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Timeline of the Onion River Land Company and the Vermont Frontier
1749: Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire begins granting lands west of the Connecticut River, initiating the New Hampshire Grants.
1764: A royal decree establishes the Connecticut River as the boundary between New Hampshire and New York, escalating territorial disputes.
1770: New York courts rule against the validity of New Hampshire titles, intensifying the conflict with settlers.
1773: The Onion River Land Company is formed by Ira Allen, Ethan Allen, Heman Allen, Zimri Allen, and Remember Baker to consolidate landholdings in Vermont's Champlain Valley.
1774-1775: The company promotes settlement and development of their lands, building Fort Frederick as a base for operations.
1777: The Vermont Republic is declared independent, easing pressures from New York and facilitating land settlement.
1780-1781: Ira Allen engages in secret negotiations with British officials (the Haldimand Negotiations) to ensure Vermont's security and enhance trade prospects.
1784-1785: Post-Revolution, Ira Allen develops mills and infrastructure along the Winooski River to support settlement and commerce.
1791: Vermont is admitted as the 14th state of the United States, cementing territorial stability.
The Rowley and Fenn Families: Settlers on the Vermont Frontier
The histories of the Allen and Rowley families are closely intertwined, whether through land transactions or shared service in the militia. Notably, Hopkins Rowley entered Fort Ticonderoga alongside Ethan Allen, marking a significant moment in both family and American history.
Researching land records from the Vermont frontier has proven challenging due to the complex and disputed land history of the region. The area was claimed at different times by New Hampshire and New York before eventually becoming Vermont. These shifting jurisdictions have complicated the search for accurate land records. To gain better insights, I decided to take a step back and explore the pre-statehood history of Vermont. Understanding this context may provide valuable clues about the records' origins and where they might be housed today.
I am interested in finding Rowley land records to establish family connections, not only within the Rowley family but also with the Fenn family. Huldah Rowley married Daniel Fenn, and proving the parentage of both has been a major challenge in my research. I have many avenues to explore. I just need to organize what I have and move forward from there. This is one area where I believe AI could be particularly helpful. AI can assist in organizing land records, and if I write the prompts correctly, I may be able to correlate the incoming and outgoing transactions within those records in order to see what records I am missing.
In all my land research in New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont I have never come across the Onion River Land Company. The timeline above shows the Onion River Land Company being formed. It was founded in 1773 by Ira Allen and his family, and promoted settlement along the Champlain Valley where the Rowley and Fenn family eventually settled in Shoreham, Vermont. Further study of this land company might open up other areas of research.
Conclusion
Researching early land records on the Vermont frontier has been both a challenge and an opportunity to uncover new insights into my ancestors' lives. The shifting land claims between New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont have complicated the search, but understanding the historical context has helped me understand the times in which they were living. I will continue to explore resources like the Onion River Land Company and utilize AI tools to organize and analyze data. I hope to make further connections between the Rowley and Fenn families. Every record I find is another piece of the puzzle, bringing me closer to learning how my family fit into Vermont’s early history.
AI Disclosures
Journey to the Past blog posts uses the assistance of
artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
While the content reflects my ideas, writing, and research, GPT-4o was used for grammar and style suggestions.
The headlines on this blog may be suggested by GPT-4o algorithms. I review, select, and edit the most fitting one to capture the essence of the content.
The timeline on this post was created using GPT-4o by uploading a journal article and generating a timeline based on its content.
The image used on this blog post was created by AI software,
DALL-E. The visual was designed to complement the content and enhance the
reader's experience.
Sources
Graffagnino, J. Kevin. “The Country My Soul Delighted In”: The Onion River Land Company and the Vermont Frontier. The New England Quarterly 65, no. 1 (March 1992): 24–60. Published by The New England Quarterly, Inc. Accessed April 2025. Available on JSTOR.
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