William Allen Sr.
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William Allen Sr. (1602 - 1679)

William Allen Sr.
Born in Englandmap
Son of and [mother unknown]
Brother of
Husband of — married 1630 in Salem, Essex, Massachusettsmap
Husband of — married 1634 in Salem, Essex, Massachusettsmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 77 in Manchester, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 8 May 2011
This page has been accessed 9,430 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
William Allen Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 31)
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Contents

Biography

Disputed origins: A number of family files associate William Allen with parents Edward Allen/Allyn and ____ Riggs. Such a relationship is found reported in FamilySearch "Pedigree Resource File" more than twenty times.[1] (The mother is sometimes called "Dau Riggs"; sometimes, the daughter of Dafydd Riggs.) On WikiTree, profiles exist about such a couple, Edward Allen (Allen-11545) and Dau. Riggs (Riggs-895), but their relationship to the Salem and Manchester immigrant William Allen has been severed. Thomas Allen of Goldington, Bedfordshire,]] has also been suggested as his parent. Allen Hall, Stratford, Wales has also been suggested as a birthplace and there are sources that claim he was from Manchester, England. Anderson believes this to be a confusion with his death place of Manchester, Massachusetts.[2]

As with all genealogical work, findings such as those described here are subject to review and update based on improved historical discovery and insight.

William Allen was born in 1602 in "almost certainly from Dorsetshire" in England. The names of his parents are unknown, although we know based on a land allotment that his brother's name was Robert Allen. The 1602 birth year is based on his November 1664 deposition saying he was "aged about sixty-two years." The above conjecture that he was born in Dorsetshire is based on his involvement as an agent of the Dorchester Company.[2]

William's brother, Robert Allen of Salem, Manchester and New London, emigrated to New England in 1636.[3]

Occupation, Migration

A carpenter, William migrated in 1624, first residing at Cape Ann, Essex, in the northernmost part of Massachusetts Bay.[4] We know he removed to Salem in 1626 because in a deposition on January 20, 1680, Richard Brackenbury compiled a list of men who were at Salem when he arrived in 1628 - William Allen was on this list; a further indication that he was one of the men who had been dispatched by the Dorchester Company as early as 1624.[2][5]

1st Marriage and Children

By 1630 William had married Alice _____, (unknown surname) but their marriage was not long lasting for she died at Salem on March 8, 1631/32.[2]William Allen testified (1645), "my wife Als departed this life about the eight of first mo. 1631/32.[6][7]"The children of William and Alice were:

  1. Persis was born February 1630/1 and "died within a week."[2]William Allen testified (1645), "we had a daughter we intended to call Persis borne in the 12th mo. 1630 by Als my wyfe, but dyed within a week."[7]
  2. Samuel was born January 8, 1631/32.[2]William Allen testified in1645, "My sonn Samuell bo. 8th of 11 mo. 1631 by Als my wyfe."[7][6]Samuel married by 1663 to Sarah _____ (unknown surname.) Some sources say she was Sarah Tuck, but there is no evidence for this. Samuel may have had another wife prior to Sarah.[2]

2nd Marriage and Children

By 1634 William had married Elizabeth ____. Her surname unknown, although R. C. Anderson in "Great Migration Begins" says it is possible she was the daughter of John Greenway of Dorchester. Some others say her surname was "Bradley," because William was called brother-in-law in the will of John Bradley of Salem; however Anderson says this latter relationship, could have been derived in multiple of ways, and does not necessarily indicate a father/daughter relationship between Elizabeth and John Bradley. The Salem church accepted Elizabeth as a member before the end of 1636.[2] The children of William and Elizabeth were:[2]

