CHRISTIE-ALLEN-CONTE-BETANCOURT HOMEPAGE
WILLIAM ALLEN
William Allen spent much of his early life in Duplin County,North Carolina. According to pension records, William was married to Martha Shuffel in 1769. The name Shuffel seems to be interchangeable with Shuffield. The will of John Shuffield who lived in Duplin County in the late 1700's contains both names. A great deal of information concerning William and his family is available as a result of pension applications filed by Martha Allen and her oldest son John. According to pension depositions, William served as a common soldier in the American Revolutionary War fighting for two years against the British and Tories. He served under Captain Shuffel for three months. He spent twelve months under Captain Joseph T. Rhodes where he reputedly marched to South Carolina. John Allen stated in a sworn statement dated 16 January 1846 that his father also drove cattle for the army under Captain Cook. He also listed several other short tours as a member of scouting parties against the Tories and participated in what he described as "the battle of Widow Moore's Creek Bridge. A description of the battle may be found on wikipedia at the following link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moore%27s_Creek_Bridge
"An old soldier, James Anderson stated in 1840 that he was employed during the war as a mail carrier btween Halifax and Deep Water Point located below Wilmington, North Carolina. He recalled seeing William perform duty as a common soldier. Controllers for the State of North Carolina submitted certificates in support of the pension applications of John Allen. According to a certified statement issued by State Comptroller William F. Collins on 17 February 1846. William was issued 54 pounds 16 shillings as payment for service.Comptroller William J. Clark certified on 19 December 1851 that William had been paid amounts totaling 70 pounds 26 shillings as payment for service. Comptroller Clark also certified that it was his opinion that the service was subsequent to the year 1781. An approval for pension was granted and sent to
George C. Ames, an agent for the Allen family, on 6 February 1852. Martha Shuffel Allen was born around 1751. In a declaration before David Lewis, Bladen County Clerk of Court, she described herself as "an illiterate and unlearned woman." She and William had at least seven sons. There is no record of any daughters.The North Carolina State Census of 1784-87 for Duplin County lists the William Allen household with one white male aged 21-60, six white males under 21 or over 60, and one white female. The first federal census (1790) lists the William Allen family with a household that included three white males aged 21-60, six white males under 21 or over 60, and two white females. William Allen resided in Duplin County on a branch of Island Creek known as Cook's Creek. He sold his land and plantation house on 11 September 1784 to Robert Dickson. The sons of William and Martha are listed in the pension application information. The records contain birth information actually cut from the family Bibles of several of the children of William. The sons listed in the pension application are John Allen (born 25 July 1770), Jacob Allen Morgan ALlen, Ephraim W. Allen (born 9 June 1781), William Allen, Paul Allen, and Joseph Allen (born 19 June 1784)William Allen and his family left Duplin County before 1800 and settled in Robeson County, North Carolina. The U.S. Census of 1800 for Robeson County lists the William Allen family with one male under 16, two males under 25, one male over 45 and one female over 45. William Allen purchased approximately 250 acres of land in Robeson County on 15 February 1805 from Reuben Rozier. That land is located on the Elizabeth Road where it intersects with the Regan Road. Morgan Allen was the witness to the transaction. William sold this land on 26 Mar 1806 to John Dowd of Bladen County for the sum of 20 pounds. William Allen died on 15 January 1831 in South Carolina. Martha Allen died in Bladen County, North Carolina on or near 27 November 1847. According to Elizabeth Ellis Robeson, she was 104 years old when she died. Pension records indicate that she was approximately 97 years old. Jacob and Paul Allen settled in Robeson County. John, Morgan, Ephraim W. and Joseph settled in Bladen Country. William Jr.,settled possibly in South Carolina first , then Bladen County and finally Robeson County. All of William's sons eventually settled in a small area on either side of the Big (Great) Swamp.The Robeson County brothers settled near the White Oak Swamp and the Bladen county brothers settled near Bryan's Pond.
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