Biography
Jerusha Hayden Enos Allen married Ira Allen on September 13, 1789. When she became engaged, her father, General Roger Enos, required that there be a marriage settlement. The township of Irasburg was deeded to her as that settlement and Allen remarked that, "she did not at that time consider it worth a rush." She had three children: Ira Hayden, Zimri Allen, and Maria Juliette. At one point, she and Ira owned 20,000 to 30,000 acres of land, seven mills, two forges, and a ferry above the Winooski River. As a result of bad business dealings and extended trips, the Allen's eventually lost all of their land holdings except the town of Irasburg. In 1810, Jerusha Allen moved to Irasburg while Ira Allen was in jail in Philadelphia. For over twenty years, she conducted business as a deputy husband and took sole responsibility of the family during her husbands' absences. When she died in 1838, she left behind an estate worth $500,000 and the land was given to her only surviving heir, Ira H. Allen.