  1. Elizabeth Allen who was born September 1634[6][7]and married John Kettle by 1654. Married (2nd) at Beverly on November 13, 1688 to Samuel Corning. Her daughter, Mary Kettle who married William Raiment received a portion of her grandfather's estate.
  2. Deborah Allen was born in April 1637 and baptized April 2, 1637.[6][7]No additional records.
  3. Bethiah Allen was born in February 1639/40; and died February 1640/41. "born in 12 mo. & she dyed in 12th mo. 1640.[6][7]
  4. Onesiphorus Allen was born June 30, 1642 (last of the 4th month);[6][7]and baptized July 3, 1642. He married Martha _____ (unknown surname) by 1670.
  5. William Allen was baptized May 31, 1646. He married Hannah _____ (unknown surname) by 1668. William died at Manchester on December 29, 1696 and on that same day the inventory of his possessions was taken totalling L181 12s, of which L143 was in "house and lands and meadow grounds." His widow and administratrix of the will, Hannah Allen alias Fisk (as a widow she had married Samuel Fiske at Wenham on May 24, 1697), on December 13, 1697 presented an accounting of the estate and the court ordered the estate divided as follows, "there being no children of the deceased"[8]to the widow, one-third, L47 13s 6d; to Samuel Allen the deceased' brother L31 15s 6d; to Oneziphirus Allen the deceased' brother L31 15s 6d; to Elizabeth Allen alias Corning the deceased' sister L31 15s 6d.
  6. Jonathan was baptized on July 29, 1649. No additional records.

William, Elizabeth and probably 4 children moved to Manchester in 1640.[citation needed] Following his moved to Manchester on June 9, 1652, William sold his former dwelling house with half an acre of land at Salem to John Bridgeman; additionally six acres of land in Southfield. On April 22, 1659 he sold eight poles of land in Salem (near the meetinghouse) to Mr. Samuel Gardner of Salem, mariner.[2]

Freeman, Church Membership, Occupation, Civic Duties

  • He (along with several other men) made the request to become a freeman of the Massacusetts Bay Colony on October 19, 1630 were admitted and took the freeman's oath on May 18, 1631.[2]
  • His name appears on a list of those admitted to the Salem church before the end of 1636. On July 11,1637 he was admitted as an inhabitant of Salem.[2]
  • On August 28, 1637 he agreed to build an ammunition house with Samuel Archer; to be finished by the last of the eighth month.[2]
  • He served jury duty several times; Essex petit jury in 1637, 1638, 1642, 1653; Essex grand jury 1643, 1646, 1647, 1670; Essex coroner's jury in 1677.[2]
  • On March 25, 1644 he was a Millfield fence viewer.[2]
  • He was constable at Manchester on June 28, 1653.[2]
  • Excused from military training at Manchester on November 29, 1664.[2]

Death, Will, Inventory

William Allen died at Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay sometime after his will which was dated June 7, 1678 and proved June 26, 1679. About his death date, R. C. Anderson notes, "various secondary sources give the date of death as 10 May 1678, which precedes the date of the will and cannot be correct."[2]

His wife Elizabeth was executrix of his will. The inventory of his possessions taken February 17, 1678/9 by Thomas West and John Sibley, was presented at court by Elizabeth on June 26, 1679 and totalled L180 6s. 10d. of which L160 was real estate; L140 was "fifteen acres of upland lying in the bounds of Beverly joining to the great pond called Wenham Pond."[2]

Regarding the will, it is recorded that "the widow's testimony and the debtor's bills filed up with the will and inventory" so the estate remained open until the death of son William early in 1697. The administration of the William Allen Senior's estate was granted to Samuel Allen of Manchester and James Kettle of Salem on May 10, 1697 with John Sibley of Manchester and William Raiment Jr. of Beverly as sureties. On that day the parties agreed to the following:[2]

  1. Samuel Allen Sr. and Onesiphorus Allen "the surviving sons of William Allen Senior" shall have what they were given in the will of William Allen Senior, as well as what was given to William Allen Junior, except what is mentioned below;
  2. James Kettle and William Raiment "in the right of their mother Elizabeth Allen alias Corning" shall have "the homestead of William Allen Junior aforesaid deceased he dying without issue, vis. the housing and land on which said Allen lived and died seized of being by estimation eight acres more or less & half an acre of salt marsh adjoining thereunto and a division of land being by estimation seven acres known by the name of the Brushey Plain" all in Manchester, as "also a parcel of land lying in Beverly containing fifteen acres lying near Wenham Great Pond," and one half of the personal estate of William Allen Junior "which does not belong to the widow by law";
  3. Samuel Allen and Onesiphorus Allen to have the other half of the said personal estate.

