Blennerhassett, << `blen` ur HAS eht, >> Harman (1765-1831), was one of the principal supporters of Aaron Burr’s colonizing expedition to the West (see Burr, Aaron ). He evidently believed that Burr would lead an American force into Mexico. Blennerhassett was suspected of plotting with Burr to separate certain regions from the United States in order to establish another independent nation. In 1807, Blennerhassett was arrested on a charge of treason. He was acquitted but lost much of his personal fortune during his trials.
Blennerhassett was born in Hampshire, England, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He came to the United States in 1796 and settled on an island in the Ohio River below the present city of Parkersburg, West Virginia.
