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Series IX. Family Papers, 1831-1965
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Scope and Content Notes: The Family Papers series includes papers, correspondence, financial documents, genealogical information, photographs, scrapbooks, journals, and ephemeral material associated with the Allens, the Gills, and the Myers (maternal families).
The Allen family lineage can be traced back to the immigrating generation of Edward Allen (1794-1874) and Millicent (Amelia) Bindley Allen (1797-1890) who immigrated from England. The series features a variety of personal family mementos from multi-generational members of the Allen family. Among the highlights of the series are scrapbooks and journals of Hervey Allen’s great uncle, William Hervey Allen, a steamboat captain who survived a horrific accident on board the
New Hampshire during which Allen’s younger brother, George T. Allen, was killed. The series also features a separate subseries for the personal papers of Hervey Allen’s grandfather, Colonel Edward Jay Allen.
Hervey Allen’s own photographs, scrapbooks, journals, and ephemera are included in this series. Since the majority of all photographs feature family members, all photographs are featured in this series.
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See Also: Oversized materials are located in Box 193. Family obituaries and other newspaper articles (collected or written by family members) can be found in Box 194. |
Subseries 1. Edward Jay Allen, 1848-1918
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Scope and Content Notes: Edward Jay Allen, Hervey Allen's paternal grandfather, was a Civil War colonel whose travels on the Oregon Trail made him a well-known and highly honored early pioneer of the Pacific Northwest territory. In 1852 at the age 22, he traveled west to Puget Sound via the Oregon Trail, documenting his experiences via correspondence and later recounting them in his manuscript, "Letters from the Oregon Trail." He settled in Olympia and remained in the Pacific Northwest for three years, surveying the land and acquainting himself with the native culture and language, the Chinook Jargon. In 1859, he became one of the signers of the Monticello Memorial, a resolution to Congress in favor of splitting the Oregon and Washington Territories.
He returned east in 1855, and continued a successful career as an civil engineer, building roads, bridges, and railroads. He married Elizabeth Wilson Robinson on July 16th, 1857 in Pittsburgh. They had five children: William Hervey (Hervey Allen's father), Edna A. Rickmers, May L., Edward H., and Harold Allen.
At the onset of the Civil War, Allen was working as a railroad contractor for the Virginia Central Railroad. During Virginia's secession from the Union, Allen narrowly escaped Confederate capture as he attempted to smuggle back to Pittsburgh. He volunteered on the Union side for some time in Washington DC and Virginia, repairing roads and bridges destroyed by the Confederates before returning to Pittsburgh and recruiting the 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry in 1862. For three years, he headed the Infantry at the rank of Colonel. The Infantry fought at various battles including the Battle of Antietam and Fredericksburg.
After the war, Colonel Allen dedicated himself to local work in Pittsburgh. He worked for the Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Co. as a secretary and also became active in real estate. Allen became a larger than life figure, often writing about his life stories in local papers. He became an early supporter and patron of John W. Alexander, adopting the orphaned Alexander while he worked at the Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Co. as a young man. Allen brought Alexander to the Allen home at "Edgehill" and painted various members of the Allen family, including Colonel Allen (see [Edward Jay Allen, Three-Quarter-Length Portrait, Standing, Face Right]). Colonel Allen died at the age of 85, on December 28, 1915; Mrs. Allen, his widow, died just five days after him.
Featured in this subseries are Allen's typescript manuscript (re-told, original lost) of "The Oregon Trail," personal correspondence, Civil War memorabilia, journals, obituaries, notebooks, photographs, will and last testament, and other creative works, including his poem, "The Veteran."
