Nelson Henry Allen was a son born to Stephen Allen and Martha (Genum) Allen of Ontario County, New York on Sept 9, 1837. His parents were natives of New York and his father was a carriage manufacturer. In 1840, Stephen moved his family to Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where he opened a small carriage manufacturing firm. They remained there until the Spring of 1852 when Stephen decided to move his family to California, with it's promise of gold. The business was sold and the family packed up, joining a wagon train that took the Oregon Trail in early 1852. Fate intervened and Stephen took sick and died from cholera on the Great Plains about 20m. East of Fort Laramie in what is now Goshen Co., Wyoming on June 18, 1852.
He was buried beside the Oregon Trail and his grief stricken widow and son went on.
{Per a letter from Richard Rieck, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Geology, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, "On Nov 4, 1852 the Daily Alta CA newspaper published "List of Deaths on the Plains this Season". In it is listed, "S.Allen, June 18. It is likely that he died about 20 miles east of Ft.Laramie. Other secondary sources indicate that the 'S' stood for 'Stephen', that he died from cholera and that he was from Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The Allen grave is no longer in existence. Researchers have diligently searched all along the trail, especially in the Ft.Laramie area, for almost 100 yrs. for graves and although a handful have been found, his has not. (Dec.2012)
At this point, apparently Martha Allen decided that she and her son would be better off living in Chicago, Illinois as Nelson completed his studies in Chicago, then became employed as a bookkeeper there at the age of 19, in 1856. After two years he opened a grocery store, then a dry-goods business and was "engaged in speculation" until that fateful Autumn of 1871 when the great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed all of his investments and property. He found himself closing up shop, as it were, and making plans to head for the Pacific Coast. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Mary Margaret Hanawalt. She had been born in Iowa 1854; the couple married in Chicago in 1873 and the newly married couple and Nelson's mother arrived in Albany, Oregon in August, 1874. Nelson was quite an industrious man, having to rebuild himself after the Chicago Fire had destroyed most, if not all, of his investments. Now he purchased half interest in an old saw and planing mill, which they operated for about seven years, bringing logs from the Cascade mountains. Thirty to fifty men were kept employed in the mountains cutting logs to supply not only the mill he held interest in, but also to supply other mills below them, which was a thriving business due to all of the building being done in all of the thriving towns up and down the Willamette Valley of Oregon. He was an astute businessman, first selling his share of the mill and logging business, then repurchasing it and the other half as well, as it thrived under his control. In 1881 Nelson Allen formed a partnership with two other investors in a dry-goods business in Albany. After two yrs. one of the investors retired, and Mr.Allen was left to control the business alone. However, in 1887, Nelson Allen sold half of the business to Mr. W. F. Read, and, the following year, sold Mr. Read the other half of the dry-goods business. Thus it was that he could devote all of his time to his most beneficial endeavor, bringing electricity to the town of Albany, Oregon. Nelson Allen established his electric light system on March 29, 1887, securing and using water power (also known as hydro power), erecting the necessary buildings and wiring in the main part of Albany for 325 incandescent lights, all of which demonstrated the practicality of his project, not to mention that it was bringing Albany forward towards the 20th Century. It was a cleaner, safer and more stable than other forms of light being used at that time. Nelson Allen demonstrated all of the advantages of electrical lighting, then commenced in selling shares of stock in his company which he named Albany Electric Light - Power & Telephone Co. It was incorporated in July, 1889 and he retained controlling interest in his company, acting as manager and secretary. As if this weren't enough, he was also one of the organizers of the Albany Milling & Mining Co. He was a member of the Masonic Order and was a Knight Templar in addition to other fraternal organizations with tendencies towards charitable causes. During this time, he and his wife had been blessed with four children: Edna Vivian, b.1876, Mayme Laura, b.1877, Frank Nelson, b.1882, and Alma Lois, b.1890. Nelson had built their family home in 1880. He