The inventory of "William Alen Senior of Manchester who deceased in the year 1678 was taken by John Sibley and Lohn Legg on June 29, 1697; the total was L237 of which L214 was real estate: "house and land with all the meadows belonging," L140; "five and twenty acres in the hands of Samuell Allen lying in Manchester," L50; "five acres of land in the Brushy Plain," L2 10s; "three quarters of an acre of meadow," 10 s; three acres in "Millit's Swamp," L1; "15 acres of land in Beverly near Wenham Pond," L20.[2]

A "widow Allen was granted land at Manchester on April 2, 1685. She may have been the widow of William Allen.[2]

NOTE on James Kettle and William Rayment, heirs of William Allen’s estate. The will of Wm. Allen (below) had no residuary clause and failed to dispose of 15 acres in Wenham and other, less valuable acreage. Also, dispositions to Allen’s sons were postponed until the death of Allen’s widow Elizabeth. The land Allen’s will failed to dispose of would have passed under the law of intestate succession to Allen’s children who survived him in 1679: sons William, Samuel and Onesiphorous and daughter Elizabeth who had married John Kettle. Her interest in land would have vested automatically in her husband John Kettle, passing upon Kettle’s death in 1685 to his 2 surviving heirs, James Kettle and Mary (Kettle) Raymond/Raiment although subject to Kettle’s widow’s’ right of dower. Mary’s interest would have vested automatically in her husband William Raiment.

When Allen’s estate was settled in 1697, evidently Allen’s widow Elizabeth, daughter Elizabeth, and son William had all died, the last without any surviving issue. That made it easier to settle the estate of William Allen.

The Will of William Allen follows:[9]

"The Last will of William Allen Sen of Manchester made ye 7 of June 1678 Imprimes I doe make my wife Elezebeth Allen my full & Sole executer of all my lands & goods duereing her life & after ye deth of my wife to be dissposed in maner & forem as folleth yt is to say I give to my Sone Samuell ye remayner of ye five & twenty acer lott which he all redy poseseth yt is to Say ye uplands & ye sheare of ye fresh medow belonging thereunto I give to my too Sonns one -oephoras & Willam Allen my wholle fifty acer lott wth all ye devissons & apurtenances belongin to it wth ye propriety of All commons devidded & undevided belongin to it & an acer of Sallt marsh at yt lower end of my orchard yt I purchased this I give to my too Sonns onesephoras & Willam Allen to be equally devided betwene them booth after ye deth of me & my wife & it is farther to be understood yt as my Sone Onesephoras hath hallf an acer in present poseson joyning to his hows yt lyes in my orchard Soe my Sonn willam Allen to have hallfe an acer joining to his hows in ye Same maner In wittnes where of I ye Said Willam Allen have put to my hand."
Willam (his M mark) Allen.
Witness: Thomas (his T mark) Jonnes, Samuell Friend.
Proved in Salem court 26: 4: 1679, by the witnesses.

Research Notes

  • In 1945, Donald Lines Jacobus addressed immigrants William Allen and Robert Allen (as Robert Allyn, New London, Connecticut), concluding, "It is a reasonable assumption that William and Robert were brothers." Addressing the same men in 1995, Robert Charles Anderson wrote that William Allen was, "Probably brother of Robert Allen of Salem, Manchester and New London (based on joint land grant of 25 Jan 1642/3, and simultaneous residence in Manchester) ..."[2][10] and Robert Allen (as Robert Allyn, New London, Connecticut),[11]

