Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2022

John Boswell Allen (1806-1893) and his wife, Jane Dillard (1809-1885), moved to Shakapee City, Minnesota Territory in 1853. They had nine children, who were born either in Kentucky or Indiana, according to John Boswell Allen and Jane Dillard Allen: Kentucky to Indiana to Shakopee, Minnesota by David H. Eggler. Their second daughter was Lucy Jane, who moved with her parents to Shakapee City.

John married Jane on November 18, 1829, in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of James Dillard and Jane English. Jane Dillard was born March 8, 1809, in Virginia.

The Tract Book for Boone County, Indiana at Boone County Historical Society says that Jno. B Allen on December 4, 1833 bought 146 acres in section 4, township 18, R2E and that he “came from Spencer County, KY.” Also listed as coming from Spencer County and buying land in 1836 were Jno. Allen and John Allen.

There were several Allen families in Spencer County, Kentucky in 1830, and John Allen is the one that said he was between 20 and 30 (himself), one male between 60 and 70 (his father?), and three females between 20 and 30. Spencer County was formed in 1824, so it’s likely that he did not in fact move from Shelby to Spencer County; rather, the county boundaries changed.

The obituary of his nephew, Spier Spencer, says that Spier’s father held people who were enslaved. He sold them before moving to Indiana. It’s quite possible that the Allen family also enslaved people in Kentucky.

John Boswell Allen was named executor of his father’s will, along with Samuel Dooley (his neighbor in 1850), who came from Shelby County, Kentucky, and who also moved to Scott County, Minnesota Territory. The Allens came to Shakapee City, Minnesota Territory in 1853.

Lucy Jane Allen was born in 1834. When they moved to Shakapee City, the family kept a hotel, and Lucy worked at the hotel.

The Diary of Daniel M. Storer from 1849 to 1905: A Pioneer Builder and Merchant in Shakopee, Minnesota was a diary discussing early Shakopee. “D.M. Storer, who arrived August 11th, 1853, from Stillwater, contributed to the town the sterling qualities of citizenship, and the diary, kept from the time of his arrival in the state, we are indebted for information not easily procurable from other sources.”

The diary begins with his arrival and shows that John Allen kept a boarding-house in what was called the Pennsylvania House. L.M. Brown describes this house as “having two rooms, more above the one below. The lower room had a long fireplace, while the upper one had only the rafters above and one window with five lights of glass. Nevertheless, this hotel could accommodate as it appears fifteen or more persons, regardless of sex.

“The first death was that of Lucy Jane Allen, daughter of John A. Allen, who died September 10th, 1853, while Mr. Allen kept the hotel.” This was the first death to occur in the new town of Shakopee, according to the History of the Minnesota Valley 1882 and History of the Sioux Massacre by Charles Bryant Neill.

When Lucy died, a funeral was held with Rev. Samuel W. Pond at the celebrant. Rev. Pond was an early missionary to the Dakota, and author of a Dakota language dictionary. The sermon preached at the funeral of Lucy was the first given by Rev. Pond, according to the Old Settlers Associationin Shakopee. This took place before the first Presbyterian church was built in 1856.

Lucy Jane Allen was buried in Lot 39, the Allen plot, in Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.

On February 13, 1854, John B. Allen, Lucy’s father, paid $1500 for eighty acres of government land on the Shakopee-LeSueur Road three miles from Shakopee, plus a timbered tract adjacent to Samuel and Andrew Dooley, according to Scott County deeds. He bought additional land in 1855. On the 1880 plat map his farm was the entire 165 acres of W ½ E ½ section 15, T115 NR23W in the town of Jackson. Today it lies north and south of old US 169 0.7 miles northeast of the intersection with the Chaska road.

In 1857 John B. Allen 53, farmer, was living in the precinct of Shakopee with Jane. In 1870 the family was living in Jackson Township, along with Frances J. Koons and Martha Koons. In 1885 John B. Allen, 77, Jane, 67, were counted in Valley City, Barnes, Dakota Territory, but probably were only visiting, because the same year they were counted in the Minnesota census in Shakopee City.

From the November 20, 1879 Shakopee Argus: “Tuesday was the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. John B. Allen and his excellent wife. Of these long fifty years, twenty-six of them they have lived on their farm two miles west of Shakopee. The occasion of their golden wedding was celebrated by their children and grandchildren from far and near making them an unexpected visit. This gathering of the young swarms back into the parent hive, was the most enjoyable and pleasant of a long and pleasant lifetime. We heartily congratulate Deacon Allen and his lady, and trust they may remain with us until they celebrate their diamond wedding.”

Jane Dillard Allen died on pneumonia on September 9, 1885, according to the September 16, 1885 Shakopee Courier. “In Shakopee, Minn., on September 9, 1885, Jane Allen, in the 77th year of her age, wife of John B. Allen of Shakopee … was one of our old settlers and the association, as elsewhere noticed, passed appropriate resolutions.” She was buried at Valley Cemetery. Tombstone at Valley Cemetery noted “Jane Dillard wife of J.B. Allen born March 8, 1809 Died September 9, 1885, aged 76 yr. 8 mos.” The funeral services were at the Presbyterian Church in Shakopee, according to the September 10, 1885 Scott County Argus.

The funeral of John Boswell Allen took place on Tuesday, December 26, 1893, from the residence of Spier Spencer, according to the December 28, 1893 Scott County Argus. The tombstone inscription says, “Dearest Father we must lay thee In the peaceful grave’s embrace But thy memory will be cherished Till we see thy heavenly face.”

Bibliography

The Diary of Daniel M. Storer from 1849 to 1905: A Pioneer Builder and Merchant-His Personal History of Shakopee, Minnesota from August 1853 to January 1905. Shakopee Heritage Society, 2003.

Eggler, David H. “John Boswell Allen and Jane Dillard Allen: Kentucky to Indiana to Shakopee, Minnesota.” Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association, 2019. https://archive.bellefontearts.org/Eggler_genealogy/Ch2_Allen.pdf.

Neill, Edward D. and Charles S. Bryant. History of the Minnesota Valley, including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota and History of the Sioux Massacre, 1882.

Scott County Argus, 28 Dec. 1893.

Shakopee Argus, 20 Nov. 1879.

Shakopee Courier, 16 Sept. 1885.

The Tract Book for Boone County, Indiana, 1989.