Heman Allen (of Colchester)

This article is about the politician from Colchester, Vermont. For other people, see Heman Allen (disambiguation).
Heman Allen
Member of the
United States House of Representatives
from Vermont's At-large district
In office
March 4, 1817 – April 20, 1818
Preceded by Asa Lyon
Succeeded by William Strong
1st United States Ambassador to Chile
In office
January 27, 1823 – July 31, 1827
Succeeded by Samuel Larned
Member of the Vermont State Senate
In office
1812-1817
Personal details
Born (1779-02-23)February 23, 1779
Poultney, Vermont, U.S.
Died April 7, 1852(1852-04-07) (aged 73)
Highgate, Vermont, U.S.
Political party Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Laura Hart and Eliza Davis Fay
Children Heman Allen
Alma mater Dartmouth College
Profession Politician, Lawyer, Ambassador

Heman Allen (February 23, 1779 – April 7, 1852) was an American lawyer, politician and ambassador from Colchester, Vermont. He served as a U.S. Representative and as America's first United States Minister Plenipotentiary to Chile.

Biography

Allen was born in Poultney, Vermont to Heber Allen and Sarah Owen. He attended the common schools. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1795, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1801.[1] He began the practice of law in Colchester, Vermont.

He was town clerk of Colchester from 1807 until 1817.[2] He served as Sheriff of Chittenden County from 1808 until 1810,[3] and Chief Justice of the Chittenden County court from 1811 until 1814.[4] He was treasurer of the University of Vermont in 1815.

Allen served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1812 until 1817.[5] While in the State House he received the appointment of quartermaster of militia, with the rank of Brigadier general.[6] He was elected as a Democratic-Republican candidate to the Fifteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1817 until his resignation on April 20, 1818.[7] Allen resigned from Congress to become a United States Marshal. He was appointed United States Marshall for the district of Vermont on December 14, 1818; he was reappointed on December 24, 1822.[8] Allen was the agent for paying pensioners in 1819.

He was appointed by President James Monroe as America's first United States Minister Plenipotentiary to the new republic of Chile beginning on January 27, 1823.[9] When he called on Commissioner Isaac Hull, whose wife was at her family home saying goodbye before the Hulls sailed to Lima, Allen was making arrangements for passage on the frigate "United States." He met Mrs. Hull's sister Elizabeth, one of the "Seven Lovely Hart Sisters" of Saybrook, and in two weeks they were married and en route to South America.[10] Ann Hart Hull's sister, Jeannette, sailed with the Hulls, and was said to have been proposed to by widower Simon Bolivar after his triumphal entry into Lima in Feb. 1824, and that she refused after learning of his fiery and possessive Ecuadorian mistress, Manuelita Saenz.[11] Allen continued in Chile as minister until July 31, 1827.[12]

Allen was the Whig Party candidate for Governor of Vermont in 1830.[13] He served as president of the Burlington branch of the United States Bank from 1830 until the expiration of its charter in 1836.[14] Following the expiration of the bank's charter, he resumed the practice of law in Highgate.

Personal life

Allen married Elizabeth Laura Hart in 1823. After Elizabeth's death he married Eliza Davis Fay and they had three daughters and a son.[15]

Allen was the nephew of Ira Allen and Ethan Allen, two of the founders of Vermont.[16]

Allen was the distant cousin of Heman Allen (of Milton), United States Representative from Milton, Vermont.[17][18]

Death

Allen died on April 7, 1852 in Highgate. He in interred at Greenmount Cemetery in Burlington.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Allen, Herman". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Chittenden". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Chittenden County Sherriff's Department". Chittenden County Sherriff’s Department. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Heman Allen". Find A Grave. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Allen, Heman, of Colchester (1779-1852)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ "History of Poultney, (Rutland County) Vermont". Our Family THistory50States.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rep. Heman "of Colchester" Allen". Govtrack.us. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Allen, Herman". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Herman Allen". The Early American Foreign Service Database. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  10. ↑ "History of Poultney, (Rutland County) Vermont". Our Family THistory50States.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  11. ↑ "A Love Story From Long Ago".
  12. ↑ "HEMAN ALLEN (1779-1852)". US Department of the State. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  13. ↑ "ALLEN-L Archives". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  14. ↑ "ALLEN, Heman (of Colchester), (1779 - 1852)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ "ALLEN-L Archives". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Chittenden". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  17. ↑ "ALLEN, Heman (of Milton), (1777 - 1844)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  18. ↑ Duffy, John J. (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. UPNE. p. 38.
  19. ↑ Spencer, Thomas E. (2009). Where They're Buried: A Directory Containing More Than 20,000 Names of Notable Persons Buried in American Cemeteries, with Listings of Many Prominent People Who Were Cremated. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 308.
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United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Asa Lyon		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Vermont's at-large congressional district
4 March 1817–20 April 1818 		Succeeded by
William Strong
Diplomatic posts
United States recognized
Chilean Independence 		United States Minister Plenipotentiary, Chile
23 April 1824–31 July 1827 		Succeeded by
Samuel Larned
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