Mary Hannah (Abernathy) Allen (1830 - abt. 1942)

Born 24 Dec 1830 in Castor Township, Madison, Missouri, United States

Wife of Adam Wernecke — married 14 Aug 1866 in Madison County, Missouri

Wife of William Roy Allen — married 11 Aug 1912 in Fredericktown, Madison, Missouri, United States

Died about 29 Nov 1942 at about age 111 in Fredericktown, Madison, Missouri, United States

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Biography

Hannah (Abernathy) Allen was a Missourian.

Hannah (Abernathy) Allen is a part of US Black heritage.

Hannah (Abernathy) Allen was a centenarian, living to age 111.

Hannah was born near the Castor River in Madison County, Missouri, Dec. 24, 1830, according to her interview for the Federal Writers' Project in Fredericktown, Missouri. (Hannah gave two interviews, the second to J. Tom Miles in July 1937.)^[1]

Hannah told her interviewer that her father's name was Abernathy. He was from Perry County, Missouri, and his father was white. Her first slave owner was Betsy Bollinger, according to the Fredericktown, Missouri, Democrat-News.^[2] In 1941, the Sikeston Herald reported that her first slave owner was Henry Wernecke. Wernecke was the name of Hannah's first husband.^[3] When she was two years old, Hannah's mother and three of her siblings were sold in New Orleans. She and her brother George were "kept" by the Bollinger family. Her father appears to have remained with her, since Hannah recalled, "My father told me to always keep myself clean and nice and to comb my hair."

The Bollingers' enslaved people lived in a cabin "joined onto" the house of the white family. Hannah often slept by the fire on a buffalo robe on the floor of the main house. Billy Bollinger often slept in the cabin with her brother George. Hannah reported, "Old man Bollinger sent some colored folks up to his farm in Sabula (in Iron County, Missouri) and Billy cried to go long with dem. He let Billy go. I stayed with old Aunt Betsy on Castor River."

Before the Civil War began, Bollinger and a man named Schafer attempted to take the enslaved people to Texas. They got as far as Rockport, near Hot Springs, Arkansas. The husband of Olive Bollinger, John Higdon, joined them after being wounded in the Battle of Fredericktown in 1861.^[4] Olive Bollinger Higdon died, leaving a two-year-old son. Hannah took care of the baby when Higdon attempted to take his wife's body to Little Rock. (Higdon appears to have become Hannah's slave owner at his wife's death.) They were captured by Federals and returned to Rockport. Higdon then took Hannah and his son to a hotel near Hot Springs and tried to flee with them on horseback. They were captured again and put on a boat at Little Rock.

Hannah said, "De child took de smallpox from a lady on de boat. When we got on de boat dey were firing at the wheels of de boat from across the river. I was feeding de baby and de chamber-maid came out and said, 'I would drown him.' I said, 'If you do dat you will have to drown me too.' Dey had Higdon locked up on de boat and he did not get to see de baby for two weeks. Just as we got to St. Louis, two white ladies saw de baby who was so sick and dey went out and got some clothes for it. De doctor came on de boat and vaccinated me."

From St. Louis, they went to Irontown, Missouri, where Higdon was again taken prisoner and held until the Civil War ended. Hannah and the baby were sent to nearby Sabula by a man named Whitworth. The baby, John Higdon, survived smallpox and and was raised by his grandmother and step-mother in St. Louis. He became county clerk in St. Louis County and remained friends with Hannah until his death in 1935.

After slavery ended, Hannah continued to work for her slave owners and was not paid for her labor. She was given a calf and clothes and allowed to attend church and picnics. Hannah said, "Dey did not want de mistress to tell me when we was free 'cause dere was only two of us slaves left there."^[5] Later on, she said, "In Fredericktown I worked for my mistress' sister and made $10 a month."

On Aug. 14, 1866, Hannah Higdon and Adam Wernicke (Wringer in interview text) were married by Squire James Addison in Fredericktown, Missouri.^[6] They paid $50 for a lot in Fredericktown, and Adam, a carpenter, built a log house with two rooms and a hall. Later he built a frame house and dug a well. Hannah and Adam lived there nearly 50 years. They had no children of their own but adopted and helped to raise "about a dozen" children.

The 1870 U.S. census listed Hannah Wernecke, 22 years old, and her husband, Adam Wernecke, 37, blacksmith, in Saint Michael Township, Madison County, Missouri (post office Fredericktown). Their household included a 4-year old boy, John Peterson, and Zeaf and Rose Villar, 26 and 17 years old.^[7]

The 1880 U.S. census listed Hannah Wernecke, 30, and her husband, Adam Wernecke, 50, laborer, in Saint Michael Township, Madison County, Missouri.^[8] Adam doesn't show up in the 1900 census and can be presumed to have died between 1880 and 1900.

Hannah said, "When my first husband died he did not owe fifteen cents. He just would not go in debt to nobody. He attended de Masonic lodge. After he died I went to work. I bought wood, washed, ironed, and cooked. I have made as high as $15 a week and keep. I took care of a man's children after him and his wife separated. We have had two houses burn down right here. One of our houses was a little too close to Saline Creek and it was condemned and we tore it down and built de one we have now, thirteen years ago. . . . We have a lot in de colored graveyard."

