Lewis E. Allen, of Boston, was married to a woman named Susan B. Allen in 1847. They lived for a while in Boston where their son Frank was born, but then moved to New Orleans where they had a "general store." Lewis was a merchant and died on his way home from a business trip to New England when the ship he was on - named the "Evening Star" - went down in a storm off the North Carolina coast on October 3, 1866.

On the evening of 02 Oct 1866, the steamer "Evening Star" encountered a severe gale beginning at 2:00 P.M., 180 miles east of Tybee Island, GA. After weathering the storm for 17 hours, she foundered at 6:00 A.M. on the morning of the 3rd, with 270 souls on board. Only 17 persons are known to have been saved.