UVM Libraries’ Silver Special Collections Library (SSC) has received a $50,000 donation from historian Gary Shattuck to support the digitization of the Allen Family Papers collection. The collection, spanning from 1730 through 1870 and consisting of twenty-nine document boxes of manuscripts from the family of Ira and Ethan Allen, is slated to become digitally available in the spring of 2027.
"Access to online primary sources is a gift past historians never experienced,” said Shattuck. “By digitizing the Allen Family papers, a wide range of current day historians and researchers will be able to obtain the most accurate information about [the Allen family].” Shattuck shared that previous historians would have faced travel and time challenges to get to, and be able to view, such resources. “[The new digital collection] will also serve as a valuable platform to inform newcomers and novices about this interesting family and, ideally, propel them to engage in further research projects."
Ethan Allen is best known for leading the Green Mountain Boys, a militia that formed in the mid-1700s in the land that eventually became Vermont between New York and New Hampshire (at that time, known as the New Hampshire Grants). As land speculators, soldiers, propagandists, statesmen and future empire-builders, the Allen brothers (Ethan, Herman, Heber, Levi, Zimri and Ira) had a powerful influence over the land that is now known as Vermont. Ira Allen, a known figure to UVM thanks to his statue on the central campus green, donated the land for what is now UVM’s campus and served as an early trustee of the university. Without the Allen family’s efforts, scholars say that it is unlikely that Vermont would have survived the fight for control of the New Hampshire Grants territory.
Bridget Burke, director of Silver Special Collections, shared her excitement that this digitization project coincides with the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
“This collection has items that are very substantive, such as correspondence between the Allen brothers and items related to their wartime activities,” said Burke. “There are also day-to-day items in the collection such as land deeds and promissory notes for goods like clothing and lumber, covering their property and business interests.”
Look out for more announcements about the collection’s availability online in 2027. To learn more about how to broaden access to valuable research materials with the UVM Libraries, connect with us about giving.