also owned other valuable property in Albany along with 200 acres of timbered land near Brownsville. All seemed well and good for this man who had built his fortune not once, but twice, caring for his widowed mother until her demise and, with his dear wife, raising his children in a home filled with love where education was valued and faith in God was the most important value of all. It all came to a tragic end on Sept 3rd, 1897 when Frank Allen died at the age of 58 from neuralgia of the heart, also known as angina pectoris or chest pain due to obstructions and/or spasms of the coronary arteries. His heart basically wasn't getting the blood it needed and it went into spasms so intense that they killed him and he was only 58 years old. His wife, Mary, who was 43, was devastated. She was now a widow with four children to care for, the youngest one, Alma, being only 7. She also had all of her husband's business ventures that she was now responsible for and I'm pretty certain she felt overwhelmed by it all. She would then need to find someone she could rely upon to handle her husband's affairs responsibly as Mayme was attending college and Frank would be heading for college in the next few years. She was now responsible for paying the household expenses, which would in themselves not be anything very new, but there were employees to be paid who were working at the Allen's different companies. Mary passed away almost exactly two years following her husband's demise at the age of 45 yrs. Both Nelson Henry and Mary Margaret Allen are buried at Albany's Masonic Cemetery. They are buried side by side and share a headstone. Their daughter, Mayme, was a certified Music teacher who taught school, gave music lessons and continued to live with her brother and sisters, handling outside of the household affairs via an attorney or banker and keeping her family together until they were all ready to live on their own. Mayme had met and fallen in love with William Chester Burkhart, a grandson of Oregon pioneers. They wanted to marry, but both knew that she and her siblings needed to stay together until they were all of an age where they could live on their own. Edna married in 1902 and moved to live with her new husband, Buford Charles Miller. They had one son that I know of who died as a child and are buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Albany. Frank moved to Minnesota to live after he married his wife, Evangeline, in 1918. They had two children and returned to Oregon before they died in the 1960's. They are buried at Willamette Memorial Park. Mayme finally was able to marry William "Will" Chester Burkhart in 1905, in a lavish ceremony in Albany. They had no children but were very happy together all of their married lives and are buried at Albany Masonic Cemetery, together. Alma moved to Shasta County, CA where she died in 1958. I've not been able to locate her. I would really appreciate it if anyone who knows what happened to Stephen Allen's wife, Martha. I believe she made it to Oregon but can't find where she is buried. Thank you so much.
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I owe a great deal of thanks to Diane Greb who located the death notice that was published in both the Oregon Statesman in Salem and the Albany Democrat-Herald for Nelson Henry Allen; I relied on it heavily when creating his memorial and verifying information regarding his life. I also wish to thank Professor Richard Rieck for helping me locate Stephen Allen's last resting place and verifying it.
Mayme Laura Allen married William Chester Burkhart, the brother of my great grandmother, Nellie Olivia Burkhart.
With All Sincerity, Kathie L.Webb Blair, Portland, Oregon
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Apr 11th, 2013 Update- Name Changed when Nelson Allen Hawks moved West, per Tina Chowning, who came across information passed down through the family. This is what she wrote to me: "Nelson Allen had changed his name when he moved West. He was born Nelson Allen Hawks. His father was Stephen Hawks and mother [was] Martha Rhoda Genung. He had a brother, Milo, and a sister, Melissa, who were born in Wisconsin. Martha was born in New Jersey on Dec 22, 1808. They were married Oct 19, 1832 in New York. Stephen's father was William Hawks and his grandfather was Daniel Hawks, as best I can tell. William Hawks married Rhoda Berham Oct 7, 1771. She was born Jan 22, 1750 and died Aug 13, 1840. He was born Oct 20, 1749 in Massachusetts and died May 8, 1830 in Wisconsin. I believe he may have been the grandson of Moses Hawkes, but have yet to be able to prove that connection. This will give you a new path to uncover, if you are so interested. Have fun looking. signed, Tina Chowning.
Thanks so much to Tina Chowning; I am going to start working on this right away.