Thomas Rowley (poet)

Thomas Rowley (1721–1796) was a famous poet of Vermont, known both as the spokesman for Ethan Allen and dubbed “The Bard of the Green Mountains.” During his lifetime and before the American Revolution, his poetry gained a reputation, as did his catchphrase "Setting the Hills on Fire." Biography Thomas Rowley was born on March 24, 1721, in Hebron, Connecticut, the son of Samuel Rowley and Elizabeth Fuller and great grandson of Samuel Fuller (Mayflower). Thomas married Lois Cass in Hebron in 1744 and they had seven known children in Hebron and Kent, Connecticut. Thomas Rowley moved to the town of Danby, Rutland County, Vermont, in 1768, with his wife and family. The Rowleys are listed as some of the first settlers of Danby, Thomas was the first town clerk. In Rutland County, Thomas became acquainted with and joined with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys a growing Vermont militia named after the Green Mountains of Vermont comprised mostly from freemen in Rutland County and neighboring Addison County. The Green Mountain Boys were concerned New York would claim all the lands of Vermont known at the time as a dispute over the New Hampshire Grants. As Ethan Allen's spokesman, Rowley's poetry became legendary for the proverbial "setting the hills on fire." That is, he motivated the men of Vermont to fight for their independence as a state against the threat of the New York state feudal system.