The goal of these surname search blog posts is to help you connect with other researchers interested in these surnames, and to find more information about your ancestors. Use the resources below as a stepping point to find credible sources, and remember: not every “Jane Doe” is your “Jane Doe”! If you have information related to the Allen surname, or would like to reach out to fellow Allen genealogy researchers, leave a comment. Please do not share any information about those still living to respect privacy.
Allen / Allan
Related surnames or alternate spellings: Alen; Allan; Alan; Alleine; Allyn, Alleyne, Allin; Alland; Van Alen
Notable ancestors include:
Elisabeth Walton Allen, Titanic passenger, survivor
Ethan Allen, one of the founders of Vermont
Forrest “Phog” Allen, “Father of Basketball Coaching”
Gracie Allen, comedian
Holless Wilbur Allen, inventor of the compound bow
Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist
Steve Allen, first host of The Tonight Show
William Allen, early governor of Ohio
William G. Allen, possible namesake of the Allen wrench
William Gustavus Allen, first black man to marry a white woman in the US
Zachariah Allen, inventor from Rhode Island
Genealogy websites
“Allen Cole’s Website: Allen Family Genealogy” (Tripod - still active)
“Allen Family Genealogy” Hause Genealogy
“Allen Family Genealogy” (Wayback Machine Link)
“Allen Family” (Rootsweb)
“Allen Family” (Tripod)
“Descendants and relatives of Benjamin Allen & Sarah Somers of New Brunswick, Canada (and a few strays)” trenholm.org
“The Allen Family Foot Prints” Allen Family of Scottsville
Message boards
“ALLEN family, circus performers 1901” thread on British-Genealogy.com Forum
“Allen” posts & “Allan” posts on Ancestry.com Message Boards
“Allen” posts on Genealogy.com GenForum Message Boards
Social media groups & societies
Allen Genealogy, private Facebook group, 504+ members.
ALLEN Genealogy of New England, private Facebook group, 288+ members.
Photographs:
Alfretta M. Allen, ca. 1930. UMass Amherst
Allen Family, circa 1900. Fort Collins History Connection.
Allen, Anna. circa 1901. Library of Congress
Allen, Hon. C.H. Library of Congress
Allen, Hon. J.B. Library of Congress
Allen, Millwall. New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Allen, Nila. Library of Congress
Allen, William. Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.
Ann Barry Allen, 1860. University of Michigan Library
Archie Allen Family, Springfield College
Bernice Allen, Library of Congress
Bertie Allen, University of Wyoming
Bill Allen & Marie Allen wedding photo. Utah Library
Chester Allen, WWI Military Portraits
“Daughters of the Allen family near Morganza, Louisiana, sitting in the window, 1938” Library of Congress
Drs. Allen and Allen holding bags, The Portal to Texas History
Ernest Allen, 1903- 1904. Pines Peak Library District.
“Ethel Allen, daughter of Lon Allen, standing in front of the family home. Iron County, Michigan” Library of Congress
Florence E. Allen, Library of Congress.
Francis S. Allen, UMass Amherst
Fred Allen, Historic New England
“George W. Allen family and Home” Carnegie Library for Local History
Gideon H. Allen, ca. 1871. UMass Amherst
Harry Allen, Reading Public Library, Mass.
Hugh Allen, WWI Military Portraits
Iona Allen, circa 1930s. Fort Collins History Connection.
Irene Susannah Beaumont Allen, 1907. Atlanta History Center.
Irma H. Allen, ca. 1930. UMass Amherst
J. Weston Allen, 1929. Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts
James Allen portrait, Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts
James M. Allen, Massachusetts Historical Society
Jean Allen, 1943. Eagle Valley Library District.
Julia E. Allen, 1930. UMass Amherst
Louise Allen, 1890. New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Margaret Allen, 1920. Library of Congress.
Margaret Allen, ca 1855. Historic New England
Mrs. Allen, Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Mrs. Genevieve Allen, 1920. Library of Congress.
Nathaniel T. Allen, ca 1888. Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Percy Allen, 1900. Library of Congress.
“Ray Allen family near Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 1937” Library of Congress
Richard Allen, Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts
Robert C. Allen, ca. 1917. UMass Amherst
Rodolphus H. Allen, ca. 1910. UMass Amherst
Viola Allen. New York Public Library Digital Collections.
W.A. Allen, 1921. UMass Amherst
William T. Allen, Massachusetts Historical Society
Website clippings, news articles, blog posts (no paywalls)
“A Story of the Allen Family” Western Kentucky History (with photos)
“Allen (or Allyn) Family” Hartford County, Connecticut Genealogy and History
“Allen Family File” Singing River Genealogy and Local History Library, Internet Archive
“Allen Family Genealogy” Access Genealogy Blog.
Bradshaw, Rebecca. “Buford’s Historic Allen Homes” 3 May, 2013. Patch.com (with family photos)
Farmer, Jim. “The Origins of Our Allen Family in Colonial Virginia” Pioneers Along Southern Trails. 26 November 2014.
