William H. Allen

William Henry Allen was born February 19, 1845, in Edgar County, Illinois. He was the oldest son of five children born to John and Mary (Camerer) Allen. William had a twin brother whose name is not known. Living only a few months, he died August 1, 1845, and is buried in the Allen Burial Plot on near Logan, Illinois. His other siblings were Sarah E., Alfred M., and Martha C. —all born in Illinois.

He came with his parents to Washington County, Nebraska, in May of 1856, when he was just eleven years old. His father and uncles acquired bounty lands, purchased from soldiers who had been awarded them for service to the country. Their claim was located in the hills land five miles west of Fort Calhoun. This was very fertile farmland with plenty of timber and water from the Long Creek nearby. Much of the land has remained in the family since territorial days.

William had no schooling until 1860, when he was fifteen years old. At that time he began boarding in Fort Calhoun and attended school a few months at a time for three years. In 1861, he volunteered to serve with the Fort Calhoun Rifles, a militia group of the Nebraska Territory. William was hired by Edward Creighton in the fall of 1864, to freight supplies with a wagon train to Denver. From 1866 to 1870, he cut cordwood and railroad ties which were hauled to Omaha for the in the building of the Union Pacific Railroad.

On April 20, 1869, William married his young neighbor, Ruth Emily Bottorff. Emily was born May 20, 1844, in Clark County, Indiana. In the fall of 1865, she traveled to Washington County by ox team with her parents, Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth (Mills) Bottorff, and her siblings Thomas, Milburn, David and Erastus. Another brother, Andrew Jr., and a sister, Armilda Whalen, were early settlers of Stanton County, Nebraska. Emily was one of the first teachers in Washington County. A DAR marker in Blair, Nebraska, marks the site of Blair’s first school and its teacher, Ruth Emily Bottorff.

Over the years William acquired a large holding of land, which consisted of several hundred acres in Fort Calhoun Township. Granddaughter Ruth Allen Tilden recalled “his farm was a self-sustaining entity, providing every need for food except for sugar and salt”. Their family home was known throughout the area as “Sunnyside” and was located where the “Allen Hills” subdivision is now. Tragedy struck on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, when several tornadoes ripped through eastern Nebraska. Sunnyside was spared, but the nearby home of William and Emily’s son, Scott, was completely destroyed.

William and Emily were the parents of seven children: Andrew Grant, Minnie May, Anna Grace, Chauncey Scott, Clyde Mills, William Clark, and Henry Etta Coy, who lived just one year. Emily died April 2, 1916, and William lived until August 12, 1922. They are buried in the Allen Cemetery for which they provided perpetual care for future generations.

Allen, W.H., “Reminiscences of Fort Calhoun”, Pioneer Reminiscences, DAR, 1916, pg. 284-285. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34844/34844-h/34844-h.htm#Page_284 Note: There is a misprint in first line. It should read, “…..came to Nebraska with my parents.”

Allen, Emily Bottorff, “Reminiscences of Fort Calhoun”, Pioneer Reminiscences, DAR, 1916, pg. 286-287. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34844/34844-h/34844-h.htm#Page_286

Vinton, Merri Allen, Hillbillies & Hexsigns, “A Study of the Ancestors and Descendants of William Henry Allen & Ruth Emily Bottorff, of Washington County, Nebraska”, 2008.