Biography of
Hon. James Cameron Allen
p. 1608
HON. JAMES CAMERON ALLEN, one
of the best known men in Southern Illinois, and the most distinguished citizen
of Olney, died on January 30, 1912, at his home in this city. He was born on
January 29, 1822, and had celebrated his ninetieth birthday anniversary on the
day preceding his death. Mr. Allen was born in Shelby
county, Kentucky, and was the seventh of ten children born to Benjamin and Margaret (Youel) Allen, both natives of Virginia. Benjamin Allen was educated and married in his native
state, where in early life he was engaged in the manufacture of sickles.
Afterward he engaged in blacksmithing and general farming. In 1802 he removed to
Shelby county, Kentucky, and from there, in 1830, he moved to Parke county,
Indiana, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1847. From early
life he was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was for
over thirty years an elder.
James Cameron Allen,
his son, and the
subject of this
memoir, received his early
education in the log school house common to the period in which he was
reared, and later he attended a high school at Rockville, Indiana. Until he
was nineteen years of age the greater part of his time was spent on his
father‘s farm. He then commenced reading law in the office of Messrs. Howard
& Wright
of Rockville, Indiana, and in August, 1843, he was admitted to the
bar. In the following December he removed to Sullivan, Indiana, where he was
engaged in the practice of law until the autumn of 1845, and in that fall he
was elected prosecuting attorney for the seventh judicial district of
Indiana, holding the office for two years. In 1847 Mr. Allen
removed to
Palestine, Crawford county, Illinois, where he remained for twenty-nine
years consecutively. In 1850-51 he represented Crawford and Jasper counties
in the lower house of the state legislature. In 1852 he was elected to
congress from the seventh congressional district of Illinois, and was
reelected in 1854. At that time the election was contested by Colonel W. B.
Archer,
of Marshall, Illinois. The evidence showed the election of Colonel
Archer,
but he offended the South American Faction by being made a
vice-president of the convention that nominated Fremont, and the seat was
declared vacant. Another election followed, at which Mr. Allen
was elected.
In 1857 he was elected clerk of the house of representatives, serving during
the Thirty-fifth Congress. In 1860 he was the Democratic candidate for
governor of Illinois, but was defeated by Richard Yates.
In 1861 he was
elected judge of the seventh judicial district, which position he held
until the fall of 1862, when he was elected congressman-atlarge for
Illinois. In 1861 Governor Yates
tendered him the command of the
Twenty-first Illinois Regiment of Infantry, which he declined on the
P. 1609
ground that he had no
military training or inclination, but requested that U. S. Grant be placed
in command, which was done. in 1862 President Lincoln offered him the
command of a brigade, which he declined for the same reasons given
Governor
Yates. In 1870 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention of
Illinois, and in June, 1873, was elected judge of the second judicial
circuit. In 1876 he removed to Olney, Richland county, where he remained as
a resident until the time of his death, and in the year following, 1877, he
was appointed one of the appellate judges for the fourth district of
Illinois. He held this office until 1879, when he resumed the practice of
his profession.
Judge Allen was first married
on January 22, 1845, to Ellen Kitchell, youngest daughter of Hon. Joseph Kitchell. Three children were born to them, all deceased. Mrs. Allen died in
May, 1852. In June, 1857, Judge Allen was again married. His second wife was Julia Kitchell, a daughter of Harvey Kitchell. Seven children were born of
this latter union. Judge Allen and his wife were members of the Presbyterian
church.
The Judge was a staunch
Democrat politically. In a speech at the memorial meeting of the bar,
Judge
E. Callahan thus speaks of the attitude of Judge Allen at the time of the
war: “In congress he voted for every appropriation of men and money which
was asked for by the administration for the prosecution of the war, though
he did not fully approve of them. There was a line that he would never
pass, and from which he later retreated. If he had crossed that line and
given his full support to the administration of President Lincoln he might
have won a senatorial toga, or seated himself in the gubernatorial chair.
This was the hour of his opportunity—but it was allowed to pass by.
“June 17, 1863, he was a speaker at the conclave of politicians at
Springfield that resolved ‘That the further offensive prosecution of the war
tends to subvert the constitution and the government and entails upon the
nation all the disastrous consequences of misrule and anarchy and
earnestly requested the
president to withdraw the proclamation of emancipation.
“In 1869 he was elected
without opposition a member of the constitutional convention that
formed the present constitution of the state of Illinois. He was
chairman of the committee on the Legislative Department and was
entitled to great credit for service wisely rendered in that capacity.
He was one of the most prominent and useful members of the convention.”
In connection also with the political career
of Judge Allen, the
Olney Times,
following his death, printed the following
interesting sketch concerning his political activities: “The younger
generation of Olney does not know of an incident in the life of the late
Judge Allen which came near changing the current of his existence and
landing him in the presidential chair. Judge Allen was always fond of
relating stories that referred principally to his colleagues of former
times, while the incidents that affected him personally he seldom
referred to. For this reason, it is only the older people who knew of
the situation at the Charleston convention when the withdrawal of
Douglas was the only thing essential to the nomination of Judge Allen
for the presidency.
“At that time,
‘Jim’ Allen
of Illinois was a national figure. His several terms in Congress and
his four years as clerk of the national house, coupled with his great
power as a public speaker, had brought him the notice of the entire
country. He occupied a steadfast position, and his character was such
that he drew the confidence of the people.
“As 1860 approached with
its slavery agitation and its national conventions, there was a
conflict growing between the northern and southern
P. 1610
Democrats. The south
became more distrustful of Senator Douglas of Illinois, who for three
years had been conceded the Democratic nomination, and the Charleston
convention showed that this hostility was so great that if Douglas were
named the party would split. It was at this juncture that the southern
Democrats urged Douglas to withdraw in the hope of keeping the party
united. They made this proposition to the Illinois delegation: ‘Induce Douglas to withdraw and we will join you in nominating
Jim Allen.
Although facing division and defeat if nominated, the autocratic Douglas refused to listen to withdrawal talk and kept his delegates in
line. Judge Allen was then nominated for governor of Illinois and made
the historic race against Richard Yates, Sr.
“Judge Allen possessed all
the elements of a great public man. Had he been nominated at Charleston
or had he defeated Yates in 1860, his subsequent career would
have been interwoven with national affairs for many years.
History Table of Contents
Biography Table of
Contents
Name Index
Memorial Library Illinois
Selections
USGenNet.org
- First & Only 501(c)3 Host for Genealogical & Historical Sites
Livingston County Michigan Historical & Genealogical Project
American
History & Genealogy Project
Home
© 2006~ Pam MARDOS
Rietsch pam@livgenmi.com