BIOGRAPHY.
William Gilmer Allen was born Aug, 26, 1816, in Madison county, Ohio. There were seven brothers and two sisters—one sister died when very young, the other, (Mrs Sarah Morris, living at Andalusia, Ills., at the time of her death,) was 77 years old. The brothers were Samuel, Ananias, Jared, Hiram, Moses, William G. and Vincent. All of those named above are now dead, excepting Jared and William G. Samuel died at Midway, Madison Co., Ohio. He had been a missionary nearly ten years among the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians. Ananias died near Ligonier Indiana. Hiram died at or near Madison Wis.; Moses died in Livingston Co., Ills.; Vincent died near Jackson, Miss., while in the Union service as a member of Co. K, 95th Regiment Ohio Volunteers Infantry from near London, Ohio, after passing through a number of hotly contested battles, the last of which was the seige of Vicksburg. He lost a son and son-in law in the rebellion. M. C. Allen, of Nevada, Iowa. is a son of leis who also was in the service for a time, Jared Allen is living near Waco, Texas, and was 79½ years old Jan. 22, 1885. He was in the Black Hawk expedition in 1832. He would not, tho' in Texas, turn against his country during the rebellion. Wm. G. Allen, the other surviving brother, is living at Nevada, Iowa. From 1850 to 1856, he done a great deal of surveying in Madison and adjoining counties in Ohio. By order of commissioners, he re-run the lines and re-fixed the corners of the county. It was no small job, as the lines of the lands were in the "Virginia Military District", and run at all points of the compass. He also had the contract of making a re-survey of the lands of the county, or to have it done for the county, and to make a map of said county, He and his family came to Story county early in 1856, where he still resides. As County Surveyor and Deputy of Story Go., he has, in the discharge of duty, seen much of its features, and noted the incidents. During most of the Rebellion, he was Postmaster at Nevada. He resigned and moved onto a small farm, 4 miles south of Nevada; but after a few years farming, moved back to town. He furnished much of the information that aided in the completion of Warner & Foote's map of Story Co., Iowa, published in 1883. He was selected by the National Prohibition Committee as the Presidential Elector of the then 10th Congressional District of Iowa, on the National Prohibition Ticket of 1884.
Mr. A. is now the author of the History of Story Co., and which is well recommended as a close and accurate History. He now—Feb. 26, 1888 is 71½ years old. His wife—a noble woman—died June 27, 1886, at her home in Nevada, where her husband still resides.
LATER:—Jared Allen (named ,above) died at or near Del Norte, Colorado, Dec. 26, 1855. Was 80 years and 5 months old.