Joseph Allen (1708 - abt. 1755)

Born 14 Oct 1708 in Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Baker) Allen — married about 11 Mar 1737 in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut

Descendants

Died about 4 Apr 1755 at about age 46 in Cornwall, Litchfield, Connecticut

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Biography

Joseph Allen was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts on Oct. 14, 1708, son of Samuel and Mercy (Wright) Allen. ^[1]He was the father of Ethan Allen an American Revolutionary leader who fought for Vermont's independence.

• 1718 his father Samuel died, and by about 1720, his mother, widow Mercy Allen, moved her family from Coventry, Connecticut to Litchfield, Connecticut.
• 1728/9: March 1: Joseph received about one third of his mother's estate from his brother Daniel, executor.
• 1732: Nov. : Granted a deed to his sister Lydia of 100 acres at Litchfield.
• 1733: March: Granted a deed of 100+ acres at Litchfield to Paul Peck Jr.
• 1733: Joseph, removed to Roxbury Parish, at Woodbury, Connecticut.
• 1738: Sept. 6: The proprietor's of Cornwall held a meeting at Hartford.
• 1738: Joseph Allen was among those chosen to lay out 50 acre lots and lay out the highways.
• 1739: Nov. Joseph Allen appointed to collect the tax from each proprietor for the laying out of lands at Cornwall.
• 1739 - 1740: Joseph Allen was among the proprietors who drew lots for the first and second divisions of land. ^[2]
• 1740: April 28: Joseph purchased the lands of Samuel Robbards at Cornwall. ^[3]
• 1740: May 8: Joseph was chosen Moderator. ^[2]
• 1740: Joseph Allen, from Litchfield, had one of the houses that had been erected at Cornwall, as one of the first settlers. ^[2]
• 1740/1: August: Joseph was selected for the committee to obtain a preacher for the town. ^[2]
• 1742: Sold the remainder of his lands at Litchfield to Thomas Harrison. ^[3]

Joseph married Mary Baker on March 11, 1736/7 at Woodbury, Connecticut.^[3] Mary was born in January 1708, Woodbury, Connecticut, (daughter of John)^[2] Joseph died on April 4, 1755 at Cornwall, Connecticut. He died intestate. His inventory was taken 20 July 1756. He owned over 500 acres of land. The court ordered distribution to the widow and children was dated 29 Dec 1763. The widow received one third part. The rest was divided in nine parts: eldest son Ethan Allen received 2 of nine parts. Sons Heman, Heber, Levi, Zimri and Ira daughters Lydiah Allen (eldest), and Lucy Allen received one part each.Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, Litchfield District, Probate Packets, Abbott-Averill, 1743-1880, Joseph Allen, Cornwall, 1756, #68. Joseph had the following children:

1. Ethan Allen born 21 Jan 1738, Litchfield, Connecticut,, He first married on 23 Jun 1762, in Woodbury, Connecticut, Mary Brownson, born 1732, (daughter of Cornelius Bronson and Abigail Jackson), married second on 9 Feb 1784, in Westminister, Vermont, to Frances Montresor Brush Buchanan, born 4 Apr 1760, New York, NY, died 1834. Ethan died 12 Feb 1789, Burlington, Vermont. He was buried: abt 21 Feb 1789, Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont.
2. Heman Allen born 15 Oct 1740, Cornwall, Connecticut. He married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778,
3. Lydia Allen born 6 Apr 1742, Cornwall, Connecticut married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778, Revolutionary War, buried: Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont./> married John Finch. Lydia died 1770, Goshen, Connecticut.
4. Levi Allen born 16 Jan 1745, Cornwall, Connecticut,married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778, Revolutionary War, buried: Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont./> married (1) Anna (Nancy) Allen, married (2) Nancy ?. Levi died Jan 1801, Debtor's Prison, Burlington, Vermont, buried: Elmwood Avenue Cemetery, Burlinton, Vermont.
5. Lucy Allen born 2 Apr 1747, Cornwall, Connecticut, married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778, Revolutionary War, buried: Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont.> married Lewis Beebe, born 1749, of Salisbury, Litchfield, CT, died 1816.
6. Zimri Allen born 10 Dec 1748, Cornwall, Connecticut, , married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778, Revolutionary War, buried: Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont.died 1776.
7. Ira Allen born 1 May 1751, Cornwall, Connecticut, (born 21 Apr 1751, married Abigail Beebe, born 1753, died 1837. Herman died 18 May 1778, Revolutionary War, buried: Green Mountain Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont. married 1890/91, Jerusha Hayden Enos Jr., born 1764, (daughter of Roger Enos and Unknown) died 1838. Ira died 07 Jan 1814, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A monument to Ethan Allen's memory stands in the Allen Cemetery at Cornwall. The inscription reads: To The Pioneers of Cornwall 1739-1763 Of Whom Joseph Allen Only Is Known To Lie Here, Four of His Sons Besides. Ethan Allen Helped Capture Fort Ticonderoga

Sources

1. ↑ Baldwin, Thomas, compiler. Vital Records of the Town of Deerfield Massachusetts to the Year 1850, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts 1920 p. 12, Roberts, Gary Boyd, compiler. Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 1, Adams-Gates. Reprinted from the New England Genealogical and Historical Register. Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Maryland, 1983 p. 16
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Gold, Theodore Sedgwick. Historical Records of the Town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, Hartford, Connecticut, 1877 p. 9-12; p. 46;
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Cothren, William. History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut: From the First Indian Deed in 1659 to 1854; Including the Present Towns of Washington, Southbury, Bethlem, Roxbury, and a Part of Oxford and Middlebury, Volume 1. Bronson Brothers, Waterbury, Connecticut. 1854 p. 413

• Gold, Theodore Sedgwick. Historical Records of the Town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, Hartford, Connecticut, 1877 p. 9-12; p. 46;
• Bellesiles, Michael A (1993). Revolutionary Outlaws: Ethan Allen and the Struggle for Independence on the Early American Frontier. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-1603-3
• A genealogical register of the inhabitants of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut|A Genealogical Register of the Inhabitants of the Town of Litchfield, Connecticut],Woodruff, George C. (The Case Lockwood & Brainard Company, Hartford, Conn., 1845) True pages 7 and 8.
• Historical Records of the Town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, Hartford, Connecticut, 1877 p. 9-12; p. 46;
• The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. White, Lorraine Cook, ed "Litchfield" Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
• History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut: From the First Indian Deed in 1659 to 1854; Including the Present Towns of Washington, Southbury, Bethlem, Roxbury, and a Part of Oxford and Middlebury, Volume 1. Bronson Brothers, Waterbury, Connecticut. 1854 p.
• with family and 23 sources: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2WZ-VVF
• Find a Grave, database and images [1]( accessed 14 October 2021), memorial page for Joseph Allen (14 Oct 1708–4 Apr 1755), Find a Grave Memorial ID 76194672, citing Allen Cemetery, Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA