William Allen, of Salem & Manchester

William Allen

• Display name: William Allen, of Salem & Manchester
• Gender: Male
• Birth: circa 1602 - perhaps, Dorset, England
• Death: between June 06, 1678 and July 27, 1679 (71-81) Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Husband of Ales (Unknown) — married 1630 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts
• Husband of Elizabeth (Unknown) — married 1634 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts
• (perhaps) the brother of Robert Allyn, of Salem & New London

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William Allen NEHGS Great Migration Project Profile with most current information on family group was uploaded to Source tab 11/21/2022.

Biography

Updated 23 November 2022

In the year 1623 an association of adventurers from Dorchester, England, raised 3000 pounds to establish a settlement in New England. In 1624 the "Dorchester Company" landed at Gloucester, with William Allen, a carpenter, from Manchester, England. Soon, the settlers invited Roger Conant, to Salem (then known as Naumkeag) in 1626. In 1631 William Allen was admitted as a Freeman to the Winthrop Colony. In about 1640 he removed to Manchester and built the first house in town. He also built the first saw mill, and named the stream "Saw Mill Brook", a name which still remains. He was a petitioner to the General Court in 1640 for "Jeffrey's Creek". He was a selectman in 1645, the first year that Manchester was incorporated as a town.

William Allen married (1) by 1630, Alice (unknown), who died at Salem 8 March 1632, 2 months after the birth of their son Samuel. William Allen testified (1645), "my wife Als departed this life about the eight of first mo. 1631/32.[6][7]"

The children of William and Alice were:

1. Persis was born February 1630/1 and "died within a week."[2]William Allen testified (1645), "we had a daughter we intended to call Persis borne in the 12th mo. 1630 by Als my wyfe, but dyed within a week."[7]
2. Samuel was born January 8, 1631/32.[2]William Allen testified in1645, "My sonn Samuell bo. 8th of 11 mo. 1631 by Als my wyfe."[7][6]Samuel married by 1663 to Sarah _____ (unknown surname.) Some sources say she was Sarah Tuck, but there is no evidence for this. Samuel may have had another wife prior to Sarah.[2]

By 1634 William had married Elizabeth ____. Her surname unknown, although R. C. Anderson in "Great Migration Begins" says it is possible she was the daughter of John Greenway of Dorchester.

Some others say her surname was "Bradley," because William was called brother-in-law in the will of John Bradley of Salem; however Anderson says this latter relationship, could have been derived in multiple of ways, and does not necessarily indicate a father/daughter relationship between Elizabeth and John Bradley. The Salem church accepted Elizabeth as a member before the end of 1636.[2]

The six known children of William and Elizabeth were:[2]

1. Elizabeth Allen who was born September 1634[6][7]and married John Kettle by 1654. Married (2nd) at Beverly on November 13, 1688 to Samuel Corning. Her daughter, Mary Kettle who married William Raiment received a portion of her grandfather's estate.
2. Deborah Allen was born in April 1637 and baptized April 2, 1637.[6][7]No additional records.
3. Bethiah Allen was born in February 1639/40; and died February 1640/41. "born in 12 mo. & she dyed in 12th mo. 1640.[6][7]
4. Onesiphorus Allen was born June 30, 1642 (last of the 4th month);[6][7]and baptized July 3, 1642. He married Martha _____ (unknown surname) by 1670.
5. William Allen was baptized May 31, 1646. He married Hannah _____ (unknown surname) by 1668. William died at Manchester on December 29, 1696 and on that same day the inventory of his possessions was taken totalling L181 12s, of which L143 was in "house and lands and meadow grounds." His widow and administratrix of the will, Hannah Allen alias Fisk (as a widow she had married Samuel Fiske at Wenham on May 24, 1697), on December 13, 1697 presented an accounting of the estate and the court ordered the estate divided as follows, "there being no children of the deceased"[8]to the widow, one-third, L47 13s 6d; to Samuel Allen the deceased' brother L31 15s 6d; to Oneziphirus Allen the deceased' brother L31 15s 6d; to Elizabeth Allen alias Corning the deceased' sister L31 15s 6d.
6. Jonathan was baptized on July 29, 1649. No additional records.

Will

His will is recorded in the 72nd folio of the first book of Essex probate records, dated 7th June 1678, proved 26th 4th mo 1679. Herein he styles himself "William Allen Sen of Manchester," makes his wife Elizabeth full and sole executrix of his property, to be disposed of after her death. In his will, he gives to his son "Samuel, the remainder of the 25 acre lot of the upland, and a share of the meadow." To his sons "Onesiphorous and William, my whole 50 acre lot,and an acre of salt marsh at lower end of my orchard."

"The Last will of William Allen Sen of Manchester made ye 7 of June 1678 Imprimes I doe make my wife Elezebeth Allen my full & Sole executer of all my lands & goods duereing her life & after ye deth of my wife to be dissposed in maner & forem as folleth yt is to say I give to my Sone Samuell ye remayner of ye five & twenty acer lott which he all redy poseseth yt is to Say ye uplands & ye sheare of ye fresh medow belonging thereunto I give to my too Sonns one -oephoras & Willam Allen my wholle fifty acer lott wth all ye devissons & apurtenances belongin to it wth ye propriety of All commons devidded & undevided belongin to it & an acer of Sallt marsh at yt lower end of my orchard yt I purchased this I give to my too Sonns onesephoras & Willam Allen to be equally devided betwene them booth after ye deth of me & my wife & it is farther to be understood yt as my Sone Onesephoras hath hallf an acer in present poseson joyning to his hows yt lyes in my orchard Soe my Sonn willam Allen to have hallfe an acer joining to his hows in ye Same maner In wittnes where of I ye Said Willam Allen have put to my hand."

Willam (his M mark) Allen.
Witness: Thomas (his T mark) Jonnes, Samuell Friend.
Proved in Salem court 26: 4: 1679, by the witnesses.

Notes

"Probably brother of Robert Allen of Salem, Manchester and New London (based on joint grant of land on 25 January 1642/3, and simultaneous residence in Manchester). Brother-in-law of John Bradley of Salem (nuncupative will of John Bradley, June 1642); some have interpreted this to mean that William Allen's second wife was sister of John Bradley, but this is only one of several possible explanations for the brother-in-law relationship."

Comments

June 2014

Birth: October 12, 1602 Allen Hall, Stratford, St. Hume, Wales found on the Geni profile. However the Great Migration project has: "Origin- Probably in Dorset, since he came, about 1624, with theDorchester Company, which founded the little colony at Cape Ann. See also RICHARD NORMAN, and WILLIAM BENNETT."

So have adjusted the Geni profile accordingly.

Disputed Origins

Disputed origins: A number of family files associate William Allen with parents Edward Allen/Allyn and ____ Riggs. Such a relationship is found reported in FamilySearch "Pedigree Resource File" more than twenty times.[1] (The mother is sometimes called "Dau Riggs"; sometimes, the daughter of Dafydd Riggs.) On WikiTree, profiles exist about such a couple, Edward Allen (Allen-11545) and Dau. Riggs (Riggs-895), but their relationship to the Salem and Manchester immigrant William Allen has been severed. Thomas Allen of Goldington, Bedfordshire,]] has also been suggested as his parent. Allen Hall, Stratford, Wales has also been suggested as a birthplace and there are sources that claim he was from Manchester, England. Anderson believes this to be a confusion with his death place of Manchester, Massachusetts.[2]

As with all genealogical work, findings such as those described here are subject to review and update based on improved historical discovery and insight.

William Allen was born in 1602 in "almost certainly from Dorsetshire" in England. The names of his parents are unknown, although we know based on a land allotment that his brother's name was Robert Allen. The 1602 birth year is based on his November 1664 deposition saying he was "aged about sixty-two years." The above conjecture that he was born in Dorsetshire is based on his involvement as an agent of the Dorchester Company.[2]

William's brother, Robert Allen of Salem, Manchester and New London, emigrated to New England in 1636

Disputed Children

From http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Allen-2359

There has been speculation that William Allen was the William born 23 Mar 1610/11 in Yarmouth, England, son of William Allen and Ales Whytmore, but there is no evidence to connect the two, and William Allen of Salisbury is often confused with William Allen of Manchester (d. 1678, husband of Alice).[1]