Sources

  1. Query of FamilySearch "User Submitted Genealogies" conducted 2014 by GeneJ.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 31-35 (William Allen); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
  3. Robert Charles Anderson. "Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England 1620 - 1640" (2015) p. 4.
  4. Wikipedia "Cape Ann" link
  5. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Sketch of Roger Knight, p. 1140. subscribers$
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31539-459-3?cc=2061550&wc=MX1F-XM3:353349401,353664501,353664502 : accessed 13 Sep 2014), Essex > County wide > Births, marriages, deaths 1636-1691 > image 3 of 76.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Vol. 1 p. 93
  8. Essex County, Massachusetts: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881
  9. The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, George Francis Dow, ed., 3 vols. (1916-1920), 3:324-325, "Estate of William Allen, Sr., of Manchester"; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2013); subject to transcription error--please refer to the digital image.
  10. Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 146-148, entry for William1 Allen, Manchester, Massachusetts; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014).
  11. Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 152-153, entry for Robert1 Allyn, New London, Connecticut; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014).
  • George Francis Dow, The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, 3 vols. (1916-1920), 3:324-325 (Estate of William Allen, Sr., of Manchester); digital images, digital images, Hathi Trust; see page 325, for "Inventory of the estate of William Allen, deceased Jan. 30, 1678, taken Manchester ..."
  • Essex County, Massachusetts: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) William, Sr. ALLEN - (ALLAN, ALLIN, ALLING), ALLEN, William, Sr. 1679, Manchester, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Probate Record 526, 1 of 2, 26 Jun 1679. This source is for William's son William. [ten pages photocopied original records; record states wife was Hannah, and they had no children].
  • William Allen's sworn statement about his family, as recorded in the county-wide vital records, 24 7 (mo) 1645, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31539-459-3?cc=2061550&wc=MX1F-XM3:353349401,353664501,353664502 : accessed 13 Sep 2014), Essex > County wide > Births, marriages, deaths 1636-1691 > image 3 of 76.
  • Raymond Frederick Allen, The Allens: from William Allen (1602-1679) of Manchester, England, and of Salem and Manchester, Massachusetts, in the direct line of descent through Nathaniel Allen (1744-1789) of Beverly, Massachusetts, and Sedgwick, Maine, to Lt. Raymond Frederick Allen, Jr. (1931- ) of Rochester, New York, with certain other descendants and collaterals …_ (1958), 1-20 for sketch of William Allen (1602-1679); digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2013).
  • Nathaniel Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (William White, Boston, 1853-)
  • "Allen Genealogy," The Essex Antiquarian 2 (1898): 135-140, 161-165, 176-181, and in particular, 135 for immigrant, William Allen); digital images,Hathi Trust.
  • John Price, “Genealogy of the Allen Family of Manchester, Mass., from the earliest settlement to the year 1886,” Essex Institute Historical Collections 24 (?1887/1888): 223-240+; digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013).
  • "Torrey's New England Marriages prior to 1700," entry for William Allen & Alice _____ (by 1630); database, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2012). AmericanAncestors version refers to about 11 works consulted as "Salem 1:87; Essex Ant. 2:135, 5:122; Gen. Bulletin 1:61; Kendall Anc. (ms) 9; Tingley-Meyers 19; Bradley (1915) 12; Tracy (1936) 164; Reg. 6:205; Granberry 146."
  • Clarence Almon Torrey and Elizabeth Petty Bentley, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (1985), page 13 for entry William Allen and "1/wf Alice _____ (-8 Mar 1631/2)"; digital images, Google Book Search (preview) (accessed 2013).
  • Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 146-148, entry for William1 Allen, Manchester, Massachusetts; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). [Those in the U.S. may be able to download this work via Heritage Quest.]
  • Ellery Bicknell Crane, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, multiple volumes, 1: 464-66, "Allen Family"; digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013).
  • William Richard Cutter, ed., Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, 4 vols (1908); 1:240-248, "Allen;" digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013).
  • [Source] U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about William Allen. Name: William Allen. Arrival Year: 1639. Arrival Place: Salisbury, Massachusetts. Source Publication Code: 9448. Primary Immigrant: Allen, William. Annotation: In the years from 1925 to 1942, Frederick A. Virkus edited seven volumes with the title, The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, published in Chicago by the Institute of American Genealogy. Each volume has a section in the main body of the work, co. Source Bibliography: VIRKUS, FREDERICK A., editor. Immigrant Ancestors: A List of 2,500 Immigrants to America before 1750. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1964. 75 p. Repr. 1986. Page: 6
  • [Source] U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Transcription of text. Name: Alice WHYTMORE. Death Date: 8 Mar 1631; Death Place: Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Marriage Date: 1613; Marriage Place: Norfolk, England. Detail: Marriage to Alice Wytmore, Date1613; Other information: Page 28; Web Address | View Source Details [Something is amiss, as this data is not found reported in Torrey's work, New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Torrey calls William Allen's first wife, "Alice _____", and the marriage is "by 1630" with Salem as a location reference. {See the image snippet that has been included on the profile.) Either the data provided here is correct, but the source title is not, or the source title is correct, but the wrong data was notated.]
  • [Source] Title (view source details) U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Source Repository: Ancestry.com. Associated Facts/Events: Birth, Death, Name, Marriage. Name: William Allen; Gender: Male; Birth Year: 1602; Marriage Date: About 1633; Death Year: 1679; Marriage Place: New England, United States; Spouse's Name: Elizabeth Bradley. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012.Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. View Source Details | View Original Image




