Allen, Ira

ALLEN, IRA. (1751–1814). Frontier leader. Born in Cornwall, Connecticut, on 1 May 1751, Allen joined his older brothers in settling in the New Hampshire Grants, a region contested by several provinces. With the crown recognizing New York's claim, New Hampshire's land grants appeared worthless. In 1773 Allen formed the Onion River Land Company to buy up the deeds to the Grants, relying on his brother and partner, Ethan Allen, to secure their value. Ira Allen was present at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on 11 May 1775 and served as a lieutenant in the invasion of Canada. Returning to the Grants the following year, Allen played a leading role in the creation of the state of Vermont. With Ethan Allen a prisoner of the British until May 1778, Ira Allen organized the conventions that led to Vermont's declaration of independence in January 1777; drafted the state's constitution with Thomas Chittenden, who became Vermont's first governor; and served as treasurer, surveyor general, member of the governor's council, and secretary to the governor, as well as Vermont's chief negotiator with the other states and the British in Canada. The power of the Allens declined with the success of their revolution as thousands of new settlers poured into Vermont. Ira Allen left the government in 1787 and devoted the rest of his life to personal finances. In 1791 his pledge of four thousand pounds persuaded the state legislature to charter the University of Vermont in Burlington. In succeeding years Allen fell progressively deeper in debt, and he fled the state in 1803, dying a pauper in Philadelphia on 15 January 1814.

SEE ALSO Allen, Ethan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Ira. Papers. University of Vermont Library, Burlington.

―――――――. Papers. Vermont Historical Society, Barre.

Wilbur, James B. Ira Allen: Founder of Vermont 1751–1814. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1928.