John Campbell Allen (1817 - 1898)

Born 1 Oct 1817 in Kingsclear, New Brunswick

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 27 Sep 1898 at age 80 in Fredericton, York, New Brunswick, Canada

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Biography

John Allen is Notable.

Sir John Campbell Allen (October 1, 1817 – September 27, 1898) was from 1865–1896 a justice of the colonial and then provincial Supreme Court of New Brunswick, serving as Chief Justice of New Brunswick from 1875 to 1896.

He was born in Kingsclear Parish, New Brunswick, a grandson of Isaac Allen, a New Brunswick Supreme Court judge. John was the son of Col. John Wilmot Allen. His mother's identity is not certain. No less a source than the Dictionary of Canadian Biography lists his mother as Ann Blair.^[1] This may be correct, but all records indicate an October 1817 birth for Sir John, whereas the marriage of Col. Allen to Nancy Ann Curtis (Blair) occurred in January 1818.^[2]

John studied law in the office of John Simcoe Saunders. He was a member of the New Brunswick House of Assembly from 1856 to 1865, Solicitor General in 1856 to 1857, Speaker of the House from 1863 to 1865, and Attorney General in 1865.^[3]

In 1873, he gave the majority decision of the New Brunswick Supreme Court in Dow v. Black, a significant constitutional law case dealing with the federal-provincial division of powers. He held that a provincial statute dealing with municipal taxation was unconstitutional. However, his decision was overturned on appeal by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the court of last resort for the British Empire.

He died in 1898 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick, Canada.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ D. G. Bell, “ALLEN, Sir JOHN CAMPBELL,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed January 31, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/allen_john_campbell_12E.html.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Acadia, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1757-1946; Mariage (Marriage), Religion: Catholique, City: Bureau de Santé; Frédéricton.
3. ↑ "Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick". www.gnb.ca. Retrieved on 13 January 2018.
4. ↑ Sir John Campbell Allen (1818-1898) on Find A Grave: Memorial #113720899 Retrieved 13 January 2018.

See Also:

• Census of 1861 (Canada East, Canada West, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) for New Brunswick, York, Fredericton, Page Number: 18, Line Number: 708, Microfilm: M-556, Item Number: 226320.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Campbell_Allen
• "John Campbell Allen". 27 September 2014. Retrieved on 13 January 2018.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113720899/john-campbell-allen: accessed 02 February 2023), memorial page for Judge Sir John Campbell Allen (1 Oct 1817–27 Sep 1898), Find a Grave Memorial ID 113720899, citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick, Canada; Maintained by Duane Crabtree (contributor 47432569).