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See Also: Oversized Material, Family, Box 193; Newspapers, Box 194. Oversized Material, Artwork Collection, Artwork on Display, [Edward Jay Allen, Three-Quarter-Length Portrait, Standing, Face Right]. |
Section: Oregon Trail
Box 156
| Folder |
3 |
Description on the Construction of a Military Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Steilacoom, by George H. Himes [1844-1859]
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In early 1852, the introduction of a bill to construct a military road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Steilacoom reached Congress by way of Joseph Lane, delegate to Congress from the Oregon Territory. The bill was met with opposition from Congress due to the lack of a topographical survey and approximate estimate cost. By December of that year, House Bill No. 187 passed, allotting $20,000 to the construction of this road. George H. Himes (1844-1940), historian at the Oregon Historical Society, wrote this document as he traced the construction of this road through newspaper articles of the
The Columbian. He writes that on May 28, 1853 Edward Jay Allen joined a committee to “view out a route and report therson as follows”; Allen headed east to begin construction on the side of Steilacoom (page 2). The road was hoped to be constructed by the end of 1853 "to accommodate incoming immigrants” (page 2). This document also details some of the first settlements made from crossing the Columbia river to Puget Sound pre-1853. |
Box 159
| Folder |
1 |
Original Journal from the Oregon Trail, 1852 (
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This is Edward Jay Allen's journal as he traversed the Oregon Trail. The journal is not written in chronological order. A flag has been set at the beginning of the journal, in the middle of the journal, on the June 2nd entry. The journal continues through and back the beginning of the book, and finally back to the adjacent page of the June 2nd entry, dated at October 4th. Writing includes calculations, lists of itemized expenses, and individuals' names on wagon trains. |
Box 156
| Folder |
1 |
Letters From the Oregon Trail: Carbon Copy, Part I (2 copies), [1852-1855]; 1908; 1913
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Edward Jay Allen kept in extensive correspondence with his loved ones in Pittsburgh while on the Oregon Trail. After his return from the Northwest Territories, his letters were amalgamated into a narrative entitled, "Letters from the Oregon Trail." In this narrative, Allen details his quotidian adventures on the trail, starting at Council Bluffs (then Kanesville, Iowa): "[w]e knew but little of the country we should traverse, it was terra incognita. All the region that lay to the westward was marked on the map as the "Great American Desert" (page 3). Throughout his accounts, Allen encounters other pioneers venturing West, Native Americans, and details the strenuous labor and setbacks that he endured during his trip.
The narrative is re-told and typewritten in 1913, with a preface from the author. External sources argue that the typewritten manuscript was actually written around 1908 (Larsen and Johnson).
Folder 1 contains pages 1-112 and folder 2 contains pages 200-358.
Please note: pages 113-199 are missing.
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| Folder |
2 |
Letters From the Oregon Trail: Carbon Copy, Part 2, [1852-1855]; 1908; 1913
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| Folder |
4 |
Chinook Jargon:Carbon Copy and Photocopy [1852-1855]
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Section: Civil War
Box 156
| Folder |
5 |
Civil War, Prose,
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Box 157
| Folder |
8 |
The Veteran and Other Creative Endeavors, 1853-1904
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Box 157
| Folder |
1 |
Civil War Memorabilia, 1861-1886
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Box 160
| Folder |
2 |
Uniform Regalia, 1867
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Box 158
| Folder |
4 |
Photographs and memorabilia of the 155th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War, 1908
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Section: Personal
Box 159
| Folder |
3 |
Scrapbook Album, 1848-1849
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Box 158
| Folder |
5 |
Journal, 1849-1850
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A 1849-1850 journal Edward Jay Allen kept as a young man in the years right before his departure to the Northwest. |
Box 159
| Folder |
4 |
Small Notebook, 1850-1914
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Box 158
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A 1851 journal Edward Jay Allen kept as a young man in the year right before his departure to the Northwest. |
Box 158
| Folder |
8 |
Journal,
Christmas present from William, 1852
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Box 159
| Folder |
5 |
Scrapbook Album, 1855
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Box 158
| Folder |
1-3 |
Photographs and Portraits, 1855-1899
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Box 159
| Folder |
2 |
Mountain Department Map of Virginia, 1859
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Box 157
| Folder |
10 |
Pamphlets, 1863-1900
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Box 157
| Folder |
2-7 |
Correspondence, 1877-1914
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Box 158
| Folder |
7 |
Framed Letter From Theodore Roosevelt, 1898
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Framed letter addressed to Edward Jay Allen from then Assistant Secratary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, dated April 24, 1898. |
Box 156
| Folder |
6 |
Will and Last Testament, 1914; 1919
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Box 157
| Folder |
11 |
Obituaries and Tributes, 1915-1918
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Box 159
| Folder |
6 |
Portrait of John L. Burns
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Box 160
| Folder |
3 |
Newspaper Clippings Saved by Edward Jay Allen About the Civil War, Northwest History, and Family
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Box 157
| Folder |
9 |
Personal Ephemera
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Box 159
| Folder |
7 |
Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant
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Box 160
| Folder |
1 |
Woodcut Portrait Engraving
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Subseries 2. Immediate Family Correspondence, 1926-1954
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Scope and Content Notes: Correspondence between Hervey Allen and his wife and children.
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Box 161
| Folder |
1-12 |
Ann Andrews Allen, 1926-1930
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Box 162
| Folder |
1-12 |
Ann Andrews Allen, 1931-1939
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Box 163
| Folder |
1-13 |
Ann Andrews Allen, 1940-1949
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| Folder |
14-16 |
Marcia Allen (daughter), 1931-1954
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Box 164
| Folder |
1-3 |
Mary Ann Allen (daughter), 1935-1953
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| Folder |
4-12 |
Richard Francis Allen (son), 1942-1949
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Subseries 3. Extended Family Correspondence, 1838-1950
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Scope and Content Notes: Correspondence between Hervey Allen and his extended family. Some correspondence includes familial matters with non-relatives.
