Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-05-28
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BURLINGTON
FRIDAY MORNING. MAY rs, 1858
From the Daily Free Press of May Il.
ETHAN ALIENS BURIAL PLACE.

h1hc Nhdnli illdlu VI sOIneNHerc pcrHaps
ON Lake George, or Lake St. Peterson al
least, whether Plattsburgh Bay, st. Albant
Bay, Burlington Bay, Bulwagga Bay, ol
South Bay near Whitehall, was the actual
place Of contest. The ribs of the old Conf
ancc, seen for 50 many years by so many
thousands, sticking out Of the mud near the
Elbow ut the South end of the Lake would &c
far, we presume, in the minds of some to in.
validate all claims which Plattsburgh Bay
can put IN for the honor, till it produces some
thing of us tangible character, and on a
! much larger scale in its favor.
Jcsting apart, a question of that sort would
be no more ridiculous than the one which
within few days has been mooted about the
true burial place of Ethan Allen. We dc
not suppose any such question would have
been raised by amy mortal, had it not been
from the desire which sprung lin the mind 5
Of some to have the monument now in pro-
gress of erection under tn authority of the
Legislature placed in another locality, where
they think it would form an appropriate fea-
ture in the beautiful scenery around the bay.
On the question of taste, we do not care to
enter, at present, and as for the duties of the
Commissioners, we presume they can decide
on them without our help. But it is due to
the truth ofhistory thatno impression should
get abroad that there ever has been any un-
certainty about the real burial place of Ethan
| Allen. There has been none, and there can
be none in the mind of any one who will ac-
! quaint himself with the known facts of
the case.
y few years ago, there Were living
in this town those who knew Ethan Allen
personally, were familiar with the circum-
stances Of his death, who attended his funeral
and had been cognizant Of the place
OF his interment ever since. But now
probably not more than two or three per-
sons are living who saw Ethan Allen buried
and none of them now live in this town. Our
respected townsman, Horace Loomis, ESD
who came here member of his fathers fam
lily in 1890, being then lad of fifteen
years of age, informs us that at that time
there was no other graveyard in this region
than the small one (snal now, but enlarged
from what 1t was at frsD always known us
the burial place of Ethan Allen, and there
were but few graves in it at that time. AL
lens grave was often pointed out to him by
his matoo Who mad witnessed the burial and
who were wont to talk over at the grave the
circumstances Of the parade which was made
when he was buried, the firing of guns over
the grave, &C., and from that day to the
present it has been known as the place of
Aliens sepulturc. No other was ever spok-
en- Of
But if nothing short of an eye witness Of
| the burial will suffice, the following letter
which we take from the Times of this morn
ing, will set the matter at rest, we think.
The writer, Mr.. Hawley Writers, is well
known in these parts. His letter, we judge
from the address, was written to one of our
fellow citizens who has been very desrous to
have the monument erected on the Battery
1t is of interest from the other facts mention
ed in it, besides what concerns the place ol
burial.
[The letter Of Mr.. Writers, we omit in thi
place, because it appears in Il following com
muncation from the committee.
Tho death of such man as Ethan Aller
was remarkable event, and the place of his
burial could not be an unnoticed one by the
men of his day. We have before US, takel
from the Vermont Gazette, of March 10th
1889, published at Bennington, by Haswell
Russell ian account of the funeral ceremonies
We are indebted for it to W. II. Root, Esq
of this place, who ownsa copy of the Gazette
The article is evidently communication
from this place. 1t appeared also about tn
same time in the Vermont Journal, Her
it is: [For this see also the communicates
of committee below.1
As to the particular spot of burial in tn
yard, there is also something to be said. Tn
late DR.. Jabez Penniman of Colchester MAJ
ried the widow of Ethan Allen. She die
|
hundreds in this vicinity now living. Nc
long after his marriage with the widow, DI
Penniman caused the well known tomb ston
t to be placed to Aliens memory. That it VIZ
put in the proper place no one can doub
/ without positive proof to the contrary.
j, After the late Heman Allen of Hghgat,
| 30 fro
abroad, and made Burlington his residence
f he was at much pains and expense to in
: prove the appearance of that burial grounc
0 several individuals of the Allen family beir
buried there, The opening of the larg
/, cemetery in the village had caused that OIL
to be rarely used for burial, and it had fall'
l. into neglected condition, Time had loose
Ii ed the undcrpinnng of the slab over Ethi
Aliens grave, and among other improy
ments in the ground, Mr.. II, Allen cause
the stone to be reset. Whether it was ma
g.. to cover the exact six feet by two which
or GOV red before, perhaps cannot be establishe
u No one can easily believe that there was a
great change made in it's position From tt
CT time to this its place remained unchang
n. beyond all question-although much Of
p was broken off, and carried away by visit
II, from abroad.
$50 As to the monument, petitions went fr
this neighborhood to the Legislature for
F. erection of a suitable monument at the pl
nd lie expense in place of the old and dilapid
M ed one. No other spot was talked Of her'
no other place was thought of by the me
iss bers of the Legislature. Whether the