Hannah married Parson William Allen on Aug. 11, 1912, in the Methodist church in Fredericktown, Missouri. Hannah recalled that it was a large, festive wedding, celebrated by six or seven hundred guests. The Federal Writers Project interviewer recorded, "According to Madison County records, Aunt Hannah gave her age as 82 when she made application for a marriage license in Fredericktown in 1912."

The Fredericktown, Missouri, Democrat-News reported that a fire had destroyed the home of Parson and Hannah Allen in 1919.^[9] "The house just across the creek belonging to "Aunt Hannah," wife of "Parson" Allen, was destroyed Tuesday morning by fire. Considerable sympathy is felt for the old lady who only recently finished paying for the house from her earnings at the wash tub."

The 1920 U.S. census listed Hannah as Mary H. Allen, 65, and her husband, William C. Allen, 60, preacher, living on Boneyville Road, Saint Michael, Madison County, Missouri. Everett Abernathy, 26, nephew, working as a miner, was also listed in their household.^[10]

Hannah's second husband, Parson William C. Allen, was also interviewed in July 1937 in Fredericktown, Missouri, for the Federal Writers' Project by J. Tom Miles.^[11]

Hannah Allen passed away Nov. 29, 1942.^[12][13] She is buried in the African American Cemetery, Fredericktown, Madison County, Missouri. Her Find a Grave memorial gives her date of birth as Dec. 25, 1848, contradicting her own account.^[14] Her second husband, Parson William Roy Allen, is also buried there.^[15]

Slave Owners

1. Henry Wernecke
2. Elizabeth "Betsy" White Bollinger
3. Joseph Bollinger
4. Olive Bollinger Higdon
5. John Higdon

Research Notes

1. Hannah told her interviewer that her father's name was Abernathy. He was from Perry County, Missouri, and his father was white.
2. Hannah Allen's age is reported differently in various sources. In her FWP interview, Hannah said she was born in 1830. In an interview with Rev. C.G. Bellah of Frederickstown, she described her earliest memory: "the famous Meteoric Shower, which occurred November 13, 1833, when the stars fell as thick as snowflakes in December. The master awoke the family, and all of the slaves, for everyone thought that the end of the world had come."^[16][17] This story supports her claim, as does her statement to Madison County that she was 82 at the time of her second marriage in 1912. However, census records give later birth dates. Find a Grave lists her birth date as 25 Dec 1848. The Fredericktown, Missouri, Democrat-News said that she was 92 years old in June 1930, making her birth year 1837.^[18]

Hannah (Abernathy) Allen is a part of US Black heritage.

Hannah Allen was born on 25 Dec 1848 in Madison, Missouri, United States.

Hannah died on 29 Nov 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri aged 93.^[19][20]

Sources

1. ↑ Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 10, Missouri, Interviews with Hannah Allen (ex-slave, pages 8-13 and 14-17): https://www.loc.gov/resource/mesn.100/?sp=13 : 11 Feb 2022
2. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 17 Jun 1937: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69249731/the-democrat-news/ : 13 Feb 2022
3. ↑ Sikeston Herald, Aug. 14, 1941: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94739550/hannah-allen-112/# : 11 Feb 2022
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Engagement at Fredericktown: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_at_Fredericktown : 12 Feb 2022
5. ↑ The 13th Amendment, adopted on December 18, 1865, officially abolished slavery, but freed Black peoples' status in the post-war South remained precarious, and significant challenges awaited during the Reconstruction period.
6. ↑ Missouri U.S. Marriage Records: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1171/images/vrmmo1833_c4239-0243?pId=511213698 : 12 Feb 2022
7. ↑ 1870 U.S. Federal Census: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4273709_00705?pId=2462116 : 12 Feb 2022
8. ↑ 1880 U.S. Federal Census: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4242023-00076?pId=25387393 : 12 Feb 2022
9. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 26 Jun 1919: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94867320/the-democrat-news/# : 13 Feb 2022
10. ↑ 1920 U.S. Federal Census: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4312407-01079?pId=57365404 : 12 Feb 2022
11. ↑ Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 10, Missouri, Interview with Parson Allen (ex-slave): https://www.loc.gov/resource/mesn.100/?sp=23 : 11 Feb 2022
12. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 3 Dec 1942: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94740515/hannah-allen-obituary-p1/# : 12 Feb 2022
13. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 3 Dec 1942: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94740685/hannah-allen-obituary-p2/ : 12 Feb 2022
14. ↑ U.S. Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42849318/hannah-allen : 11 Feb 2022
15. ↑ U.S. Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42849606/william-roy-allen : 11 Feb 2022
16. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 8 Aug 1940: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94741798/bellah-article/ : 12 Feb 2022
17. ↑ The Night the Stars Fell: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Night_the_Stars_Fell_-_1833%2C_USA
18. ↑ Democrat-News, Fredericktown, Missouri, 19 Jun 1930: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94869559/parson-article/# : 13 Feb 2022
19. ↑ Death: "Missouri, U.S., Death Certificates, 1910-1969"
    Missouri Office of the Secretary of State; Jefferson City, Missouri; Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969; URL: https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/Archives/ArchivesMvc/DeathCertificates#searchDB
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 60382 #968750 (accessed 10 November 2022)
    Hannah Allen death Nov 1942 in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
20. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #42849318 (accessed 10 November 2022)
    Memorial page for Hannah Allen (25 Dec 1848-29 Nov 1942), citing African American Cemetery, Fredericktown, Madison County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by T.V.F.T.H. (contributor 46496806).