John Allen (Connecticut)

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For similarly named people, including several Congressmen, see John Allen

John Allen
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Connecticut's At-large district
In office
March 4, 1797 –March 3, 1799
Preceded by Samuel W. Dana
Succeeded by Bailey Bartlett
Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors
In office
1774–1776
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office
1793-1796
Personal details
Born(1763-06-12)June 12, 1763
Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died July 31, 1812(1812-07-31) (aged 49)
Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S.
CitizenshipFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Political party Federalist
Spouse(s) Ursula McCurdy Allen
Relations Elizur Goodrich
Children John W. Allen and Ursula Allen
Alma mater Litchfield Law School
Occupation Lawyer, Politician

John Allen (June 12, 1763 – July 31, 1812) was an eighteenth-century lawyer and politician. He served as a United States Representative from Connecticut and as a member of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors.

Connecticut state of the United States of America

Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the United States. As of the 2010 Census, it has the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index (0.962), and median household income in the United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford and its most populous city is Bridgeport. It is part of New England, although portions of it are often grouped with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-state area. The state is named for the Connecticut River which approximately bisects the state. The word "Connecticut" is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for "long tidal river".

Connecticut Supreme Court the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut

The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol. It generally holds eight sessions of two to three weeks per year, with one session each September through November and January through May. Justices are appointed by the governor and then approved by the Connecticut General Assembly.

Contents

Early life and career

Allen was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He attended the common schools and taught school in Germantown, Pennsylvania and New Milford, Connecticut, before studying law at the Litchfield Law School from 1784 to 1786. [1] Allen was admitted to the bar in 1786 and began the practice of law in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,104 at the 2010 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, Great Barrington includes the villages of Van Deusenville and Housatonic. It is the birthplace of W. E. B. Du Bois. In 2012, Smithsonian magazine ranked Great Barrington #1 in its list of "The 20 Best Small Towns in America".

A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796-1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary of the State Board of Education where he began a revival of common school education, the effects of which extended throughout America during the 19th century.

New Milford, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, located in Western Connecticut. The town is located 14 miles (23 km) north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly 62 square miles (161 km2). The population was 28,142 according to the 2010 Census. The town center is also listed as a census-designated place (CDP). The northern portion of the town is situated in the region considered Northwestern CT and the far eastern portions are part of the Litchfield Hills region.

Allen began his political career as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, serving in the State House from 1793 to 1796. [2] He served as clerk of the State House in 1796. [3] He was elected as a Federalist candidate to the Fifth Congress, serving from March 4, 1797 to March 3, 1799. [4] He was a proponent of the Alien and Sedition Acts. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1798.

Connecticut House of Representatives

The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containing nearly 22,600 residents. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. The House convenes within the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford.

5th United States Congress 1797-1799 legislative term

The Fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1797, to March 4, 1799, during the first two years of John Adams' presidency.

Alien and Sedition Acts series of Acts of Congress

The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by the Federalist-dominated 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798. They made it harder for an immigrant to become a citizen, allowed the president to imprison and deport non-citizens who were deemed dangerous or who were from a hostile nation, and criminalized making false statements that were critical of the federal government.

He was a member of the State council and of the Supreme Court of Errors from 1800 to 1806. [5] He continued the practice of law in Litchfield until his death in 1812. [6] Allen is interred in East Cemetery in Litchfield.

Personal life

Allen married Ursula McCurdy, a graduate of the Litchfield Female Academy. [7] They had two children, John W. Allen and Ursula Allen. Their son John W. Allen was a U.S. Representative from Ohio from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1841. [8] [9]

The Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce, was one of the most important institutions of female education in the United States. During the 30 years after its opening the school enrolled more than 2,000 students from 17 states and territories of the new republic, as well as Canada and the West Indies. Some 1,848 students known to have attended the school have been identified through school lists, diaries and journals, correspondence, as well as art and needlework done at the school. Many more, unidentified to date, attended, especially before 1814, when formal attendance lists were first kept. The longevity of the school, the size of the enrollments, the wide geographic distribution of the student body, the development of the curriculum and the training of teachers, all distinguish it from the numerous other female academies of the Early Republic. The young women were exposed to ideas and customs from all the relatively isolated parts of the new nation, developing a more national perspective than most Americans of the period.

John W. Allen lawyer and politician from Ohio

John William Allen was a lawyer and politician from Ohio.

Ohio State of the United States of America

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Of the fifty states, it is the 34th largest by area, the seventh most populous, and the tenth most densely populated. The state's capital and largest city is Columbus.

Allen's sister, Annie Willard Allen Goodrich, was married to Elizur Goodrich, a U.S. Representative from Connecticut, serving from March 4, 1799 to March 3, 1801. [10] [11]

Elizur Goodrich American politician

Elizur Goodrich was an eighteenth-century American lawyer and politician from Connecticut. He served as a United States Representative from Connecticut and Collector of Customs.

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References

  1. ↑ "John Allen". Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ "John Allen House (1799)". Historic Buildings of Connecticut. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Allen, John". History, Art & Archives United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Rep. John Allen". Govtrack.us. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Allen, John (1763-1812)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ Lanman, Charles (1876). Biographical annals of the civil government of the United States: during its first century. From original and official sources. J. Anglim. p. 5.
  7. ↑ "Ursula McCurdy Allen". Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Allen, John William (1802-1887)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ "ALLEN, John William, (1802 - 1887)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ "John Allen". Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  11. ↑ "GOODRICH, Elizur, (1761 - 1849)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2013.


U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Zephariah Swift 		Member of the  U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's at-large congressional district
1797-1799 		Succeeded by
John Davenport
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