My Father, Andrew Lee Allen, was born in Limerick, York Co. Maine, 24
November 1791. He was the son of Elijah Allen and his first
wife, Mehitable Hall. His mother died 25 June 1800 and his
father remarried in 1809. His father died 19 October 1839.
After his mother's death father went to live with his maternal
grandfather, Reverend Avery Hall. He stayed with
them until he was 14 years old. Not being satisfied, he left home and
never went back again. He worked at the blacksmith
trade. He went on aboard a ship to help protect the
American vessels during the war known as the war of
1812. After the war he went into Canada,
but he got into trouble with the British by drinking a toast at a barn
raising. The toast was, "he wished that the Eagle of America
would triumph over the crown of Great Britain!” For this he
got arrested by the British. Making his escape he went into
the state of New York, Cattaraugus County where he obtained
one hundred and sixty acres of land, and made himself a very nice
home. He planned to settle down there for the rest of his
life and soon owned a large grove of trees and a prosperous farm.
On the 11th of December 1824, at age 33, he married Clarinda Knapp,
daughter of Calvin and Deborah Hopkins Knapp.
My parents, Andrew and Clarinda Allen, stayed in Burton, Cattaraugus County New York until they had seven children; Elijah, Lydia, Saphronia, Charles, Andrew, James, and Sidney. They had not joined any religious society, but were honest and upright with all men, waiting for something to come along that would give them better satisfaction than the religions of the day.
In September 1833 there were two Latter-day Elders who came through that part of the country and held meetings. Father was not at home at the time and did not hear them preach, but my mother and several of their friends and neighbors did, and they were very impressed. When my Father came home Mother told him of the Elders and the gospel that they preached and he became very anxious to hear them. He learned that they would preach in a place eighty miles from there and he concluded that he would go to hear them. This he did, and he listened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time. He was much pleased, and being satisfied that it was true. He was baptized on the 3rd of September 1833 by Ezra Landing before he returning home. He received a testimony that never left him.
He went home and began to arrange his business according to the spirit of gathering. He sold his beautiful home for a low price and moved to Kirtland, Ohio. Here he met the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Saints and rejoiced with them.
My father bought considerable real estate and paid a good price for it, but the price of land soon went down and he did not receive anything for it. He left and started West for Missouri. Because of sickness and the want of means, he stopped on the Illinois river at Bardstown and stayed through the winter. My father cut cordwood all winter and my brother Elijah hauled it. In this way we were sustained. We then moved back East to Virginia, Cass County where we rented a farm from Mr. Levi Springer, who was a Methodist preacher. He treated us very kindly. After farming there one year we moved about twenty-five miles farther East and rented from a man by the name of Alfred Dutch, who lived on the road that Springfield. Mr. Dutch was very kind to our people. While we were there, the Prophet Joseph was taken to Springfield to be tried on a false charge. The Prophet Joseph and his company stayed overnight on the 20th of December 1842 with Captain Dutch, as he was called, and were kindly entertained. The women played on the piano and sang their beautiful songs. Captain Dutch spoke comical recitations and sang his songs.
After living there one year, we moved back to Mr. Springer's again and lived there one year longer. Then we moved west again toward Nauvoo and stopped with Mr. Roberts, ten miles east of Carthage (where the Prophet and Patriarch were murdered). We became acquainted with Miner T. Deming who afterwards became the High sheriff of Hancock Co. He was very friendly to our people.
On the 22nd of September 1842, while we were living near Plymouth, Illinois, Elder Thomas Crockett came to our house and baptized and confirmed six of the children, viz; Lydia, Saphronia. Charles, Andrew, James and Sidney. In the fall of the year we moved toward Nauvoo, and stopped on Camp Creek, fourteen miles north east of Nauvoo.
We moved up to Camp Creek and rented a farm from Mr. Hibbert, where we farmed one year and raised a good crop of corn. We could not get anything for it there, but by hauling it to Nauvoo, fifteen miles away we could get ten cents a bushel for it. So we hauled corn nearly all winter into Nauvoo to sell.