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Comments: 41

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I understand that Allen-6661 has been rejected as a match but I'm wondering if anyone has an idea how Lydia (Allen) Benjamin (mentioned there) might fit in. I'm also wondering about the marriage record attached to 6661. Has it been rejected as a match for Allen-2742 and his wife Elizabeth? Is it not from a reliable source?
posted by Sharon Culver
Sorry, this is my third attempt to respond to your comment. The problem is that Allen-6661 has conflated two different men named William Allen - one of Boston (father of Lydia) and one of Salem & Manchester (this one).

Someone needs to work on the other profile and research William Allen of Boston and remove everything related to Salem, Manchester and Cape Ann.

In a quick search this is the best info I could find on the other William Allen: https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:William_Allen_%28266%29#_ref-S2_0

Seems like Lydia may have also been his sister, and not necessarily his daughter.

posted by M Cole
edited by M Cole
Having done a bit more to learn how William's mother came to be attached. As regards PGM William Allen (PPP), this is a proposal to,

(1) Sever the marriage between Unknown Allen (abt.1576-) and Elizabeth (Wickham) Allen (abt.1580-abt.1606).

Her unsourced profile was created in 2020. It was almost immediately flagged as "unsourced," but not before being linked as the spouse of "Unknown Allen." and adding an array of unsourced claims there. An attempted was made to restore the profile of "Unknown Allen"--this was successful as to the unsourced vital claims, but the restore did not sever the spousal link.

Edited to add--I have severed the spousal link.

(2) Sever the mother-child link between PGM William Allen Sr. (1602-1679) (PPP) and this Elizabeth (Wickham) Allen (abt.1580-abt.1606).

While I may have overlooked it, was unable to identify when she became linked as William's mother. Possibly at the time she was linked as the spouse of his father?

(3) Add PGM Adjunct (with PPP) to the profile of Unknown Allen (abt.1576-).

Unknown Allen (abt.1576-) currently exists only for the purpose of associating the two known brothers--William and Robert.

--Gene

posted by GeneJ X
edited by GeneJ X
Cross posting the comment below place on the profile of Elizabeth (Wickham) Allen (abt.1580-abt.1606) (edited only as to WikiTree links),
Thank you for supporting WikiTree.
What historical support is shown by which this Elizabeth (Wickham) Allen (abt.1580-abt.1606), said born and died Warwickshire, England, is the mother of PGM William Allen Sr. (1602-1679)?
If there is no historical support for this association, the relationship should be severed.

--Gene

posted by GeneJ X
I suggest that some thought should be given to whether William Allen/Allyn of Salem and Manchester, Mass. was the person of that name christened 15 August 1602 at Baswich, Staffords., son of Henry Allen. There is no record of his burial or marriage there. It would therefore seem that when this William came of age, he migrated elsewhere in search of work or for other reasons. His father Henry was buried 6 August 1612 at Baswich, so he would not have been constrained by filial duty to stay in Baswich for long.

Importantly, this William Allen had a younger brother Robert, chr. 29 April 1605 at Baswich. This is the only family I have found with both a William Allen born in or about 1602, and a younger brother Robert, with disappearances from English records consistent with a migration to New England.

Ellen Allen, widow was buried 17 September 1616 at Baswich. She may or may not have been William's and Robert's mother, but assuming that she was, this would make William 14 years old and Robert just eleven years old when they were fully orphaned.

Normally an orphan boy would be bound out to learn a trade; not necessarily in his home town. Alternatively, they could have been taken in for a time by John Allen. Perhaps John was a close relative as he was having children chr. in Baswich in this same period, including, eventually, a son Henry (chr. 5 Nov 1620). Actually there were two men named John Allen in Baswich simultaneously for a time, as a different John Allen had been buried there 29 Aug 1616.

