Ethan Allen was a major American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 armsmaker from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. He is believed to be unrelated to the revolutionary Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S...

. His first firearm, the "Pocket Rifle" was developed in 1836, and his first patent was granted in 1837.

The Pepper-box

Pepper-box

The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox is a multiple-barrel repeating firearm that has three or more barrels grouped around a central axis. It mostly appears in the form of a multi-shot handheld firearm...

, known as the "Gun that won the East", was the most common repeating handgun prior to the invention of the revolving cylinder

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

. Its name may have been coined by Samuel Clemens. It was commonly found during the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

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He was a coinventor, with Thomas P. Wheelock, of the "Allen and Wheelock" single-action revolver, an inexpensive pocket pistol

Pocket pistol

A pocket pistol is an American term for any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol or, less-popular, any other handgun of small caliber, suitable for concealed carry in either a front or rear pocket of a pair of trousers, or in an exterior coat pocket...

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Trade names

1831–1837: E. Allen (Grafton)

1837–1842: Allen & Thurber (Grafton)

1842–1847: Allen & Thurber (Norwich)

1847–1854: Allen & Thurber (Worcester)

1854–1856: Allen Thurber & Co (Worcester)

1856–1865: Allen & Wheelock (Worcester)

1865–1871: E. Allen & Company (Worcester)

Ethan had daughters but no sons. The "Company" was his sons-in-law Messrs Sullivan Forehand and H. C. Wadsworth. On Ethan's death in 1871 they took over under their own names, till 1890.