Ethan Allen (1796 – November 17, 1879) was an Episcopal priest and author, the first historian of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
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Early life and education
Born in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, in 1796, Ethan Allen was a grandson of the Puritan John Alden Allen and cousin of Ethan Allen, the famous revolutionary. Raised in a Congregational church, Allen graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1818. He moved to Maryland, joined the Episcopal Church and became lay reader at Trinity Church, Upper Marlboro. He later earned a doctorate of divinity degree.
Ministry
Bishop James Kemp ordained Allen a priest in 1819. After serving at St. John's parish in Prince George's County for several years, in 1823 Allen became rector of Christ Church, Washington Parish, in the District of Columbia. When Bishop Kemp died unexpectedly in 1827, the diocese was divided as to his successor and their choice refused to move to the state. Eventually, the diocesan convention of 1830 settled upon William Murray Stone, a native of Somerset County and slaveholder.