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

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

, Vermont. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

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 th ...

to Chile.

Biography

Allen was born in Poultney,

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic (French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont (French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The s ...

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 research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

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 profess ...

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 fourth-most populous municipality and second-most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester bor ...

. 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 County ...

. 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 (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

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 (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4 ...

from 1812 until 1817. While in the State House he received the appointment of quartermaster of militia, with the rank of

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

. He was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

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 USMS is a Government agency, bureau within the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Depa ...

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 statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe wa ...

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 in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. Afte ...

, 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 that 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 north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organis ...

Personal life

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

Isaac Hull Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary F ...

. 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 wa ...

and

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and fo ...

. He was the distant cousin of 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
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, - {{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 Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont sheriffs United States Marshals Dartmouth College alumni Burials in Vermont

Biography

Personal life

Death

See also

References

External links