HON. JAMES C. ALLEN, senior member of the law firm of Allen & Fritchey, of
Olney, is an early settler and prominent citizen of Illinois. Judge Allen is a
native of Shelby County, Ky., his birth having occurred on the 29th of January,
1822. He is the seventh in a family of ten children born unto Benjamin and
Margaret (Youel) Allen. His parents, who were natives of Rockbridge County, Va.,
were married in the State of their nativity, and in 1801 emigrated to Shelby
County, Ky., then a sparsely settled region. The father of our subject was of
Irish descent, and the mother of Scotch, each a representative of a sturdy race,
possessing marked and strong characteristics, both mentally and physically. The
Scotch-Irish people of America have by their energy, intelligence, enterprise
and frugality won prominence and respect wherever they are found.
Benjamin Allen was a blacksmith by trade. In early life he engaged in the
manufacture of sickles, and later followed the occupation of farming. He
remained in Kentucky until 1830, when with his family he removed to Parke
County, Ind., where he and his estimable wife spent the remainder of their days.
They were industrious, upright people and worthy members of the Presbyterian
Church, in which Mr. Allen served thirty years as Elder. His death occurred in
1847, at the age of sixty-eight. His wife died in 1833, at the age of
sixty-three.
The childhood and youth of our subject were passed on his
father's farm in a new country, where advantages of education were meagre. His
primary education was received in the traditional log schoolhouse of pioneer
times, after which he attended the High School in Rockville, Ind. At the age of
nineteen, he entered upon the study of law in the office of Messrs. Howard &
Wright, of Rockville, and was admitted to the Bar in August, 1843, being then
only a few months past his majority. In December, following, he entered upon the
practice of his profession in Sullivan, Ind., which he continued until the fall
of 1845, when he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Seventh Judicial
Circuit of Indiana, which position he filled for two years.
In the
spring of 1847, Judge Allen removed to Palestine, Crawford County, Ill., where
he made his home for about twenty-nine consecutive years. An earnest Democrat in
political faith, he was chosen to represent Crawford and Jasper Counties in the
Lower House of the Illinois Legislature for the years of 1850 and 1851. In 1852,
he was elected to Congress from the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois,
and was re-elected in 1854. In 1858, he was elected Clerk of the House of
Representatives and served through the Thirty-fifth Congress. In 1860, he was
the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois, but was defeated by Richard
Yates, the candidate of the then rising Republican party. The following year he
was elected Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which position he filled
until the fall of 1862, when he was made Congressman-at-Large for the State. In
1861, Gov. Yates tendered him the command of the Twenty-First Illinois Infantry,
and the following year President Lincoln offered him the command of a brigade,
but having no military taste or training, he declined both offers. In 1870,
Judge Allen was chosen a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of Illinois,
of which body he proved a valuable and useful member. In 1873, he was elected
Judge of the Second Judicial Court, and in 1874 was appointed by the Supreme
Court to the Appellate Bench for the Fourth District of Illinois, where he
served until the spring of 1879, when he resumed the practice of his profession
in Olney, to which place he had removed in that year. Soon after coming to
Olney, Judge Allen formed a law partnership with Joseph Longenecker, then a
rising young lawyer, now the famous Prosecuting Attorney for Chicago, which
connection was continued until Mr. Longenecker removed to Chicago. In 1881, the
existing partnership with Hon. Theodore A. Fritchey was formed.
Judge
Allen has been twice married; first on the 22d of January, 1845, to Miss Ellen,
the youngest daughter of Hon. Joseph Kitchell, by whom he had three children,
all now deceased. Mrs. Allen died in May, 1852. On the 12th of June, 1856, in
Palestine, Ill., the Judge married Miss Julia A. Kitchell, his present wife. She
was born in Palestine, Ill., and is a daughter of James H. and Nancy (Gill)
Kitchell. Seven children were born of the latter marriage, all of whom are
living. Harry K., the eldest, is now Court Reporter, and resides in Olney. Fanny
is the wife of John Ratcliff, Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank of
Olney. The younger members are Carrie, James H., Fred W., William Y. and Maggie.
James is employed by the St. Louis Transfer Company. Fred holds a position under
the State Government at Springfield, Ill.; and William is engaged in farming
near Olney.
Judge Allen and his family are members of the Presbyterian
Church. In his political views, he has always been a stanch Democrat, and has
done substantial service as a public speaker in support of his party, and also
in conventions. During the late war, he was in perfect accord with the patriotic
sentiments uttered by Stephen A. Douglas, the great leader of his party at the
critical time of the breaking out of the war. That the Judge has won prominence
in professional and political life is well indicated by the facts herein given.
That he has deserved his constant promotion is shown by the fact that no sooner
did he vacate one office, than he was called upon to fill another. He is known
to many of the prominent men of the country, and is recognized as a gentleman of
merit, possessing more than ordinary ability.
Extracted 12 Apr 2020 by Norma Hass from 1893 Portrait and Biographical Record of Effingham, Jasper and Richland Counties, Illinois, pages 234-236.
| Jasper | Crawford | |
| Clay |
 |
Lawrence |
| Wayne | Edwards | Wabash |