I can't offhand find a marriage of Henry Allen and Ellen _______. However, the fact that no children are attributed to Henry in the Baswich register after 1605 suggests that the mother of William and Robert may have died shortly after Robert's birth, such that the widow Ellen was a second wife.

I also realize that Baswich is quite a hike from Dorset, but as noted above there is no hint in the records that William and Robert Allen stayed in Baswich after about 1621. Also, I note the marriage on 24 Nov 1591 of Henerie Allen with Agnes Dyringe at Charminster, Dorset. No children seem to be recorded for this couple anywhere in Dorset. Therefore, it's possible that they moved from Dorset to Baswich, and that the orphan Allen boys eventually made their way back to relatives in Dorset in time to be recruited by the Dorchester Company for its New World venture.

A glint of support for this scenario is found in the christening record of Agnes, daughter of Henry Allen, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, 1 May 1595. Nuneaton, about 35 miles southeast of Baswich, and with similar industries, would be a logical stopping place on one's way north. But the fly in that ointment is that in the Nuneaton christening record, Agnes' mother's name is given as Susan.

As with William, there is no further record of Robert in Baswich after his christening.

I realize that this proposed identification conflicts with the age mentioned by Robert in his 1680 deposition. However, such age statements are sometimes inaccurate. (I have one Essex County ancestor who gave several depositions with various stated ages. These describe inconsistent possible "birth years" over the better part of a decade.)

It's not unknown for a man as much as a woman to want to shed some years off his biological age for purposes of vanity. 1680 Interrogator: "How old are you, Goodman Allen?" Robert Allen: "How old do I look?" Interrogator: "I would say about 64." Robert Allen: "I'll take that; right down 'about 64' there in your paper."

Also a 1605 birth year is more consistent with Robert's being excused from military duty on account of age in 1668, when he would have been 63. If the deposition age is right, he would have been only 52 years old in 1668 - rather young to be excused from duty under the customs of the time.

Anyone with a better theory as to the origin of these men is welcome to challenge mine.

posted by Barry Wood
Barry,

Thank you for posting this information.

Would it be helpful to create profile for Henry and Ellen (_____) Allen, so that the various sources you consulted during the progress of your research can be documented?

Your research could also be the foundation of a G2G about this William and his brother Robert. Such a G2G would reach a broader audience of those with expertise in English record groups.

Do you know if anyone has sought out will/probate, possibly some kind of guardianship records about Henry's children?

Thank you again for posted this information.--Gene

posted by GeneJ X
Gene -- I appreciate the comments. Good suggestions. I could set up a profile for Henry and Ellen, maybe next weekend.

I looked for a probate record on Henry in what I believe to be the right jurisdiction (the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry) - but there wasn't anything at all in the right time period or, for that matter, showing a residence of Baswich at any time. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62295/?name=Henry_Allen&name_x=_x. Same with the John Allen of Baswich who seems to be a relative of some degree. There is a item in the index for an "Ellene Allen," but it's not all specific with respect to residence. Still, it's probably worth checking into the details, because I found very few burials or marriages for women named Ellen or Eleanor whose married surname was Allen / Allin / Allyn in this timeframe.

I have pursued guardianship records in colonial American & federal courts, but have no experience finding such in England. It seems that most of my ancestors of William & Robert Allen's ages in the Great Migration period were fortunate to have their fathers survive until they reached their majority, or until they reached N. America.

A notable guardianship case on these shores in my line is that of my 8th great grandfather Thomas Wood, orphaned at age 9 in Charlestown, Mass. Unfortunately the only surviving record of the guardianship, if you can even call it that, is a notation by the Court of Assistants in April 1643 that they accepted the inventory of Edward's estate and "an account of how the Children are disposed of, which the Co't doth approve." I can only imagine that the "disposition" was the product of consultation between the oldest family member (Elizabeth wife of Solomon Phipps) and the ministers of the Church (Zechariah Symmes and Thomas Allen). Sadly, the Court did not record who the children were or what the disposition was, but we know from Ralph Mousall's will that he and his wife took the Woods' young daughter Ruth into their home and raised her as a foster daughter. From the fact that Thomas Wood became a house carpenter, I believe that he went to live with Elizabeth and Solomon, learning the carpenter's trade from his brother in law.

posted by Barry Wood
Setting up the profiles is a good idea. It will give you a place to document information you have found.

