Then Again: No brotherly love lost between these two Allens

A letter from Levi Allen to his brother Ira, in the collection of the Vermont Historical Society. Levi ends the letter by writing that he had “shed a tear over the expiring Family Honor, but am drying them in full hopes and Faith that a Phoenix will arise out of the ashes.” In a seemingly self-mocking tone, he signed off with the words, “Here endeth the first lesson.” Photo by Mark Bushnell
Editor’s note: Mark Bushnell is a Vermont journalist and historian. He is th