Writ, Rev. Solomon Palmer vs. Ethan Allen

00-CA1890-68-0

Collection

Identifier: 00-CA1890-68-0

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This Writ (CA1890-68-0), dated May 8, 1765, between Rev. Solomon Palmer and Ethan Allen regarding a debt that Allen owed Palmer. The writ, written by clerk Isaac Baldwin, orders the Sheriff to go to Allen's Salisbury, Connecticut residence and seize money and property for the sum owed to Palmer or arrest Allen and bring him to the Litchfield Gaol. A note on the back indicates that the Sheriff was unable to find Allen.

Dates

created: 1765

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical or Historical Information

The Rev. Solomon Palmer (1709-1771) was minister of the Congregational Church in Cornwall, Connecticut when Ethan Allen was young. Allen's father Joseph, rejected the Calvinist teachings of the Congregational Church and encouraged his family, friends and the local minister to do the same and become Anglicans. When Palmer announced his conversion from his pulpit, Dr. Joseph Bellamy, minister in Bethlehem, CT and one of the leading ministers of the New Light movement in Western Connecticut, had Palmer removed from his pulpit, excommunicated and sued for preach of contract. Joseph and Ethan Allen supported Palmer, including providing financial support for Palmer to travel to England to be ordained. On his return, Palmer was sent to preach at missions in New York, New Jersey and in New Haven and Litchfield, Connecticut. Bellamy continued to pursue Palmer and other moderate ministers. In 1761, Ethan Allen wrote and had published a defense of Palmer. Palmer, struggling financially, sued for back salary and the restoration of his glebe land from his time as minister in Cornwall. He died in poverty in 1771.

Note written by