Allen, H.F.

ALLEN, DAVIS, FISHER, WILSON, HOGAN-HOHLWEGLER, DAUGHERTY

Posted By: Janelle Martin (email)
Date: 5/18/2009 at 19:18:29

History of Hamilton County Iowa, Vol. II, p. 26

H. F. ALLEN.

H. F. Allen, who is one of the estimable citizens of Blairsburg, has passed the greater part of his life in this vicinity, having called Hamilton County his home for more than forty years. He is a native of the state of New York, his birth having occurred at Oxford, Chenango County, May 31, 1864. His parents, S. J. and Nancy (Davis) Allen, were likewise natives of the Empire state. During the early childhood of our subject the family removed from Chenango to Madison County, coming from there to Iowa. Their destination was Webster City, where they arrived on the 4th of March, 1870. Their first home in the county was on a farm a mile east of Webster City, where the father continued his agricultural pursuits for ten years. From there they went to a place a mile south of Blairsburg, where they resided for a long period. Both parents are deceased, the father having passed away in Wright County in 1893, at the age of seventy-two years, while the mother, whose death occurred in Liberty township, this county, in 1888, was sixty-three at the time of her demise. To them were born five children, of whom our subject is the youngest. In order of birth the others are as follows: Mrs. Sarah Jane Countryman, deceased, whose husband was steward of the poor farm for eight years, having been the first to fill that office; George R., who is residing in Minnesota; Carrie, who died at the age of twenty years; and Mrs. Clara Fisher, who passed away in 1900.

The first six years in the life of H. F. Allen were passed in his native state. His boyhood and youth were not unlike those of other lads living in this section of Iowa thirty years ago. At the usual age he began his education in the schools of his home district, completing his course of study in Webster City. He was reared in very much the same manner as the sons of other farmers, his youthful energies early being directed along agricultural lines. When not in school his time was largely spent in the fields, but his tastes were purely mechanical and he found his greatest pleasure working with tools. Therefore, when old enough to decide upon a vocation he resolved to become a carpenter and subsequently began his period of apprenticeship in this trade. He is also a capable paper hanger and painter, but he has never followed these occupations regularly, confining his energies to his own trade. A skillful artisan and trustworthy and reliable in his methods, Mr. Allen subsequently extended the scope of his activities by engaging in contracting. He has met with a fair measure of success, owns a comfortable and well furnished residence in Blairsburg and is acquiring a comfortable competence.

Mr. Allen was married in 1899 to Miss Bertha May Wilson, who was born in Missouri, her natal day being the 14th of August; 1874. Her father, Isaac Wilson was born in Maryland, April 24, 1824, while the mother's birth occurred in Canada on the 15th of August,1834. They came to Hamilton County when Mrs. Allen, who is the youngest in a family of nine, was a month old. In order of birth the other children were as follows: Elizabeth Jane, who was born on the 6th of February, 1854, and died June 30, 1863; Jeanette Lamont who was born October 20, 1855 and died on the 25th of March, 1876; Mrs. Lucy Agnes Hogan-Hohlwegler, who was born on the 5th of May, 1857, and is residing in Ellendale, North Dakota; David Carlton, who was born February 14, 1859, and died July 1, 1863; Joseph Lincoln, whose birth occurred on the 18th of November, 1860, now a resident of Webster City; Mrs. Lillie Daugherty, who was born June 20, 1863, a resident of Ellendale, North Dakota; Minty May, who was born on the 2Oth of June, 1870, and died March 16, 1872; and George Sears, who was born on the 18th of December, 1871, and died September 11, 1873. The first five were natives of Illinois and the last named of Missouri. The father, who was a farmer, was for many years identified with the agricultural interests of Hamilton County, but he was living in Blairsburg at the time of his death, which occurred January 20, 1905. The mother passed away on March 12, 1900.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen are Congregationalists in religious faith, and assist in the work of the various organizations of the local church of that denomination. He belongs to the Blairsburg camp of the Modern Woodmen of America and was formerly a member of the Odd Fellows lodge of Webster City. Politically he is a republican and was a member of the election board at the time of the incorporation of Blairsburg. He takes an active interest in local affairs and for three years represented his ward in the town council. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are well informed people of literal views and practical ideas. They are well known in this vicinity, where they have passed the greater part of their lives, and have a large circle of friends.