View source for Fred E. Allen

Fred E. Allan, given name Alfred Ernest, the youngest of three sons to Silas Allen, a journeyman saddler, and Mary Chester Allen, was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire on 14 August 1847 and therefore was age 26, not 25, at the date of his enlistment.

On 30 March 1851 the family was living in Chapel Street, Melton Mowbray.

Melton Mowbray, 105 miles north of London, is famous for its Stilton Cheese and Pork Pies. The expression “Paint the town Red,” i.e., to engage in a riotous spree, is said to have originated in Melton Mowbray, in 1837, due to the behaviour of the Marquis of Waterford and a group of friends who ran riot in the town, painting the town’s toll-bar and several buildings red.

Leicester Journal, 8 December 1854 – Melton Mowbray Petty Sessions 5 December 1854 – Leonard Posnett, of Melton, was fined 1s. and costs for assaulting a little lad named Alfred Ernest Allen. What, if anything, did a seven year-old boy do to provoke such action?

Three years later, on the death of his father, Richard Allen, Silas inherited the family saddlery and harness making business in nearby King Street, and when the census was taken in 1861, 13 year-old Alfred, known as Fred, was apprenticed to a watchmaker. As no-one matching his personal details could be found in the next decennial census (2 April 1871) it is assumed that Alfred Allen had emigrated to America prior to this date.

Allen enlisted in the U.S. Army in Boston, Massachusetts, under the name of ‘Fred E. Allan,’ on [[3 October 1873]], was described as having brown eyes, black hair, dark complexion, 5′ 8 1/8″ tall, previously employed as a watchmaker, and assigned to the 7th Cavalry. He joined Company C at [[Fort Rice]] on [[21 October 1873]], participated in the [[Black Hills Expedition]] (1874) and the [[Sioux Campaign]] (1876).

Fred Allen was killed with Custer’s column but his body couldn't be identified.  He is listed as F. E. ALLAN on the battle monument. 

Wild Geese of the Greasy Grass [Norman] claims that “Allen married Mary Hamilton, born 1838, on July 29, 1872 at S[ain]t John, New Brunswick. The marriage produced Harry Allen, born March 20, 1873″ and “In May, 1889, his wife applied for a widows (sic) pension. She was a resident of Massachusetts at that time.”  This information almost certainly relates to another Fred Allen. 

Stamford Mercury , 12 January 1877 [Deaths] – On the 25th June, killed by Sioux Indians at the fork of the Big Horn river, Dacotah Territory, Alfred Ernest youngest son of Mr. Silas Allen of Melton Mowbray, aged 29.

Final Statement of Fred E. Allen signed by Captain Henry J. Nowlan, Commanding Company, at Fort Abraham Lincoln, on December 5, 1876.

      DUE SOLDIER
      For retained pay under act of May 15, 1872 … $8.36
      For clothing not drawn in kind … $22.74
      For deposits with the USA Paymaster July 19, 1875 … $6.50
      Proceeds of sale of effects [June 15, 1877] … $10.20
      DUE UNITED STATES
      For tobacco … $1.14
      Indebted to Mrs Missouri Bobo,* laundress of Company C for $2.00.
      The above statement does not take into account pay due for the period May  1 to June 25, 1876.
     
For reasons unknown, his parents fell on hard times as in 1881 they were inmates in the Leicester Union Workhouse, Sparkenhoe Street, Leicester. A fellow inmate in the men’s section was the grotesquely deformed Joseph Carey Merrick (1862-90), cruelly known as “The Elephant Man.” One might assume that the harsh conditions and social stigma were too much to bear for a previously successful businessman like Silas Allen, who committed suicide “by cutting his throat when in a state temporary insanity” on 21 April 1881. He was 63 years of age.  The fate of Alfred Allen’s mother is uncertain.

Note: (*)

There may have been a fourth son, George Frederick, who died in infancy during the 1850s.

Silas Allen, son of Richard Allen and Alice Underwood, and Mary Chester, both from Melton Mowbray, were married in Birmingham, Warwickshire, 9 December 1842.

Richard Allen born January 1791, died Melton Mowbray 16 April 1857.

Direct ancestors of Alfred Allen can be found in  the villages of Scraptoft and South Croxton, Leicestershire as early as the late of 16th century.

http://www.menwithcuster.com/01/