Gwynallen, Richard. “More on our Scottish Allan Family” The Kitchen Table. 12 Monday 2016.
“The Allen Family History” Lorne Historical Society (with family photo)
“The Allen Family of Pennsylvania” My Genealogy Addiction
“The Allen Surname Project” The Genealogy Corner
“The Allen family history” Scarborough Maritime Heritage Center (with photos)
Artifacts
Byrne, Mrs. Daniel. “Allen Notes” (Full view on FamilySearch)
Handwritten History of the Allen Family, The Portal to Texas History
Palmer, Rev. John M. “Was Richard Allen great?” 1898. Library of Congress.
Correspondence and letters
Benjamin W. Allen letter to father, 1851. Berkeley Library
Harrison L. Allen letter to his wife, Julia, 1851. Berkeley Library
Homes & historical markers
Allen House, Hampden, Mass. Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
“Allen Property” Duxbury (with family photos)
The Allen House, a “haunted house” in Monticello, Arkansas
“The Allen House” Texas
The J. Sidna Allen Home, Carroll County, Virginia
“W.H. Allen House” Arkansas (with family photos)
Oral histories
Daniel Allen Oral History Interview, 1983. (audio only) OSU Libraries.
“Earl Allen Collection” 1943, Audio only. Library of Congress.
“Jim Allen Collection” 1969, Library of Congress
“Nolan Allen Collection” 1942, audio only. Library of Congress.
Oral history interview of Cary Allen, Atlanta History Center
Oral history interview with Henry Allen, Suffolk University
Books (Online & In Print)
Allen, Asa W. “Genealogy of the Allen and Witter families: among the early settlers of this continent and their descendants” Salem. Luther W. Smith, 1872 (Full view on Internet Archive)
Allen, Clifford L. “Allen Kin” Detroit, MI. (Full view on FamilySearch)
Allen, Edgar B. “The Allen family” (Full view on FamilySearch)
Allen, George Henry. “Phinehas Allen’s descendants. Benjamin, Jr., Benjamin, John, Walter, of Lincoln, Mass, 1745, and a complete genealogy of the descendants of Benjamin Allen, of Ashby, Mass., 1777” Boston; Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, 1898. (Full view on Internet Archive)
Allen, George W. “Allen History and Genealogy” New Jersey, The Allen Press, 1937. (Full view on the Internet Archive)
Allen, Hon. William. Revised by Joshua Allen. “A Genealogy of the Allen Family, From 1568 to 1882” Farmington, Maine. Chronicle Book and Job Press, 1882. (Full view PDF)
Allen, James McDowell. “Allen Family” (Full view on FamilySearch)
Allen, John H. “A Brief History of the Allen Family in America” 1915. (Full view pdf)
Allen, Orrin Peer. “The Allen Memorial, descendants of Edward Allen of Nantucket, Mass., 1690 - 1905” Palmer, Mass. Press of C.B. Fiske & Co., 1905. (Full view on Library of Congress)
Allen, Willard Spencer. “Genealogy of Samuel Allen, of Windsor, CT. and some of his descendants” 1876. Boston. (Full view on Internet Archive).
Bent, Allen H. “Walter Allen of Newbury, Mass., 1640, and some of his descendants, with a few notes on the Allen family in general” Boston; David Clapp & Son, Printers; 1896. (Full view on Internet Archive).
Corradi, Marianne Allen. “The Allens of Mobile” 2006. (Full view on FamilySearch)
Eckhardt, Ura Link. “The Allen Family, Books 1 - 11” (Full view on FamilySearch)
Knight, Hiram. “Biography of Deacon James Allen” Worcester, Mass., C. Hamilton, 1889. (Full view on Library of Congress)
Lukos, Glenn. “Allens of Maine” Los Angeles, CA; 1986. (Full view on FamilySearch)
Mac Donald, Jack E. “The Allen Family: Descendants of George Allen of England and Sandwich, Massachusetts” Powell, Wyoming. 2019. (Full view rootsweb pdf)
Pierce, Francis Jarvis. “The Allen family” Oklahoma, 1959. (Full view on FamilySearch.org)
Price, John. “Genealogy of the Allen family of Manchester, Mass.: from the earliest settlement to the year 1886” Salem, 1888. (Full view on FamilySearch.org)
Roach, A. Ayvonne Allen Hawkins. “The Allen Heritage” 1977 (Full view on FamilySearch.org)
Seaver, J. Montgomery. “The Allen Genealogy” Philadelphia. (Full view on FamilySearch.org)
The Crescent Family Record. “Origin and History of the Name of Allen with Biographies of all the most noted persons of that name, and an account of the origin of surnames and forenames, together with over five hundred christian names of men and women and their significance” Chicago, IL. American Publishers Association, 1901. (Full view on Google Books)
Leave a note below if you would like to share relevant links to the Allen surname search, or get in touch with other researchers. Again, do not share any private information of your own, or belonging to anyone living. Thank you!
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See also: | Brown | Clark | Davis | Haggard | Johnson | Jones | Kavanagh / Cavanagh | Smith | Upham | Warren | Wilson