George and Dwight Sidney Allen

Regions: Madison Co., NY; Walworth Co., WI

GEORGE ALLEN, grandson of Elisha Allen of Worcester county, Massachusetts (Princeton or Sturbridge), and son of Walter ALLEN and Harriet HOLBROOK, was born at Lebanon, Madison county, New York, July 23, 1820, married Harriet A. BUELL, January 12, 1842; came to Linn in 1852, settling on section 24 and adding later more than half of section 23 - more than a square mile in all. He and his wife had been teachers; and a fairly educated landholder usually finds some fair place in the esteem of his townsmen. Mr. ALLEN was a member of the county board seven times between 1854 and 1867, and chairman in 1866; member of Assembly in 1855; assessor more than twenty years; and justice of the peace from 1866 to his death, February 26, 1899. Mrs. ALLEN, daughter of Ira BUELL and Chloe HOLCOMB, was born at Plymouth, Chenango county, January 3, 1821, and died December 16, 1895. From the book History of Walworth County Wisconsin, by Albert Clayton Beckwith, publ. 1912 - page 482-483 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEORGE ALLEN. It would be impossible to estimate the good resulting from the life of such a man as George ALLEN, now "sleeping the sleep that knows no breaking," for, like the little acorn which grows into a mighty oak, the seemingly insignificant deed, inspired by an altruistic impulse to help the unfortunate on the great highway we call life, often increases with time until its influence is potent and far-reaching. Through a long life, consistent with the truth and right as he saw and understood them, Mr. ALLEN was accustomed to scatter little seeds of kindness and helpfulness, the influence of which still pervade the lives of those who were in any way associated with him and who still, many with staff and the leaden steps of age, continued plodding the outermost miles of life's uneven road, remembering with due reverence the magnanimous nature of the sterling pioneer of whom the biographer now writes. Mr. ALLEN was born in Lebanon, Madison county, New York, July 23, 1820. He was the son of Walter and Harriet (HOLBROOK) ALLEN. His paternal grandfather, Elisha ALLEN, was a native of Worcester county, Massachusetts, and there his death occurred in 1818 at an advanced age. He was a relative of Ethan ALLEN, of Revolutionary fame. Walter ALLEN was born in the same county, March 20, 1787, and was one of a family of eight children. He lived in Massachusetts until 1815, then moved to Madison county, New York, where he spent his remaining years, dying in 1833, having devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. His wife was born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, May 10, 1790. She was the daughter of John and Lucretia (BABBETT) HOLBROOK. Her father was born in 1750, and he died January 31, 1839. The death of Mrs. HOLBROOK occurred in 1832. In Walter ALLEN's family there were six children, namely: Mary, born May 25, 1815, died December 31, 1830; Dwight, born November 19, 1816, died September 4, 1839; Charles, born August 31, 1818, died May 19, 1862; George was the next in order of birth; Julia was born March 9, 1826, married B. W. WYLIE and died at the age of twenty-two years. George ALLEN, of this review, was reared and educated in his native county and there he remained until 1852. On January 12, 1842, he was united in marriage with Harriet A. BUELL, daughter of Ira and Chloe (HOLCOMB) BUELL. A history of this family is to be found in the sketch of Henry BUELL. She was born in Chenango county, New York. Her family were noted for longevity and her father was one of thirteen children, twelve of whom lived to an average age of seventy-one and one-half years. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George ALLEN, namely: Dwight S., born February 12, 1843; was a soldier in the Civil war from 1862 until the close of the conflict; he was in Sherman's march to the sea, and he was for some time confined in Libby prison; he married Delia SHERMAN, of Waukesha county, Wisconsin; he farmed until about 1903, when he became president of the Farmers National Bank of Lake Geneva and was also president of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. Dwight S. ALLEN was very successful as a business man and he became the owner of six hundred and eighty-five acres of fine farm land. He was also prominent in public affairs, and served in the state Legislature, from 1889 to 1891. His death occurred on May 5, 1908, leaving a wife and seven children. Mary A. ALLEN, the second child born to George ALLEN and wife, married Herman H. CURTIS, a banker of Castlewood, South Dakota; Frances married Joseph CHEEVER, an attorney, and she died at Brookings, South Dakota, January 3, 1909; Ira B. who was born January 11, 1852, died April 7, 1878, on the eve of graduating from the theological department of Yale University, at the close of nine years in college; he was a young man of great promise and brilliant talents; Walter, next in order of birth, is mentioned on another page of this work; John W., born October 12, 1854, was accidentally shot when twenty-three years old; Charles died in infancy; William H. is a practicing physician at Rochester, New York; Hattie C., who married Earl FARNUM, lives in Antigo, Wisconsin. The cause of education always found in George ALLEN a warm friend and he gave his children excellent advantages along that line. Both he and his wife were teachers in early life, and seven of their children have taught. In 1852 George ALLEN located in Linn township, Walworth county, Wisconsin, buying one hundred acres in section 24, and, as he prospered through close application and good management, he added to his holdings until he had over six hundred acres of fine land in one body. His success was due almost entirely to his perseverance, industry and enterprise and came as a just reward for his honest labor. He was for years one of the leading farmers and influential citizens of the county. From the formation of the Republican party, now some sixty-five years ago, he was a stanch supporter of it, and became a leader in this locality in public matters. He served in the Legislature in 1855, and he also held various local offices. In 1854 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors and was its chairman two years. In 1859 he was elected superintendent of schools, which position he held two years, and in 1862 he was chosen assessor and served ten successive years. In 1866 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he filled without interruption until his last years. He at one time filled the office of treasurer of Linn township. From 1863 until the close of the war he was again chairman of the board of supervisors, and he was district supervisor from 1864 until 1867. In 1873 he was once more elected assessor, filling the position fourteen years at that time, or for a period of twenty-four years out of twenty-five. His worth, fidelity and ability kept him constantly in office and in an unusual degree he had the confidence and respect of the entire community, discharging his every duty conscientiously and without any selfish motives. He was a man of noble impulses and took a delight in assisting others, and it was said of him that he started more people farming than any other man in Walworth county, helping them not only with advice and encouragement, but also in a pecuniary way. He was a very busy man in a business way, and most of his public honors came unsought. While not a member of any church, he was yet a religious man, too broad-minded to adhere to any man-made creed, and he was a liberal supporter of the churches. His wife was an ardent Christian, and they reared their children in a most wholesome home atmosphere, insisting on them attending church regularly and following the Golden Rule in their daily contact with their fellow men. The death of George ALLEN occurred on February 26, 1899, after a very busy, useful and honorable life, so pure and serene that one would be compelled to search far to find its parallel. From History of Walworth County Wisconsin by Albert Clayton Beckwith, Vol. II, Publ. 1912 - Page 914-917 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DWIGHT SIDNEY ALLEN, son of George ALLEN and Harriet A. BUELL, was born at Lebanon, Madison county, New York, February 12, 1843; lived in Linn until a few years before his death, when he moved to Lake Geneva where he died May 5, 1908. In 1862 he enlisted for three years service in Company C, Twenty-second Infantry, serving as corporal; September 4, 1867, he married Delia A. SHERMAN, at Eagle. He served his town as treasurer, justice, and from 1877 to 1890 as member of the county board, of which body he was eight times chairman. He was a member of the Assembly at its session of 1889, elected over Edward Decatur PAGE and Huron Irving HAWKS. From 1888 to 1908, he was a member of the Soldier's Relief Committee. Mrs. ALLEN was born in 1846, and has seven children. From the book History of Walworth County Wisconsin, by Albert Clayton Beckwith, publ. 1912 - page 482 Submitted by Carol

See Also: Walter Allen