Submitted by: George Allen
Introduction The Allen name in southwestern Virginia usually brings to mind the courthouse tragedy in 1912 in Hillsville, VA. Although it is the current author’s intent to compile an outline of this family, beginning with William Allen who died in 1823 in Grayson Co., VA., this particular booklet is far more limited in scope. It seeks to focus on the Allen family of Little Walker’s Creek in Pulaski Co., VA., whose descendants provided the initial impetus for this present study. We will thus concentrate on the family of John Allen (son of Carr and grandson of William), with special emphasis on the family of John’s son W. C. Allen. The Research Process in Working Back from the Present: This family history project began when the author made the acquaintance of Jack Allen of Staunton, VA. At 89 years of age, Jack has been blind for the past several years. His father had died four months after Jack had been born, and he eagerly yearned to learn more of his family heritage. Because the author had already accumulated some relevant data, a promise was made to make a preliminary check to see if anything could be learned about Jack’s ancestors. The fact that Jack’s nephew and the author attended the same church, and the awareness that the author’s next door neighbor was also related to the Allen family through her sister-in-law lent further impetus to the effort. The beginning step in this study involved recollections provided by Jack Allen, based primarily on family tradition, as he discussed his father Frank Allen. Jack’s previous efforts to learn about his father had proven fruitless, and the author likewise found no early leads. A breakthrough came with the discovery of the obituary of Jack’s brother Charles (Waynesboro, VA. paper, 26 Mar 1959). This notice said that Charles had been born in Thurman, W.V. (Fayette Co.) and that he was the son of Benjamin Franklin Allen. Armed with a new name, the author returned to the libraries. It was quickly discovered that the 1870 Giles Co., VA. census (p. 281, #215) included a Benjamin Allen (age 2) in the household of William and Eliza Allen. The 1880 Pulaski Co., VA. census (Dublin dist., #57-50-36) showed Benjamin F. (age 12) in the home of William C. and Eliza J. Allen. In the 1900 Pulaski Co., VA. census (#49-1-65), Benjamin Allen (b. Oct 1867; m 7 yrs.) was named head of household. With him was his wife Mary E. and his sons Charlie E. and William C. (brothers of Jack Allen who was born in 1902). Next door to Benjamin was the family of his father William Allen. The next step was the discovery of a 28 Oct 1866 marriage in Raleigh Co., W.V. for William C. Allen and Eliza J. Combs, and the 22 May 1886 marriage record in Pulaski Co., VA. for W. C. Allen and Sue S. Morris. In both of these, William C. was listed as the son of John and Sarah. It may be noted that the village of Thurman, Fayette Co., W.V. (birthplace of Charles Allen, s/o B.F) was just across the county line from Raleigh Co. The next significant find was located in the book Virginia and Virginians, by Dr. R. A. Brock, featuring Pulaski Co. families. This included a biographical sketch of John Allen (b. 1817, husband of Sarah). Listed among the children of John was William C. Allen (b. 7 Feb 1845, living in Dublin district of Pulaski Co., VA.). John was identified as the son of Carr Allen and Tempa Daniels. It was also significant that though John lived in Pulaski Co., he received his mail at Poplar Hill, Giles Co., VA. (see later). The documentation concerning Carr and Tempa Allen is plentiful. On 10 Mar 1815, they were married in Patrick Co., VA., and they were clearly identified in the 1850 Carroll Co., VA. census and the 1860 Raleigh Co., W.V. census. Carr is head of household in the 1820, 1830, and 1840 Grayson Co. censuses (antecedent county of Carroll). He is named in Grayson Co. deeds (bk 5-194) as a son of William Allen (d. 1823, Grayson Co.), a fact confirmed by John P. Alderman in his book, Annotated 1850 Census of Carroll Co., and his book, Carroll 1765-1815 - The Settlements (p.336). The latter book also confirms (p. 81) that Nancy Daniel, daughter of Nehemiah, married John Allen in Patrick Co. in 1815. A Geographical and Family Breakthrough: As previously mentioned, John Allen (s/o Carr and father of William C.) lived in Pulaski Co., but received his mail at Poplar Hill in Giles Co. Part of the family tradition passed on to the author by Jack Allen was that when his father B. Frank Allen realized he was going to die, he indicated his desire to die back home over the mountain. Though this comment at first remained a mystery, it later became significant, when the author had occasion to visit the Pulaski area. Inquiring where local terminology would place over the mountain, it was suggested that it might mean over Little Walker Mountain to the north. So the author headed north from Dublin to Highway #100. After crossing Walker’s Mountain, one comes to Walker’s Little Creek and the nearby service station. It is within sight of the Giles County line, and only a mile or two south of the location where the Poplar Mill post office once stood. At the service station, it was suggested that Hunter’s Cemetery about five miles up the creek road might prove helpful. In the cemetery was the tombstone for Albert Asa Allen (1894-1953), a name recognized by the author as a son of William C. Allen and a brother of B. Frank Allen. In the days which followed, the author was able to obtain the obituary information for Asa Allen from the Wytheville newspaper. They also shared that the current city directory named a Hubert T. Allen, significant since Asa’s obituary had listed a brother Hubert. All fellow genealogists can identify