Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-06-25
ETHAN ALIENS DEATH AND
RVTHIAL.

The amazement with which the old inhabi-
tants of this vicinity have heard Of the divers
strange reports lately circulated about the
last place of residence, the death and the
burial of Ethan Allen of Revolutionary me-
morv. can hardly be conceived Of. When
such persons hear that some deny that Ethan
Allen was buried in the old cemetery in Bur-
lington which is near Winooski Falls-thut
one report says lie was buried at Appletree
Point; another, on the intervale; another, on
Connecticut river, and another that he was
not buried in Burlington, but in bennington,
that some say his remains were taken up,
years after his burial, by his youngest daush-
ter, a nun in Montreal, & carried to that city
and Reinforced, and others say that it was
not his daughter but a SISTER who performed
that strange Office, Ito say nothing OF other
rumors more ridiculous, tho not more untrue
than those just mentioned,) they ask nutter
amazemcnt, how it can be possible so to dis
tort distinct and notorious facts of our local
history. They would not be much more
surprised, if it were to become question,
whether Ethan Allen ever lived or died at all.
The Daily Free Press of May 9th, CON
tanned the letter of Mr.. 1lawley Writers OF
West Georgia, VT, in which he stated that
he lived with Mr.. Allen when he died, and
attended his funeral, of which he gave a
brief account. The same paper contained
also the formal account Of the funeral cere-
monies as they occurred in Burlington on the
18th day of February 1889, as it was pub
lshed few days after in the only newspapers
then published in the State, viz the YER
mont Gazette of Bennington, and the Vermont
Journal of Windsor. Those articles put the
question as to Ethan Aliens burial place to
rest in the minds of the people generally, in
this region. We have been informed how.
ever that some about here have been dis
quoted little by the Kalamazoo letter
COPIED in the Daily Free Press of June l4th)
letter which did not pretend to give an.
thing more than Mrs. A. B. Aliens impress
sions as to what had been told her by others
(many years it must have been) after the oc
currences From the fact that Ethan AllcI
lived awhile at Bennington before removing
to Burlington, the confounding of the name
of the two places in her mind is not very sur
prising.
Abroad, there yet remains no little con
fusion in peoples minds on the subject, as W
learn not only from what we see in the pa
pers, but by letters from individuals. Thi
arises mainly, we presume, from the fac
that most of the newspapers abroad have boel
content to give their readers condensed items
of from six to ten lines cach-about what tn
Burlington newspapers have said on the sub
ject-these items in many cases being re
markaby inaccurate representations of wha
had been really stated.
We are not disposed to leave any confu
sion resting on the public mind about thi
subject, if it can be cleared away. Etha
Allen is a historical name of great signif
, canoe to the people of Vermont. and Away
, must be SO. Whatever will add to thei
. stances of his death and burial and the las
tokens of respect paid to him by the men c
that day,will be read by them with interest
and here if nowhere else, should the trut
respecting him be diligently searched GU
and laid before the public.
Having learned that in Essex of this coun
ty, two aged persons were yet living VIII
I were at the burial of Ethan Allen, we visite
them on Friday, June 18th, and had tn
f pleasure of a long and gratifying interyie,
, with each of them. We found one of them
, Mrs. Huldah Lawrence, a woman hale i
r body and mind, perfectly clear in her recol
lections about Gen. Allen and his family an
the chief circumstances,of his burial, discrim
mating sharply between what she actual
saw and heard, and what was matter of com
mon report at the time. Mr.. Henry Collins
though infrm in body, being obliged to u,
crutches to get about, was in the full posses
sion of his mental faculties, conversng wit
vivacity of Gen Allen and his family, an
, giving lively anecdotes of him and of othe
men of that day whom he saw often wit
Mr.. Allen, relating also many things whic
took place in this then wilderness country
the scattered settlers of which, he said, wer
like brothers to each other, always ready t
turn out and help each other where help wa
, needed. Both he and Mrs. Lawrence sal
} that the gathering at the funeral was IL grea
; one, people coming in from all the reSlo
round about.
Their statements, as taken down from thei
own lips, signed by them, and sworn to be
fore magistrate, are given below. The
contain particulars not before published, an
we are sure they will interest our readers