Moses Robinson: Vermont’s Founding Father You’ve Never Heard Of

Robert A. Mello, author of Moses Robinson and the Founding of Vermont will speak about Vermont's Founding Father that you've never heard of at the Brookfield Old Town Hall on July 16th from 6:00PM-7:30PM.

t took more than Ethan Allen! Mello will discusses his full-length biography of Robinson and his vital role in the birth of democracy in early Vermont.

Mello is a former trustee of the Vermont Historical Society and a retired Superior Court judge, Robert Mello has had a life-long fascination with American history and the law, especially the early history of Vermont.

Here's the book's description: 

Moses Robinson appears in books about early Vermont history, bur as a minor character in the story of the founding of the state, and with little substance. In this full-length biography deeply researched in primary sources like state papers, legislative proceedings, court records, and other government documents-Robert Mello restores Robinson to his rightful place as one of the most significant figures in the founding of Vermont and the development of its state institutions.

Robinson was a leader of the revolt against New York, one of Vermont's agents to Congress in charge of negotiating statehood, the architect of Vermont's legal system, and served as the state's first chief justice, governor for a year, and then as its first senator. He was an ally of the Allen-Chittenden faction but also was independent-minded, particularly on the issue of statehood. During the last decade of his life, before his death in 1813, Moses Robinson was widely considered to be Vermont's elder statesman.

In telling Moses Robinson's story, Mello deftly narrates the convoluted story of how Vermont emerged from the conflict between New Hampshire and New York, flirted with Great Britain during the Revolutionary War, and eventually became the 14th state. This complicated story has been told many times before, though not recently in such detail, and rarely with such a clear and precise understanding of tangled events. This book offers a fresh perspective on early Vermont history for a new generation of readers.

The event is free to the public. You can find more details here.