Identifying, documenting and analyzing to ruling in or out what might be relevant information from early English records, including wills or other probate materials, is not for the faint of heart. It is unclear to me how many of the records have been indexed. While many of the indexes have been published, not even all of those are easily accessible. Likewise, indexed, there is work to locate where a particular record might be held (even where it was held in order to be indexed) ... Many of the wills and related document are written in Latin.

I mentioned G2G earlier. You might post a query there to see if folks, especially those with better insight into English record groups, can help identify a location relevant marriage bond or related document as regards Henry and Ellen. Not too long ago, a G2G helped in separating the identities of men named Thomas Green.

posted by GeneJ X
Barry there is too much guess work in your theory for it to be accepted as the English origins of William Allen. All you really have is a name-is-the-same and the date is close argument. However, William Allen is way too common of a name for this to even be suggestive that this is the correct William Allen. The age of his brother Robert frankly has to be taken as evidence that these are the wrong Robert and William. Yes, ages at deposition could vary but this birth date is wrong by more than a decade. It is not reasonable to think that someone deposed he was aged 64 when he was really 75 years old. Also, the location of Baswich, Staffordshire is extremely unlikely to the point of being disqualifying. As an agent for the Dorchester Company, William Allen was almost certainly from Dorset and not Staffordshire.

Better theories? I note that Elizabeth White, sister of Rev John White MA (1574/5-1648) Patriarch of Dorchester & Founder of Massachusetts, married as her second husband a Mr. Allen. Her first husband was Thomas Gardner, one of the original leaders of the Dorchester Company, and William Allen of Banbury an Ironmonger was the overseer of her husband's will. So here we have an Allen family in the correct location and apparently well acquainted with the principals of the Dorchester Company. Theory - William and Robert Allen are connected somehow to Elizabeth White's husband. No, I know nothing further about him at this point.

Another theory - William and Robert's baptism records are among the millions which have been lost or destroyed over the years and it is unlikely that we can ever prove their English origins.

posted by Joe Cochoit
edited by Joe Cochoit
Joe - I am pleased that you are interested in this family, and I appreciate the debate. Note that I did not assert that Baswich IS the one and only true origin of the Allen brothers of Massachusetts; only that "thought" should be given to this possibility.

Now to the issues: 1. To the extent that you view ages per depositions as exact and sacred, then the exact match in age between William Allen of Baswich and William of Salem (Manchester) and New London rather supports my theory, even if the "Robert" side of the equation does not. Yes, William Allen is a fairly common name, but there were only a finite number born between November 1601 and November 1602. Between freereg and familysearch, only eleven such men are indexed (not counting those who died in childhood). The number birthed in Dorset - zero.

How many of these boys had a kid brother named Robert born between 1614 and 1616? Zero. Between FreeReg and FamilySearch, we know of 17 boys with that name christened in those three years. There are no matches at all with the eleven William Allens from late 1601 and 1602. Now you may consider that the fact proves that the brothers of Salem were christened in a parish whose records have not survived, but I think that it just as likely calls into question the accuracy of Robert's deposition age.

2. In your view, it's unreasonable that the deposition age could have been off by 11 years. I respectfully disagree. If God should grant that I should live to be 75, yet others think me not yet 65 at that point, I should think that a great triumph, and I might play along with it. Another factor is the grant of land at Salem to Robert no later than 1637. Based on my review of the Salem record in question, the land appears to have been granted in 1636 or even earlier. But Robert could not have legally held land there in 1636 if he weren't born until 1616. So right there a little shade of doubt arises over the accuracy of his stated deposition age. And then there's the matter of his release from military service, discussed earlier.

3. You view the locations of these men's birth as "disqualifying," lying as it does some 160 crow-flying miles from Dorchester. However, they were obviously not recruited for the New England project as babies. Clearly by 1616 they were orphans, footloose and fancy-free, and from that point onward left no more trace in Baswich. So without doubt they went SOMEWHERE. Why could that not have been a move south?

