The Founder of Vermont, Ethan Allen, Writes a Promissory Note. ALLEN, ETHAN. 1738-1789. Autograph document signed ('Ethan Allen'), and signed within the text ('General Allen') to David Robinson, n.p., February 17, 1786. 1p., square 8vo (180 x 185 mm), docketed verso. Tipped in upper margin to another sheet, separations to creases repaired verso, portion of lower margin possibly trimmed away, and with an old bookseller description tipped to the lower margin. Following the American Revolution, Ethan Allen writes a promissory note to David Robinson, a Vermont soldier active who would ultimately become Major General in the Vermont militia. Witnessed by David Ray, and with a lengthy post-script, in Allen's hand, regarding the circumstances under which the note should be handed back to Ethan Allen. 'I am drove almost to death for money. We are rich poor cursed rascals. By God, alter our measures or we shall be a hiss, a proverb, and a bye word, and derision upon earth' (Ethan Allen to his brother Ira, August 18, 1786). In 1772, Ethan Allen joined his brothers Ira, Heman, and Zimri, as well as his cousin Remember Baker, to form the Onion River Land Company, a land-speculation group that acquired land around the Winooski River, also known as the Onion River. Following the Ethan Allen-led attack on Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the family claimed more than 65,000 acres of land in northern Vermont. 'Building on an ethos of swindling and fraud, he and Ira distinguished themselves both before and during the war, selling off as much as they could, lining their pockets as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the victims of the brothers' shady operation, and assorted business associates, occasionally resorted to filing lawsuits trying to claw back the money they paid. Inevitably, they found themselves unable to obtain any recourse because of the brothers' inability and/or unwillingness to disgorge their ill-gotten gains' (Gary Shattuck, 'Insolvent Brothers: The Generals Ethan and Ira Allen', May 2025, The Journal of the American Revolution). Despite earning early profits bolstered by their lax frontier government's practice of recording land grants, their system eventually fell apart, causing Ethan Allen to claim in a 1786 letter to his brother Ira: 'we are [land] rich [money] poor rascals.' According to Shattuck, 'the drumbeat of Ethan's neglect to pay his creditors dogged him after 1777. Failure to repay several other debts and notes he signed,... his refusal to settle book accounts,... his several breaches of contract,...and, just six days before he died, his refusal to convey land to an attorney...demonstrate the diverse ways he escaped accountability for his obligations. But for his life ending when it did, there is little reason to believe that Ethan, even in the face of approaching financial collapse, would have changed the course of his questionable dealings' (ibid.). Despite his debts, the legacy of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys is cemented through their role in founding Vermont, capturing Fort Ticonderoga, and fighting in the Saratoga campaign; both the present-day Vermont Army National Guard and Air National Guard carry the 'Green Mountain Boys' moniker. Ethan Allen's reputation as a fierce outspoken frontiersman, defiant, autonomous, and fighting for land embodies the spirit of the American Revolution. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing