Allen Clan

Written by Shirley Donnelly

Members of the Hillsville, Va, tragedy of March 14, 1912, 
when men of the Allen family and some of their kin shot 
up the Carroll County court, killing the judge and several 
other court officals leads to the question, "What kind of 
people were the Allens and their forebearers?" The 
following may shed light on the subject.

William Allen, Jr, who died in 1823 was a Revolutionary War 
Soldier. He fought in the Battle of Guilford Court House. 
This man was the ancestor of the Allen Family of Carroll 
County, VA.

In 1791, William Allen, Jr. purchased 400 acres of land in 
Carroll County. This land was deeded (patented to him 
Oct 01, 1791). He was a quiet sort of man, but he had three 
boys, William Allen, III, John Allen and Carr Allen, who 
were brought into court occassionally and bonded to keep 
the peace.

William Allen III had several sons. In 1836, he moved to 
Indiana, but his older boys remained in Carroll County, They 
were William, Carr, and Bailey Allen.

Bailey Allen, son of William Allen III, had two sons who met 
untimely deaths. One of them was Lemuel Allen, who was killed 
at the Battle of Bun Run, shortly after the outbreak of the 
Civil War.

A second son was Carr Allen. He was murdered by Mack Howlett 
in Carroll County, VA A third son of William Allen III, was 
William Carr Allen.

One of the sons of William Carr Allen Jr was Jeremiah (Jerry) 
Allen, who married Miss Nancy Combs. They had the following sons: 
Anderson, Washington, Victor, Floyd, Jasper, Garland, and J. 
Sidna Allen.
(This is a confusing statement. I think it should have
been "One of the sons of William Allen Jr, Carr Allen,
had a son named Jeremiah Allen, who married Miss Nancy 
Combs.") 

Two of those sons took a leading part in the courthouse shooting. 
Floyd Allen, was later put to death in the electric chair at 
Richmond Penitentary, March 25, 1914. The other son, J. Sidna 
Allen, brother of Floyd, served in that same prison a long time.

It was there that I met Sidna Allen in my days as a seminary 
student in Richmond. He was in the Sunday School Class I 
taught in prison.

A third son of Jeremiah Allen was Jack Allen, also and ill 
fated son. His real name was Jasper allen. He was a man of 
splendid stamina and one who was feared by his enemies.

Jack had a son, Friel Allen, one of the participants in 
the courthouse crime. The court allowed Friel allen to 
confess, plead guilty and get a sentence of 18 years in 
prison.

Another son of Jack Allen studied law at Washington & Lee 
University. He was drowned when he went for a swim in Rivanna 
River. He was seized with a heart attack that hot afternoon. 
He was Walter Allen, a fine looking young man.

After Mack Howlett killed Carr Allen, the son of Bailey 
Allen, Mack Howlett was jailed in Carroll County at 
Hillsville, the county seat.

On the night of June 20, 1896, a mob of eight or ten men 
took Mack Howlett out of Hillsville jail and shot him to 
death outside the jail. It was never determined by the 
authorities who shot and killed Howlett.

Jasper Allen, brother of Floyd and J. Sidna Allen, was said 
to have "beaten more than a score of men brutally and his 
gun adventures would fill a book."

In a duel with his brother Floyd, Jack Allen "shot five 
bullets into Floyd's body, aiming the last two as Floyd 
lay on the ground."

Eveline Allen was accidentally shot and killed by William 
A. Allen, March 1890. Alex Combs killed Aaron Allen with 
an ax in July, 1900. Jack Allen, father of Friel and 
Walter Allen, was murdered by William McGraw. On March 9, 
1916, Jack Allen was killed near Mr. Airy, N.C. He was the 
last of the famous Allen Clan.