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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
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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
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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
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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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Letters From the Oregon Trail: Carbon Copy, Part 2, [1852-1855]; 1908; 1913
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Chinook Jargon:Carbon Copy and Photocopy [1852-1855]
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Section: Civil War
Box 156
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Civil War, Prose,
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Box 157
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The Veteran and Other Creative Endeavors, 1853-1904
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Box 157
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Civil War Memorabilia, 1861-1886
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Box 160
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Uniform Regalia, 1867
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Box 158
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Photographs and memorabilia of the 155th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War, 1908
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Section: Personal
Box 159
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Scrapbook Album, 1848-1849
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Box 158
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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
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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
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Journal,
Christmas present from William, 1852
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Box 159
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Scrapbook Album, 1855
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Box 158
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Photographs and Portraits, 1855-1899
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Box 159
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Mountain Department Map of Virginia, 1859
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Box 157
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Pamphlets, 1863-1900
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Box 157
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Correspondence, 1877-1914
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Box 158
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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
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Will and Last Testament, 1914; 1919
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Box 157
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Obituaries and Tributes, 1915-1918
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Box 159
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Portrait of John L. Burns
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Box 160
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Newspaper Clippings Saved by Edward Jay Allen About the Civil War, Northwest History, and Family
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Box 157
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Personal Ephemera
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Box 159
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Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant
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Box 160
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Woodcut Portrait Engraving
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