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Box 165
| Folder |
1 |
Andrews, Charles (father-in-law), 1927-1942
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| Folder |
2-4 |
Andrews, Mrs. Charles (mother-in-law), 1927-1949
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| Folder |
5 |
Andrews, Charles (brother-in-law), 1928-1949
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| Folder |
6 |
Andrews, Paul Shipman, 1934-1949
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| Folder |
7 |
Gill, Mrs. Ida B. (cousin), 1923-1949
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| Folder |
8 |
Harrowing, Mamie (cousin), 1933-1939
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| Folder |
9 |
Moore, Marie (cousin), 1921-1949
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| Folder |
10 |
Myers, Mrs. Helen M. (maternal grandmother)
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| Folder |
11 |
Myers, Joseph S. (cousin), 1934-1949
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| Folder |
12 |
Smith, Percy (family maid), 1944
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Box 166
| Folder |
1 |
Elizabeth Robinson Allen (Mrs. Edward Jay Allen, grandmother), 1838-1914
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| Folder |
2-8 |
William H. Allen (father), 1870-1926
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| Folder |
9-10 |
Helen Myers Allen (mother), 1886-1918
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| Folder |
11 |
Ethel Allen (2nd wife of father), 1925-1926
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| Folder |
12-15 |
Edna Allen Rickmers (aunt), 1918-1929
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Box 167
| Folder |
1-5 |
Edna Allen Rickmers (aunt), 1931-1949
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| Folder |
6 |
Edward Halkett Allen, Jr. (uncle), 1924-1926
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| Folder |
7-15 |
Harold Allen (uncle), 1898-1929
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Box 168
| Folder |
1-8 |
Harold Allen (uncle), 1926-1939
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| Folder |
9-12 |
May L. Allen (aunt), 1916-1923
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Box 169
| Folder |
1-11 |
May L. Allen (aunt), 1924-1938
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Box 170
| Folder |
1-3 |
May L. Allen (aunt), 1939-1945
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| Folder |
4-8 |
Edward Allen (brother), 1920-1941
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| Folder |
9-15 |
Elizabeth Allen (sister), 1918-1949
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Box 171
| Folder |
1-4 |
Helen Allen (sister), 1921-1949
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| Folder |
5-10 |
Winthrop Allen (brother), 1918-1937
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Box 172
| Folder |
1-9 |
Winthrop Allen (brother), 1938-1950
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| Folder |
10 |
Edward H. Allen (cousin), 1926-1949
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| Folder |
11 |
Edward J. Allen III (nephew), 1944
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| Folder |
12 |
Sylvia Allen (niece), 1944-1947
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| Folder |
13-14 |
General Family Correspondence, 1901-1949
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| Folder |
15 |
Family Matters, 1925-1934
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Subseries 4. Genealogy, Financial, and Official Documents, 1831-1930
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Scope and Content Notes: Included in this subseries are genealogical and official documents of Hervey Allen's families. In this subseries is the oldest document in the papers, a marriage certificate between John Gill and Anna Caldwell dated at February 24, 1831. Also included are the Golden Wedding invitations and mementos of both Hervey Allen's great-grandparents, Edward Allen Sr. and Amelia Bindley Allen in 1866, and his grandparents, Colonel Edward Jay Allen and Elizabeth Robinson Allen in 1907. Other documents include estate and financial documents.
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Box 173
| Folder |
1 |
Certificate of Marriage of John Gill and Anna Caldwell, 1831
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| Folder |
2 |
Estate of Helen M. Allen Documents, 1890-1922
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| Folder |
3 |
Estate of Helen M. Allen Trustee Documents, 1926-1930
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| Folder |
5-6 |
General Financial Documents, 1897-1925
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| Folder |
7 |
Golden Wedding: Edward Allen and Millicent (Amelia Bindley) Allen (great-grandparents), 1866
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| Folder |
8 |
Golden Wedding: Edward Jay Allen and Elizabeth Robinson Allen and General Messages (grandparents), 1907; 1899-1915
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| Folder |
9 |
Insurance, 1896-1918
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| Folder |
10 |
Tax Forms, 1891-1918
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| Folder |
11 |
Wills, Testaments, and Memoirs
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Subseries 5. Creative Works, 1855-1965
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Scope and Content Notes: Various members of the Allen family were also writers, including his grandfather who wrote the Civil War inspired poem, "The Veteran." His father, William Hervey Allen Sr., wrote amateur poetry as well. Colonel Edward Jay Allen's works can all be found in his own subseries, Boxes 156-160. In this subseries are numerous creative endeavors written by other members of the Allen family including his wife Ann Andrews Allen, and his great-uncle, William Hervey Allen.
