I1546: Elizabeth (ABT 1830

Notes

"William Allen, of Quaker ancestry, was the son of a Revolutionary War officer. He was born in Edenton, North Carolina, on December 27, 1803, and when he was 16 journeyed alone to Ohio to be with his sister. He hoped to make his future in the West and began by studying at the Chillicothe Academy for two years, supplementing this education with reading. He then studied law with Colonel Edward King and at age 21 was admitted to the bar. Allen rode the circuit and soon became well known.

Allen's skill in debate and his overall demeanor inspired the Jackson Democrats of his district to nominate him as their congressional candidate; he won, even though the district was Republican. He served only one term in the House of Representatives. Although not reelected he was subsequently appointed by the governor to complete Thomas Ewing's term as a United States Senator. He was reelected to a second term. During this second term Allen coined the political slogan "Fifty-Four/Forty or Fight!," which indicated his strong support of United States territorial rights in Oregon. Allen also favored the annexation of Texas. Salmon P. Chase defeated Allen in his reelection bid, but this did not silence "Earthquake Allen."

He became an outspoken critic of Lincoln and was an anti-war Democrat. Allen made a political comeback in 1873 when he was elected governor of Ohio. He served one term and died at his estate, "Fruit Hill," on July 11, 1879.

William Allen (Statue) Given by Ohio to the National Statuary Hall Collection
Marble by Charles H. Niehaus. Given in 1887; located in National Statuary Hall.

William Allen (1803-July 11, 1879) was a Representative and Senator from Ohio and Governor of Ohio.

Allen was born in North Carolina. His sister, Mary Granberry Allen, married Pleasant Thurman, and their son, Allen G. Thurman, followed in his uncle's footsteps, becoming a lawyer and politician. Allen moved to Chillicothe, Ohio in 1819 and he and his sister lived there together.

He served as a Representative from Ohio from 1832 to 1834 and Senator from Ohio from 1837 to 1849.

He served as Governor of Ohio from 1874 to 1876.

NAME: William Allen
BORN: 1803
COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS: (born, North Carolina) eventually settled...Chillicothe, Ohio (Ross County)
EDUCATION: studied law, Cincinnati, Ohio
GOVERNORSHIP: 31st governor, 1874 - 1876 (one term)
DIED: July 11, 1879 (Chillicothe, Ohio)
FAST FACTS:
Allen was a lawyer by training
Allen arrived in Chillicothe on foot during the winter of 1819. He moved there to live with his sister. He began his study of law in a local firm.
He served one term in the U.S. House, 1832-1834. He went on to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate.
As governor, Allen initiated a siginificant tax cut and a plan for careful government spending.

ALLEN, William, statesman, born in Edenton, North Carolina, in 1806; died 11 July 1879. He passed part of his early life at Lynchburg, Virginia, and in the winter of 1822 made his way on foot to Chillicothe, O., where his half-sister, the mother of Allen G. Thurman, was living. He attended Chillicothe Academy for two years, then studied law for the bar in the office of Judge Scott, and afterward in that of Colonel King, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one. tie became the associate in business of Colonel King, an eloquent pleader, but an indolent lawyer, who left to his young partner the labor of preparing cases for trial. When twenty-four years of age, Allen, who was recognized as one of the most promising young lawyers in Ohio. gained a wide reputation by successfully defending a prisoner charged with murder. The notoriety of that trial gained him in 1832 the democratic nomination for representative in the 23d congress, and. although Duncan McArthur, then governor of the state, was the Whig candidate, Allen obtained enough votes to give him the election by a majority of one. The Whigs contested the result, but he took his seat 22 December 1833, the youngest member of the house. In 1834 he was defeated after a sharp canvass by William K. Bond. In congress he was recognized as a leading orator on the democratic side, particularly after a strong speech against J. Q. Adams's position on the Ohio boundary-line question. President Jackson offered to confer an office upon him, but he said he would accept no appointment, and wished to remain in public life only in an office to which the people should elect him. He worked energetically for democratic success in the Van Buren canvass, 1836, and an address at a political dinner in Columbus, which he accidentally attended, gave him unexpectedly the nomination of the democratic caucus for senator. He was elected by the democratic majority in the legislature, and took his seat in March 1837, at an earlier age than any other United States senator was ever elected. Just before the close of his term he canvassed the state for reelection, and secured the return of a democratic majority to the legislature pledged to vote for him. He was consequently reelected in 1843.

In 1848, when the Baltimore convention was unable to agree upon either Cass or Van Buren as the democratic candidate for president, a committee, composed of supporters of both the rival candidates, waited upon Senator Allen in Washington and urged him to accept the nomination for the sake of harmony. Though formally offered the nomination with the assurance that the convention would ratify the action of the committee, he refused, for the reason that he had been the supporter and personal friend and adviser of Lewis Cass, and could not honorably abandon his canvass. He accompanied Mr. Cass on his election "jeering tour in New York and Pennsylvania, when he appealed vainly for the suffrages of the disaffected partisans of Van Buren. After the defeat of Cass and the termination of his senatorship Mr. Allen took no part in public affairs until he was elected governor of Ohio in 1873. He was the democratic nominee again in 1875, but was defeated on the greenback issue by Rutherford born Hayes, afterward president. Governor Allen was the foremost representative and advocate of the policy of an irredeemable paper currency, and therefore the "Ohio idea" was peculiarly associated with his name. During his career in the senate he was nicknamed "Earthquake Allen," because in 1841, in a speech directed against the bill to distribute the proceeds of the public lands among the states, he declared that its passage would produce "an earthquake of indignation from one end of the union to the other." The nickname of "petticoat Alien" was attached to him during the Harrison "hard cider" canvass of 1840, owing to his assertion that the petticoat of the election banners was given to General Harrison by an old woman to symbolize his lack of courage. In Washington he was known as the "Ohio gong," so powerful was his voice and so penetrating its tones. He is said to have originated the celebrated political catch-word of 1844, "Fifty-four forty, or fight!" referring to the Oregon boundary question.
http://www.famousamericans.net/williamallen2/

My Southern Family

Elizabeth

ABT 1830 - ____

ID Number: I1546

Sources

Hon. William ALLEN Gov. of Ohio

27 Dec 1803 - 11 Jul 1879

ID Number: I93969

Notes

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Faith GODFREY

ABT 1720 - ____

ID Number: I72681

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Henry Hugh HYBART

11 Aug 1849 - ____

ID Number: I7801

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Lucy LEE

1774 - ____

ID Number: I22332

Notes

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James Edward MORAN

1878 - ____

ID Number: I68765

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WILLIAM MURRAY

____ - ____

ID Number: I104555

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Ella Blanche SNODDY

24 Apr 1865 - 4 Jul 1885

ID Number: I85285

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Mathew TOMLIN

ABT 1580 - ____

ID Number: I70311

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Sarah WHITE

ABT 1810 - ____

ID Number: I31615

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