with the joy felt by the present author when it was discovered that Hubert Allen was indeed Asa’s brother. He was thus another son of William C. Allen, and a half-brother of Benjamin Frank Allen. His memory and knowledge of current family members, along with his knowledge of the Little Creek region, has been invaluable in this project. Thus it is, with the boyish curiosity of the 89-year-old Jack Allen, and the ever vibrant help provided by his 92-year-old uncle Hubert Allen, that this current effort on the history of the Allen family has become a reality. Little Creek Road and the Allen Family: Little Creek Road begins at Highway #100 near the service station, going up the creek at the base of Walker Mountain. About twelve miles up the creek, a road crosses which heads south over Walker Mountain to Pulaski, VA. Between this point and the aforementioned station at Hwy. #100 lived the Allen family. About five miles upstream from Hwy. #100 was the Alum Spring area, where the Hunter’s Cemetery is located. It apparently was in this area where John Allen (son of Carr and grandfather of Hubert and B. Frank) settled around 1870, after moving from Raleigh Co., W.V. John Combs (father-in-law- of W. C. Allen) also lived in this general area after leaving Raleigh Co. John Allen’s son William C. (Hubert’s father) had married in Raleigh Co., W.V. in 1866 to Eliza Combs (d/o John). In Oct 1879 he purchased the Isaac Johnson tract on Little Creek in Pulaski Co., known by the family as the lower place. It was just over four miles up the creek (toward the southwest) from the Alum Spring area, and about two miles before the road which crosses the mountain to Pulaski. He later sold this land, moving in the fall of 1900 about a mile up the creek to the upper place. Here he cleared two acres between the creeks (so called because the creek makes a big U turn), where he constructed a log house and barn. This land was in the family until December 1925, when his son Hubert moved to Pulaski. Mrs. Enola Brillhart of Roanoke, VA. (a granddaughter of W. C. Allen) has shared that her grandfather owned 770 acres of land in the Little River valley. She remembers that when she was a child, the mail still came from Poplar Hill. Near the lower end of this so-called upper place is a house which once served as a parsonage for the pastor of the Millirons Methodist Church (located about half a mile up the road). Next to this home is the Allen Cemetery, with about fifteen tombstones. Included are the markers for W. C. Allen, his third wife Susan, and his son James H. Also there, although without a tombstone, is the grave of Benjamin Franklin Allen, father of Jack, who has at last discovered a major part of his roots. Mrs. Enola Brillhart of Roanoke, VA, (a granddaughter of William C. Allen) was born in a home which stood along Little Creek, apparently the log home built by her grandfather. Also there was a granary and barn as big as the house. She is of the opinion that her grandfather owned 770 acres of land in the Little River valley, but most of it has now been sold to a land company. She remembers that when she was a child the mail still came from Poplar Hill. Acknowledgments: It would be impossible to name all the Allen family descendants who have lent assistance for this family history. In addition to those who have already been mentioned, special thanks are due to John Perry Alderman, Jr. and to his father John Sr., both of Hillsville, VA., for their letters, conversations, and books. Appreciation is also expressed to the author’s neighbor Mrs. Bill Walker and to her sister-in-law Savada (Mrs. Woodrow) Bedsaul of Laubsburg, VA. (descended from Jeremiah Allen). Their collection of Allen books, including the unpublished work Our Early Allens by Ethel Wolfe, has been most helpful. These have been supplemented by other books on the Allen family of Hillsville, VA., along with the resources of local libraries and courthouses. Limitations and Abbreviations The format for gathering and printing this information has been the genealogy software program of ROOTS III. Since the author still considers himself to be a novice in both the computer world and this particular program, apologies must be made for his human inability to conquer modern technology. Because much of the research depended on census records and county vital statistics, it is possible that the children of a given family will include only those born prior to the last census records viewed, or those still living at the time of that census. In the case where date has been obtained from family members, errors of memory and errors of transmission are also possible. In order to bring this booklet to a usable form in a relatively brief period of time, no attempt has been made to trace the family down to the youngest baby of 1991, leaving such work to future researchers. As a general rule, the family is continued only for four or five generations (usually to those born in the early 1900s), with the families of daughters only continued for one generation. The reader may be aware that the state of West Virginia was not created until June 1863. Nevertheless, in this booklet, those counties now within that state have been labeled as being in WV., even when referring to events before 1863. We thus move to a discussion of the Allen family of Little Creek, Pulaski Co., VA., including their ancestors and their descendants. Apologies are offered for any errors that inevitably will occur, but the following is shared with the hope that it may provide a beginning and a helpful resource to family members and future researchers of this interesting family which has played such a vital part in the life of southwestern Virginia. Allen G. Hamann, ed.