Son of William A. Allen and Jane (Montgomery) Allen. Husband of 1.) Louisa (Sullivan)Allen 2.) Beatrice G. (Smith) Allen 3.) Rhoda (Allarad) Allen.

Obituary

John Allen, a well known citizen of Lampasas County, died at his residence January 15th at 6 o'clock p. m. Brother Allen leaves a wife and six children. He was a member of the Methodist Church, a devoted christian. Funeral and burial services at Nix.

Direct Quotation from Lessons "From a Century Past" by Mark Long reads...

The most significant challenge to the Gilded Age can be traced to a gathering of farmers at the home of John R. Allen in Lampasas, Texas in 1877. There, simple men and women gathered to discuss the economic difficulties they faced and to work out a collective response to their agricultural problems. They were plagued by unfair freight rates resulting from government sanctioned monopolies of the railroads, mounting debt, resulting from deflationary national monetary policies (implemented through private banks) and increased competition from corporate farms; and growing tensions between rural producers and big-city merchants. The resulting mass movement was called the Farmers Alliance -- a loose gathering of farmers and laborers, set to change their world.

The historical view from the Allen farm stretches east across all of the states of the old Confederacy and north into the Canadian plains. By the time the Farmer's Alliance and its political wing, the People's Party, had run its course, millions of people had joined their local sub-alliances and the coorperatively run grain elevators, furnishing stores, farm equipment production factories, etc. The power of the Populists grew from the local level outward.

Before the high tide of Populism had receded, the People's Party could claim outright or fusion control of various state legislatures, governorships, many U. S. House seats and even a few U. S. Senate seats. In fact, not withstanding its humble origins, the People's Party had the distinction of being the most powerful third part in the country in the post-bellum period. The Populist movement is an inspiring example of how powerful a political movement can be when grounded at local levels and animated by a compelling vision.