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Section: Ann Allen
| Folder |
12 |
Certain Letters of Hervey Allen with Notes by Ann Andrews Allen ’28, in
Vassar Alumnae Magazine, December 1965
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| Folder |
13 |
Sarah Simon: Character Atlantean, in
The Bermudian, March 1956
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Section: William Hervey Allen (father)
| Folder |
15 |
[
To Miss Anna Garrison Bennett], 1887
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Section: William Hervey Allen (uncle)
| Folder |
16 |
The Last Trip, in
The Knickerbocker, December 1855
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Subseries 6. Photographs, 1857-1949
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Scope and Content Notes: This subseries contains the bulk of all photographs in the papers. When possible, folders are listed by identified individuals and date. If there is no discernable name and/or date associated, photographs were grouped as unidentified individuals, groups, or places. Other materials found here are photographic negatives, photographic reproductions, and associated materials found with photographs. Please note: folders are fastened with plastic clips, please use precaution upon perusal. Place folders flat on a stable surface upon removal of clips.
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See Also: Oversized photographs of Hervey Allen and the Allen family exist in Boxes 189-194. |
Section: Individuals
Box 174
| Folder |
1 |
Amelia Bindley (Mrs. Edward Allen, great grandmother)
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| Folder |
2 |
Ann Allen (wife)
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| Folder |
3 |
Annette Allen (niece), 1921
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| Folder |
4 |
Bishop Carleton Hunt (brother-in-law)
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| Folder |
5 |
Doris Appel (secretary)
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| Folder |
6 |
Edna Allen Rickmers (aunt)
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| Folder |
7 |
Edward Allen (paternal great grandfather)
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| Folder |
8 |
Edward Jay Allen (paternal grandfather)
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| Folder |
9 |
Edward Allen (uncle)
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| Folder |
10 |
Edward Jay Allen III (brother), 1911-1913
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| Folder |
11 |
Elizabeth Allen (sister)
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| Folder |
12 |
Elizabeth R. Allen (paternal grandmother)
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| Folder |
13 |
Friends: DuBose Heyward
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| File-cabinet |
14 |
Friends: General
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| Folder |
15 |
Friends: Robert Frost, 1947
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| Folder |
16 |
Gill Family, 1865
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| Folder |
17 |
Helen Allen (sister-in-law)
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Box 175
| Folder |
1-3 |
Helen Eby Myers Allen (mother), 1865-1918
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| Folder |
4 |
Helen Mar Allen (sister)
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| Folder |
5 |
Helen Mar Myers Gill (maternal grandmother), 1857-1900
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| Folder |
6 |
Hervey Allen, 1889-1895
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| Folder |
7-8 |
Hervey Allen, 1896-1905
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| Folder |
9 |
Hervey Allen, 1909-1918
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Photographs of Hervey Allen at the Naval Academy. |
Box 176
| Folder |
1 |
Hervey Allen, 1920-1930
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| Folder |
2 |
Hervey Allen, 1931-1939
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| Folder |
3 |
Hervey Allen, 1940-1949
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| Folder |
4 |
Hervey Allen Portraits: Headshots, ca. 1930s
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| Folder |
5 |
Hervey Allen Portraits: Artwork (in likeness of), 1925-1942
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| Folder |
6 |
Hervey Allen Publicity
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| Folder |
7 |
Hervey and Ann Allen
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| Folder |
8 |
Jacob Myers, Mr. and Mrs. (maternal great grandparents)
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| Folder |
9 |
John Gill (maternal great grandfather)
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| Folder |
10 |
John Gill, Mrs. (maternal great grandmother)
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| Folder |
11 |
Mable Allen (Mrs. Harold Allen)
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| Folder |
12 |
Mary Ann Allen (daughter)
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| Folder |
13 |
May L. Allen (aunt), 1901-1905
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| Folder |
14 |
Rebecca Turner (great aunt)
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| Folder |
15 |
Richard Francis Allen (son)
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| Folder |
16 |
Sylvia Allen (niece)
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Box 177
| Folder |
1-2 |
Unidentified Individuals
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| Folder |
3 |
Uriah Myers (maternal grandfather)
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| Folder |
4 |
William H. Allen (father), 1860-1911
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| Folder |
5 |
William H. Allen (great uncle)
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| Folder |
6 |
Winthrop Allen (brother)
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Section: Groups
| Folder |
8 |