At all events, I reject the proposition that merely because many of the Dorchester Company's workers were from Dorset, they all were. I see no reason to suppose that the organizers were so narrow in their recruitment efforts. You mention that William Allen of Banbury was an overseer of the will of Thomas Gardner, first husband of Rev. John White's sister Elizabeth (White) Gardner Allen. Quite to my point. Banbury is in Oxfordshire, about 120 crow miles NNE of Dorchester; only a bit closer to Dorchester than Baswich. Therefore, there can be no doubt but that Rev. White had contacts far beyond Dorset, and at least one of such contacts was an Allen.

Of course the Oxford connection makes sense because Rev. White was himself an Oxonian. But his mother was from Lichfield, Staffordshire. Therefore, he must have also had connections in that county. (Lichfield is just 14 miles southeast of Baswich.) If the Allens were apprenticed to a master in Lichfield (for example), one can easily imagine the news of Rev. White's search for men willing to help settle the New World reaching them there not long after William reached his majority, and when Robert of Baswich was nearing his release date.

Or they might not have even gone as far as Lichfield. Baswich is only five miles from the forge at Wolseley, on the northern fringe of the South Staffordshire iron region.

4. That may be a good tip about William Allen, 2nd husband of Elizabeth (White) (Gardner) Allen. I noticed that the Wikitree page for him doesn't specify a birthplace, but evidently he would have been between two and fifteen years older than Elizabeth, so let's say that he was born about 1575-1588. As such, he could easily be a cousin or even a brother of Henry Allen of Baswich.

5. Sure, many records have been lost over the years. I readily admit that the situation might be very challenging for that reason. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.



'

posted by Barry Wood
Finished combining the two biographies. I'll leave the previous two bio here, so anyone can look them over.

The 2nd & 3rd biographies will be deleted in a few days. (but can be found in the "changes.")

Any sources that were not used in Biography #1 will be kept under "see also."

Thanks for the cleanup. The information on this family on FamilyTree (FS) is, to be blunt, a mess. It gives three different versions of the birthplace of William Allen, one of which is "Allen Hall, Stratford, St. Hulme, Wales," but no such place exists. Rather, "Hulme" can be either a neighborhood of Manchester, or a suburb of Stoke on Trent. I don't know why anyone would find a quintessentially Anglo-Saxon place name like "Stratford" as belonging to a locale in Wales.
posted by Barry Wood
I’ll take the responsibility for combining the two biographies sometime this week. Post merge cleanup.
I don't think so, Sarah. Different stats.
Same as Allen 24216?
posted by Sarah Nagle
Allen-13205 and Allen-2742 appear to represent the same person because: same. I didn't know there was a duplicate profile until after I added PGM project box and wrote a detailed biography with inline citations. Please merge the biographies of the two profiles. Thank you.
Hi Robert,

I found a William Allen in the work of Robert Charles Anderson at American Ancestors (a subscription site.) "The Great Migration Begins," I believe this is the same William Allen as this profile represents. 1. birth 1602, unknown place (England) 2. migrated 1624 to Cape Ann, moved to Salem 1626, moved to Manchester 1640 3. wife (1) Alice (2) Elizabeth 4. d. 30 Jan 1678/9 at Manchester (Anderson states, "various secondary sources give the death date as 10 May 1678, which precedes the will, and cannot be correct.)

So he was not born at Yarmouth, you have that confused with another William Allen.

I will add this profile to the Puritan Great Migration project by adding the project box, then work on the sources and biography.

I see from change record that Abby G. added "needs merge clean up" and that Anne worked on cleaning it.

I'm going to delete "needs merge cleanup" from the top of this profile.

William Allen is found on page iv of Ancestral Heads of New England Families and no sources are cited. The foreward of the book provides no information about what sources were used as a basis. :-(
posted by Jillaine Smith
There is no evidence that I can find that says there was a William Allen born in Yarmouth and dying in Manchester.
posted by Glenn Kittredge
I discovered this source for place of birth. Considering how early he emigrated he might have named Manchester Ma after Manchester Eng.

From: Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700 Allen, William: b.in Manchester, Eng.

posted by Glenn Kittredge

A  >  Allen  >  William Allen Sr.

Categories: Puritan Great Migration | Allen Name Study