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Allen-2742 cites
   1. Query of FamilySearch "User Submitted Genealogies" conducted 2014 by GeneJ.
   2. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), 31-35 (William Allen); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors. < link >
   3. Robert Charles Anderson. "Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England 1620 - 1640" (2015) p. 4.
   4. Wikipedia "Cape Ann" < link >
   5. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Sketch of Roger Knight, p. 1140. subscribers$ < link
   6. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31539-459-3?cc=206155... : accessed 13 Sep 2014), Essex > County wide > Births, marriages, deaths 1636-1691 > image 3 of 76.
   7. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Vol. 1 p. 93 < link >
   8. Essex County, Massachusetts: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881
   9. The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, George Francis Dow, ed., 3 vols. (1916-1920), 3:324-325, "Estate of William Allen, Sr., of Manchester"; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2013); subject to transcription error--please refer to the digital image. < link >
   10. Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 146-148, entry for William1 Allen, Manchester, Massachusetts; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). < link >
   11. Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 152-153, entry for Robert1 Allyn, New London, Connecticut; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). < link >
   12. George Francis Dow, The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, 3 vols. (1916-1920), 3:324-325 (Estate of William Allen, Sr., of Manchester); digital images, digital images, Hathi Trust; see page 325, for "Inventory of the estate of William Allen, deceased Jan. 30, 1678, taken Manchester ..." < link >
   13. Essex County, Massachusetts: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) William, Sr. ALLEN - (ALLAN, ALLIN, ALLING), ALLEN, William, Sr. 1679, Manchester, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Probate Record 526, 1 of 2, 26 Jun 1679. This source is for William's son William. [ten pages photocopied original records; record states wife was Hannah, and they had no children]. < link >
   14. William Allen's sworn statement about his family, as recorded in the county-wide vital records, 24 7 (mo) 1645, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1627-2001," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31539-459-3?cc=206155... : accessed 13 Sep 2014), Essex > County wide > Births, marriages, deaths 1636-1691 > image 3 of 76.
   15. Raymond Frederick Allen, The Allens: from William Allen (1602-1679) of Manchester, England, and of Salem and Manchester, Massachusetts, in the direct line of descent through Nathaniel Allen (1744-1789) of Beverly, Massachusetts, and Sedgwick, Maine, to Lt. Raymond Frederick Allen, Jr. (1931- ) of Rochester, New York, with certain other descendants and collaterals …_ (1958), 1-20 for sketch of William Allen (1602-1679); digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2013). < link >
   16. Nathaniel Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (William White, Boston, 1853-)
   17. "Allen Genealogy," The Essex Antiquarian 2 (1898): 135-140, 161-165, 176-181, and in particular, 135 for immigrant, William Allen); digital images,Hathi Trust. < link >
   18. John Price, “Genealogy of the Allen Family of Manchester, Mass., from the earliest settlement to the year 1886,” Essex Institute Historical Collections 24 (?1887/1888): 223-240+; digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013). < Archive.org >
   19. "Torrey's New England Marriages prior to 1700," entry for William Allen & Alice _____ (by 1630); database, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2012). AmericanAncestors version refers to about 11 works consulted as "Salem 1:87; Essex Ant. 2:135, 5:122; Gen. Bulletin 1:61; Kendall Anc. (ms) 9; Tingley-Meyers 19; Bradley (1915) 12; Tracy (1936) 164; Reg. 6:205; Granberry 146."
   20. Clarence Almon Torrey and Elizabeth Petty Bentley, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (1985), page 13 for entry William Allen and "1/wf Alice _____ (-8 Mar 1631/2)"; digital images, Google Book Search (preview) (accessed 2013).
   21. Donald Lines Jacobus, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (1945), 146-148, entry for William1 Allen, Manchester, Massachusetts; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). [Those in the U.S. may be able to download this work via Heritage Quest.]
   22. Ellery Bicknell Crane, Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, multiple volumes, 1: 464-66, "Allen Family"; digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013).
   23. William Richard Cutter, ed., Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, 4 vols (1908); 1:240-248, "Allen;" digital images, Internet Archive (accessed 2013).
   24. [Source] U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about William Allen. Name: William Allen. Arrival Year: 1639. Arrival Place: Salisbury, Massachusetts. Source Publication Code: 9448. Primary Immigrant: Allen, William. Annotation: In the years from 1925 to 1942, Frederick A. Virkus edited seven volumes with the title, The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, published in Chicago by the Institute of American Genealogy. Each volume has a section in the main body of the work, co. Source Bibliography: VIRKUS, FREDERICK A., editor. Immigrant Ancestors: A List of 2,500 Immigrants to America before 1750. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1964. 75 p. Repr. 1986. Page: 6
   25. [Source] U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Transcription of text. Name: Alice WHYTMORE. Death Date: 8 Mar 1631; Death Place: Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Marriage Date: 1613; Marriage Place: Norfolk, England. Detail: Marriage to Alice Wytmore, Date1613; Other information: Page 28; < Web Address > | View < Source Details > [Something is amiss, as this data is not found reported in Torrey's work, New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Torrey calls William Allen's first wife, "Alice _____", and the marriage is "by 1630" with Salem as a location reference. {See the image snippet that has been included on the profile.) Either the data provided here is correct, but the source title is not, or the source title is correct, but the wrong data was notated.]
   26. [Source] Title (view source details) U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Source Repository: Ancestry.com. Associated Facts/Events: Birth, Death, Name, Marriage. Name: William Allen; Gender: Male; Birth Year: 1602; Marriage Date: About 1633; Death Year: 1679; Marriage Place: New England, United States; Spouse's Name: Elizabeth Bradley. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012.Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. View < Source Details > | View < Original Image >
2. Find A Grave Memorial# 35999258
3. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ryder10&i...
4. https://accessgenealogy.com/genealogy/genealogy-of-william-allen-of...
5. https://archive.org/details/allensfromwillia00alle/page/14/mode/2up