Allen Family, 1897-1905
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| Folder |
9 |
Allen Family, 1949
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Section: Places and Other Material,
Box 178
| Folder |
1 |
Charleston, South Carolina, 1924-1938
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| Folder |
2 |
Edgehill Home, 1899-1900
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These are photographs of the home Colonel Edward Jay Allen kept on Braddock Road, Pittsburgh. According to inscriptions on the back of these photographs, the home was built at about 1879. The Allens lived here until 1900 when it was purchased by a M. Lovejoy who demolished the home soon after. |
| Folder |
3 |
Estates and Residences
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| Folder |
4 |
Johnny Appleseed's Grave
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| Folder |
5 |
Landscapes and General Travel
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| Folder |
6 |
Mexican Border, Ysleta, 1916-1917
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| Folder |
8 |
Other Material Found with Photographs
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| Folder |
9 |
Reproductions and Photographs of Figurines
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Subseries 7. Journals and Scrapbooks, 1837-1934
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Scope and Content Notes: This subseries includes personal journals and scrapbooks composed by various members of the Allen family including George T. Allen, great-uncle of Hervey Allen. At the age of 20, George was killed on May 1, 1849 on board
The New Hampshire, a steamboat captained by his older brother, William Hervey Allen. First account portrayal of the accident is evident in William's journals. William Hervey, who was deeply affected by the accident, took a great deal of responsibility and sorrow because of it. Mention of the accident is also evident in
Lloyd's Steamboat Directory and Disasters of the Western Waters, 1856 (in the Hervey Allen personal library collection). Also included here is the Colonel Edward Jay Allen and Elizabeth R. Allen's Golden Wedding Scrapbook.
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Box 181
| Folder |
3 |
Brown Scrapbook, 1857-1880
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Box 179
| Folder |
1 |
Brown Scrapbook, 1874-1889
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Section: Edward S. White
Section: Elizabeth R. Allen (paternal grandmother)
| Folder |
3 |
Photo Album, (1857-1882)
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Section: George T. Allen (great uncle)
Box 180
| Folder |
2 |
Golden Wedding: Edward Jay Allen and Elizabeth Allen, 1866
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Section: Helen Myers (maternal grandmother)
Section: Hervey Allen
| Folder |
5 |
Letters from William Scrapbook, 1922-1930
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Section: John Young
Box 181
| Folder |
1 |
The Gossip: According to John, 1925-1927
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Section: William Hervey Allen (father)
| Folder |
4 |
Diary, 1877-1879
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Section: William Hervey Allen (great uncle)
Box 182
| Folder |
1 |
Book of Fift, Notebook, 1837-1897
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| Folder |
2 |
Notebook, 1840-1841
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Box 183
| Folder |
1 |
The New Hampshire Steamer Album, 1845-1857
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Box 181
| Folder |
2 |
Scrapbook, 1847-1853
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| Folder |
3 |
Review of Books Perused By..., 1847-1851
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| Folder |
4 |
Quotations Book, 1847
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| Folder |
5 |
Scrapbook, 1849-1963
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Box 184
| Folder |
1 |
Bible, 1850-1852
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| Folder |
2 |
Bible Given to Edward Jay Allen, 1851
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| Folder |
4 |
Diary (Red Bound), 1854
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Subseries 8. Ephemera, 1865-1949
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Scope and Content Notes: Mementos, personal items, postcards, and newspaper clippings gathered by the Allen family including a sermon pamphlet from the Presbyterian Church given just days after the assassination of President Lincoln.
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Box 185
| Folder |
1 |
A Gift for My Mother, Helen's Handiwork in Harrisburg, 1873
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| Folder |
2 |
A Letter in the Collection of Benjamin Franklin (reproduction)
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| Folder |
3 |
Calvary Church of Pittsburgh, 1924
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| Folder |
4 |
General Family Papers
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| Folder |
5-6 |
Hervey Allen Personal Items
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| Folder |
7 |
Jefferson Davies for President
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| Folder |
8 |
Newspaper Clippings, Assassination of President Lincoln and President McKinley, 1865-1901
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| Folder |
9 |
The Philadelphia Directory (reproduction), [1791]
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| Folder |
17 |
Presbyterian Church of Harrisburg Program, 1865
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Sermon about Lincoln's assassination. |
| Folder |
18 |
Shadyside Literary Society Entertainment, 1876
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| Folder |
19 |
Souvenir from the Musee Historique Candadien - a Wax Museum
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| Folder |
20 |
Weekly Memo, 1949
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