Heman Allen (February 23, 1779April 7, 1852) was an American lawyer, politician and ambassador from

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, Vermont. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and as America's first United States

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to Chile.

Biography

Allen was born in Poultney,

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic, officially known at the time as the State of Vermont, was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met ...

on February 23, 1779, the son of Heber Allen (1743–1782) and Sarah (Owen) Allen (1748–1787). He attended the common schools, and graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1795. He studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1801. He began the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profes ...

Colchester, Vermont Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the third-most populous municipality and most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester borders B ...

. He was town clerk of Colchester from 1807 until 1817. He served as Sheriff of Chittenden County from 1808 until 1810, when he was succeeded by

Heman Lowry Heman Lowry (September 4, 1778 – January 5, 1848) was a county, state and federal government official in Vermont. He was a delegate to two state constitutional conventions (1814, 1828). Lowry was also the longtime sheriff of Chittenden Count ...

. Allen was Chief Justice of the Chittenden County court from 1811 until 1814. He was treasurer of the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

in 1815. Allen served as a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

from 1812 until 1817. While in the State House he received the appointment of quartermaster of militia, with the rank of Brigadier general. He was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

candidate to the

Fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

Congress, serving from March 4, 1817, until his resignation on April 20, 1818. Allen resigned from Congress to become

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

for the district of Vermont on December 14, 1818; he was reappointed on December 24, 1822. Allen was the agent for paying pensioners in 1819. He was appointed by President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

as America's first United States

to the new republic of Chile beginning on January 27, 1823. Allen continued in Chile as minister until July 31, 1827. In 1829, Allen was the unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate of the new

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest Third party (United States), third party in the United States. Formally a Single-issue politics, single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, ...

, which supported him though he had not indicated whether he supported the party or its platform. Allen was the unsuccessful

National Republican Party The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States which evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

candidate in 1831. He served as president of the Burlington branch of the United States Bank from 1830 until the expiration of its charter in 1836. Following the expiration of the bank's charter, he resumed the practice of law in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

Personal life

When Allen was making arrangements for passage to Chile, he met Elizabeth Hart, the sister-in-law of

Isaac Hull Commodore (rank), Commodore Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a United States Navy officer who served in the Quasi-War, Barbary Wars and War of 1812. During his military career, he commanded the warships , , , and . During the ...

. They married before Allen left for his diplomatic mission. She died in 1834, as did their daughter Jeanette. In 1844, Allen married Eliza Davis Fay. They were the parents of three daughters and a son. Allen was the nephew of

Ira Allen Ira Allen (April 21, 1751 – January 7, 1814) was one of the founders of the U.S. state of Vermont and a leader of the Green Mountain Boys during the American colonial period. He was the younger brother of Ethan Allen. Biography Ira Allen was ...

and

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

. He was the distant cousin of

Heman Allen (of Milton) Heman Allen (June 14, 1777 – December 11, 1844) was an American lawyer and politician from Milton, Vermont. He served as a U.S. Representative. Biography Allen was born in Ashfield (now Deerfield, Massachusetts) to Enoch Allen and Mercy Bel ...

. To distinguish between them, Allen was often referred to as ''Heman Allen (of Colchester)'' or "Chile Allen" (sometimes "Chili"), while his cousin was called ''Heman Allen (of Milton)''.

Death

Allen died on April 7, 1852, in Highgate. He in interred at Greenmount Cemetery in Burlington.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*
Ancestry.com

Govtrack.us
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Heman (of Colchester) 1779 births 1852 deaths People from Poultney (town), Vermont Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Vermont Whigs Ambassadors of the United States to Chile 19th-century American diplomats Law enforcement officials from Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont sheriffs United States Marshals Dartmouth College alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

Biography

Personal life

Death

See also

References

External links