The family of Archibald Allen 1809-1885

 Archibald Allen is next in our Allen line.  I well remember how I finally learned the name of his wife.  At the time, I only "knew" that he had been married in Kentucky, but I didn't know what county, and I knew only the first name of his wife.  I was also a little hazy on what time period I should be looking for, although I knew it would be sometime before 1837.  My research solution is not one I would recommend.  I stood in the county stacks for Kentucky at The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library, and I pulled out every single marriage book that appeared to have records for that time period, starting with the "A" counties-Adair, etc. I was probably there for at least an hour before I got to Mercer County, and that's when I struck gold.  He'd married Margaret J. Dunn, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah or Sally Campbell Dunn, on March 12, 1834.  I had tears of joy running down my face.

With that information, it was a bit easier to find other key facts, including information about his children.  Margaret died in 1865 and Archibald married Elizabeth Ryerson Shields in 1868.  They moved to Jamison, Daviess County, Missouri, where Archibald died in 1885.

John C. (possibly for Campbell? speculation!) Allen was born about 1835 in Mercer County.  He married Mary Amanda Dukes, the daughter of Ephraim and Jane Eslinger Dukes.  Their known children are Charles, Riley, Mariah, Ida, and Mary E.  I have an unconfirmed death date of about 1894 for him, in Pulaski County, Indiana, where Archibald and Margaret had moved during the late 1830s.

George Allen was the next born, on July 16, 1837, possibly in Putnam County, Indiana.  He married first Nancy McCoy, daughter of Vincent and Eleanor Jackson McCoy.  Their children are Emma, Andrew, Edward, and George.  His second marriage was to Sarah Powell Nance, the widow of Peter Nance and the daughter of James and Mary Wilson Powell.  There was one child, Frances (Fannie) born to the second marriage.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

There may or may not be a son, Robert, born after George.  It is likely that he died as an infant or small child, as I can find nothing about him.  It's also possible that the "Robert" was actually George, whose middle name was Robert.

Harriet was born April 12, 1840.  She married Andrew John Hathaway, the son of Francis and Sarah Bourne Hathaway.  Their children were Meredith, Frances, William, Henry, Mary, Margaret, Hattie, Emery and Cora.  She died in 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri.  

Susan was born in 1843 and married John Hicks Wheatley, the son of Thomas and Agnes Holcombe Wheatley.  Their children are Margaret, Thomas, George, and Robert.  She died in 1872 in Fulton County, Indiana (likely very near her parents), just one week after the birth of her last son.  

Finally, there was Sarah Ellen, born in 1848.  She married Nathan L Agnew, the son of William and Eliza Harding Agnew in 1871.  Their children were Florence, Frances, Mabel, and Myrtle.  Sadly, this couple was divorced by 1883.  Her 1900 census in Monroe, Pulaski County, Indiana gives her birth date as 1856, but I think this is the same woman.   She is listed as a "capitalist" and two daughters are school teachers and one a music instructor.   I have not located a death date for her, although one clue I have may lead to an interesting story at some future point.

Archibald's story is an inspiring one because of his capacity for starting over, and finding information about his children has been fun.  As usual, now that I have some answers, there are more questions but that is the way genealogy works.