Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1846-09-17
81 !. AttrttteIO GouIVtp
u i q q R 81 40 ID e
ETHAN ALLEN.

ing the foundation upon which the indepen
dent State of Vermont has been reared, anC
indeed the leader and champion of that reso
lutte band of husbandmen, who FIRST planted
themselves in the wilderness Of the Green
Mountains, was ETHAN ALLEN. He was
born in Litch6eld,' January 10, l7T. His
parents soon afterwards removed tn Cornwall
where other children were born. making in
all six sons and two daughters-E,han, He
man, Heber, Levi, zimri, Ira, Lydia, and
Lucy. The family subsequently became res,
idents ofSaIisbury, where. in 1862, Ethan
was one of the proprietors Of the Iron Fur.
mace All the brothers grew up to manhood,
and at least four ofthcm emigrated early to
the territory west of the Green Mountains,
where they all were active and conspicuous
characters in their border feUds aud in the
Revolutionary struggle aud the name of
Ethan Allen gained reuown, which spread
widely while he lived, and has been perpe,u.
ted in history. n
The territory on which the Aliens and
their associates settled, was then called the
New Hampshire Grants" and was claimed
ed by the Government of New York-a
claim, however, which the settlers openly aud
vigorously resisted. In l764, the Crown
having declared the Connecticut River
to be the boundary line between New York
and New Hampshire, the New York Gov.
ernor decided that jurisdiction meant the
same thing as right of property, and forth
with proceeded 10 vacate all the titles ty
which the settlers held their lands, and even
issued writs Of ejectmept. This reused to
its NIL extent the spirit of the Green Noun.
tain Boys. Ethan Allen was appointed
anagent to manage the affairs of the defend.
ants before the Court at Albany; and, hav-
ing secured the aid of Mr.. Ingersoll, an
eminent counsellor in Connecticut, il is
scarcely necessary Ia add, thai the cause of
the settlers was defended with great boldness
and ability. The verdict was ofcourse Civ.
Ell to the plaintiAs-it being the theoretical
and practical doctrine of the New York gov.
erument that all of Gov. Wentworth's grants
were illegal.
1t is recorded, that after Allen retired
"V'1i ''~ ""u'' a. Albany, two or three gen
tlemeR interested in the Now YorK s.a...
called upon him, one of whom was the
Kings attorney general for the colony, and
advised him to go home and persuade his
friends of the Green Mountains to make the
best terms they could with their new land
lords, intimating that their cause was
now desperate, and reminding him of the
old provelb, that "migM cfen prerails
again" right" Neither admiring the deli
cacy of this sentiment, nor in,imidated by
the .hrea, i: held out, Allen replied, " The
gods Of the valleys are not the gods of the
hills" This laconic figure Of speech he
left 10 be interpreted by his visitors, adding
only, when an explanation was asked by the
Kings attorney, tina, If he would accompa-
ny him to Bennington the sense should be
made clear.
The purpose Of his mission being thus
brought to close, Mr.. Allen returned and
reported the particulars to his constituents
The news spread from habi,ation to habita-
ton, and created a sudden and loud muir
mgr Of discomfort among the people. See.
ing, as they thought, the door Of justice shut
against them, and having tried in vain all
the peaceful means Of securing their rights,
they resolved to appeal to the last arhiter OF
disputes. The inhabitants of Bennington
Immediately assembled, and came to for
NAL determination to defend their property
by force, and to unite in resisting all en-
croachments upon the lands occupied by
persons holding titles under the warrants
granted by the governor of New Hampshire.
This was bold step; but it was promptly
taken, and with seeming determination to
adhere to il at any hazard, and without re-
gard TO consequences. Nor was this decis.
ion changed or weakened by a proposition
on the part of the New York patentees
made about this time, which allowed to each
occupant fee simple Of his farm, at the
same price for which the. unoccupied land.
in his neighborhood were sold. The frs
pure asers still insisted, that this was re-
curing them 10 pay twice for their lands
and that in any view the proposal was no
Just, inasmuch as the value of the unoccu
pied lands depended mainly on the settle
ments, which had been made in their vicin
i.y by tie toll and at the expense of tn
original occupants. In short, the time 70
talking about charters, and boundaries, AM
courts of judieature was past, and IN
moun.aineers were now fully bent on con
Quoting the controversy by more summa
nv process. The wisdom or equity Of thi
decision shall forbear to discuss, and pro
coed to narra.s some Of Its consequences.
sR;ographerS have differed in regard TO th