states.
In 1789 he framed the memorial that led to the organization of the University of
Vermont. He was a delegate to the convention that in 1792 ratified the
constitution of the United States.
In 1795, having become senior Major-General of the militia,
he went to France and purchased arms, which he expected to sell to the state of
Vermont, but on his return voyage he was seized and carried to England, where he
was charged with furnishing arms to the Irish rebels, and litigation in the
court of admiralty followed, where, after eight years, a decision was finally
rendered in his favor. He suffered imprisonment in France in 1798, and returned
home to the United States in 1801. He was the author of "The Natural and
Political History of Vermont" (London, 1798), and also of "Statements Appended
to the Olive Branch" (1807).
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM
ALLEN, Ira, soldier, born in Cornwall, Connecticut, 21 April 1751; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 January 1814. He was a younger brother of Ethan Allen, and was associated with him in the dispute between New York and New Hampshire over the land grants. He was a member of the Vermont legislature in 1776-'77, and also of the constitutional convention of Vermont. He was the first secretary of the state, then treasurer, and surveyor-general. During the revolution he served in the militia and participated in the battle of Bennington. In 1780-'81 he was a commissioner to congress in behalf of Vermont, in opposition to the claims of adjoining states. In 1789 he framed the memorial that led to the organization of the University of Vermont. He was a delegate to the convention that in 1792 ratified the constitution of the United States. In 1795, having become senior Major-General of the militia, he went to France and purchased arms, which he expected to sell to the state of Vermont, but on his return voyage he was seized and carried to England, where he was charged with furnishing arms to the Irish rebels, and litigation in the court of admira, lty followed, where, after eight years, a decision was finally rendered in his favor. He suffered imprisonment in France in 1798, and returned home to the United States in 1801. He was the author of " The Natural and Political History of Vermont" (London, 1798), and also of "Statements Appended to the Olive Branch " (1807).
