| John Allan participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776 |
Although Col. John Allan was not present at Machias on 12 Jun 1775, when the first naval engagement of the American Revolution took place in Machias Bay, the Scotsman became the area's outstanding Revolutionary figure. [1] He was granted Township No. 12 [now Whiting, Maine] in compensation for his service and exerted much influence in Downeast Maine during his lifetime. [2]
He was the son of Maj. William Allan and Isabella Maxwell, born at 1:30 in the afternoon on January 3rd, 1746 (old style, i.e., 1747, new style), at Edinburgh Castle. [3] [4] [5] [6] and baptized by Mr. Glasgow on the 5th of January, 1746/47. The Allan family temporarily resided in Edinburgh Castle where they had sought refuge during the Jacobite Rising of 1745, under the Deputy Governor, General George Preston, Commander-in-Chief of Scotland.
John came to Nova Scotia with his parents in early childhood. John's father served the Crown in Halifax, Nova Scotia and John was sent to school in Massachusetts, where he received a liberal education. After school, he returned to Halifax and became a farmer, owning 648 acres of land, known as the "Inverney", and took the political positions expected of a man of his station. Even as a young man, he was prominent and held various public offices. He served in Halifax as justice of the peace, Clerk of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and Clerk of the Sessions, as well as representing the Cumberland Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1770–1776. John, however, was losing faith in the Crown and began working for the opposition. Charged with treason, Allan fled his Upper Point de Bute farm and arrived in Machias, Maine, on 13 Aug 1776.
John Allan joined the Massachusetts Militia and served as a Colonel during the American Revolution.[7] [8] He served under George Washington as Superintendent of the Eastern Indians and Colonel of Infantry. In that capacity, he recruited Indian tribes of Eastern Maine to stand with the Americans during the war. During the Battle of Machias in August 1777, the Indian tribes that Allan had recruited proved indispensable.
For a more detailed account of Col. Allan's Revolutionary War service, his role in the Eastern boundary negotiations between the United States and Great Britain, and links to other interesting information, see his entry on Wikipedia. There is also a Facebook page in his memory.
Allan married Mary Patton, daughter of Mark Patton, 10 Oct 1767, probably at Halifax, Nova Scotia. [4] [6] [9]
Their known children are:
After the Revolution, he opened up a trading post on Allan's Island (now called Treat Island) in Passamaquoddy Bay. His records show that he traded on occasion with Benedict Arnold, who lived for a time on the neighbouring island of Campobello. He also maintained a friendship with the local tribes who, they say, still hold Col. John Allan in high regard. After retiring, he removed to Lubec Mills, where he died, 5 Sep 1805, and was buried on his island. [10] There is a cenotaph in honor of John Allen still standing on Treat Island. [11] [12]
Supplemental Biographical Information
Col. John Allan was the father of nine children. Three of his sons married daughters of Col. John Crane. All three couples had large families, so for many years there were few inhabitants of Whiting who were not descended from one or both Revolutionary War veterans. John, Jr., and Horatio Gates raised their families in Whiting. Mark settled in Dennysville and William and George Washington Allan in Lubec. The other four did not marry [The History of Whiting, Maine, p. 64].
From New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial:[13]
John Allan, eldest son of William Allan, was born in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, 3 Jan 1745/46 and came to Nova Scotia with his parents in early childhood. He received a liberal education, and became a farmer, owning 648 acres of land, known as the "Inverney." Even as a young man, he was prominent and held various public offices. In 1770, he was representative to the provincial assembly, holding that position until 28 Jun 1776, when his seat was declared vacant for non-attendance. When the reports of the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill reached Nova Scotia, he spoke with such vehemence in favor of the uprising that the provincial government put out a warrant for his arrest on a charge of treason. He resolved to flee to the United States, where he had already traveled several times on excursions among the Indians, and it was through his influence that a large number of the Mic-Mac Tribe took the side of the colonists. With a few companions, he left Cumberland 3 Jul 1776 in an open boat, arriving at Passamaquoddy 11 Aug, and entering Machias River on 13 Aug 1776. He started for Boston in October 1776, arriving 1 Nov. After conferring with many prominent men and members of the council, and finding that he could gain little promise of aid in furnishing Indians, he decided to visit congress. He left Boston 29 Nov, arriving at Hartford 6 Dec, and crossed the Hudson River at Fishkill. He met General Gates, whom he accompanied to the headquarters of Gen. Washington. He dined with Gen. Washington 22 Dec. Arriving at Baltimore 30 Dec, he was received by Congress 4 Jan 1777, and in a short time was appointed superintendent of the Eastern Indians. He was commissioned as colonel of Infantry and, after receiving his instructions from John Hancock, left Baltimore 17 Jan, arriving at Boston 3 Feb 1777. In May, he went on an expedition to the Saint John River from Machias, and returned by way of lakes and rivers in August, accompanied by a large number of Indians with their families. About this time he assumed the duties of head of the Eastern Indian department, seeing that the Indians were supplied with food by the state of Massachusetts, keeping account with the head of the families. Because of the scarcity of food and difficulty of getting supplies, the Indians became mutinous, and his life was often in danger. In 1780, he left his two eldest sons, William and Mark, with the Indians as hostages, and they were kept more than a year. Col. Allan was at Machias until the end of the war. In Jul 1783, he returned to Boston, and resigned his position, and in 1784 went to Maine again. He started business at Eastport on Dudley Island, later known as Allan's Island, where he remained two years. After retiring, he moved to Lubec Mills, where he lived until his death, 7 Feb 1805, being buried on the island that now bears his name. A monument was erected to his memory in 1860 by his descendants, and an iron fence encloses the lot. In 1776, the provincial government of Nova Scotia offered a reward of 100 pounds for the arrest of John Allan, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
In grateful recognition for the help given to the American colonies during the Revolutionary War by British subjects in Canada and Nova Scotia, Congress set aside 50,080 acres of land east of the Scioto River in 1798. This tract included parts of Franklin, Licking, Fairfield and Perry Counties, Ohio. John Allan received a grant of 2,240 acres of this tract, but he never migrated there. These Ohio lands of John's were sold by his grand-daughter, Mary Patton (Allan) Sprague and her husband, Andrew Sprague.
In 1820, when Maine was set off from Massachusetts and became a state, a commitee of the General Court made a schedule of all the lands in Maine which had been conveyed to purchasers etc. This schedule shows that John Allan received a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 27 Mar 1788, for the town of Whiting of 33,136 acres. [2]
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Categories: Scotland, Needs Birth Record | Scotland, Notables | 1770 Cumberland Census | Dennysville, Maine | Whiting, Maine | Nova Scotia, American Revolution | Maine, Notables | Battle of Fort Cumberland | Migrants from Edinburgh to Nova Scotia | Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia | Massachusetts Militia, American Revolution | American Revolution Militia Officers | Notables | Indian Eastern Department, American Revolution | NSSAR Patriot Ancestors | NSDAR Patriot Ancestors