When the brethren were called to work on the new Temple at Nauvoo, my father took his turn. The Prophet Joseph required that those who wanted to have the privilege of receiving their endowment in the temple, must work one day in every ten building on it. My parents wanted very much to have that blessing in their lives.
On 27 January 1846 my father and mother went into Nauvoo and received their blessings in the Temple of the Lord. (Later my father was ordained a High Priest on June 1847.)
In the spring of 1846 we crossed the Mississippi River and started West with the Saints. It was very rainy and muddy which made it slow traveling. My Mother was feeble in health and my oldest sister, Lydia, was also afflicted with poor health (asthma) and they suffered a great deal, as they were exposed to wet and cold with only one wagon and eleven in the family. As we had no tent some of us were obliged to sleep out on the ground in the open air in rain and storm. We traveled on and stopped at Mt. Pisgah where we built a log house and put in some wheat and corn. As our supply of food was about gone we were obliged to go on and leave our improvements for others to enjoy. We traveled to Winter Quarters on the Missouri River and were obliged to go down into the state of Missouri and work for provisions. We traveled about seventy-five miles down the river and stopped with Mr. Cole in a small log house where we stayed through the winter. We worked harvesting corn and splitting rails. In the Spring of 1847 we moved down on the bottom to farm with Mr. Jacob H. Rose and we raised a large crop of corn. There was a Government Post about 60 miles up the river and had hoped to sell the corn at the post, but the post was on the west side of the river, and we were not able to sell and got nothing for it.
In the Spring of 1848 we moved up toward Kanesville and stopped on Keg Creek, eighteen miles south of Kanesville, where there was a small branch of the Church organized with Elder Libeus G. Coons presiding. We belonged to the Coonsville branch, where my father served as a counselor to President Coons. We stayed there four years and opened up and improved two farms. My oldest brother, Elijah, and the younger boys established a sawmill near fathers’ farm and ran it one season before they sold it for $1,000.00. They used the money to get ready to come to Utah.
In the spring of 1852 we sold our farms and prepared for starting west with the Saints. We went in the first company of 100 wagons. John M. Higby was the captain. Father was an excellent hand with his teams and took very good care of them. He taught his sons to take good care of their animals and it was said by people in the company that the Allen team was the best in the company and got to Utah in the best condition. Father was an excellent rope maker. He knew how to use weeds and herbs to make bright colored dyes for his tassels and decorations for his harnesses for his oxen.
Our trip to Utah was a long and tiresome journey. We were about two months and a half on the road. We arrived in Salt Lake City the 13th of August 1852. In traveling up the Platte River I came near losing my life.
We saw a good many buffalo on the road and the hunters killed several which were a great treat. We thought it was the sweetest meat we ever ate! When we got up to the Black Hills, our teams began to fail. Their feet became tired and sore. When we got to Sweet water some of our cattle got poisoned on the alkali and died on the way. When we got within 110 miles of Salt Lake City, we came to Fort Bridger. A mountaineer, Mr. Bridger lived there about 20 years. He said that we could not raise a bushel of grain in that country on account of frost. He said there was frost there every month of the year.
When we reached the Green River, it was so high that it was necessary to raise our wagons six inches high in the bolster in order to keep their loads dry.
We stopped a few days in Salt Lake City and then moved south to Provo and made our home there. Father built a home not far from the lake and spent the rest of his life living in Provo. Andrew's land was located in section 4, township 7 South, range East. South East of South East.
Andrew Lee Allen died 14 August 1870 in Provo, Utah. (No one has found exactly where he is buried yet.) There are some unmarked graves at the Provo City Cemetery, but that cemetery isn't as old as his death date. There was a grave yard up on the hill, but when BYU bought the land they moved the graves and no one was here to claim his- so no one knows where he is! Some of my children live on what used to be some of his property and I have teased them, that maybe he is buried under their house!
