Background Notes on Allen-2292

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Surname/tag: Allen, PGM

Background Notes on Allen-2292

Ralph Allen and Hester English were married on 6 May 1619 in St. Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside, London, when he was perhaps 29, and Hester perhaps 26.

St. Mary-le-Bow is famous for its Norman arches and bells. It is where the Vicar General's court sits. Now, as in the past, every diocesan bishop in the southern province of the Church of England receives confirmation of his election at St. Mary-le-Bow and it is here also that they take the Oath of Allegiance, in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, prior to their enthronement.

Burial The burials listed on Find A Grave for the Ralph Allen of Allen-2292, and other Ralph Allens discussed in that profile, are best guesses. There are no known records or gravestones confirming the dates of their deaths.

Death of a Ralph Allen, 1698 The estate of a different Ralph Allen, Sr. – of Sandwich, in Barnstable County of the Province of Massachusetts Bay – was probated 1 July 1698.

Questionable Family Tree There is a FamilySearch tree that should be approached with caution at: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:9H8S-F4Q. It purports to show the lineage of Ralph Allen, Junior... but it shows his wife as "Esther Susanna Swift". Showing a middle name for anyone in this time period is a red flag; middle names were almost unheard of until the mid- to late-1700s. Usually, the appearance of a middle name, in an online family tree, indicates that two different people have been conflated into a single individual who bears both their given names. Needless to say, the lineage offered in such a case is immediately subject to legitimate skepticism. The tree in question contains other red flags, such as its placement of Sandwich, and Barnstable County, in New Jersey instead of Massachusetts Bay. It is in any case not the tree of the Ralph Allen of Allen-2292.