Hon. James Cameron Allen, one of the best known men in Southern Illinois,
and the most distinguished citizen of Olney, died on January 30, 1912, at
his home in this city. He was born on January 29, 1822, and had celebrated
his ninetieth birthday anniversary on the day preceding his death. Mr. Allen
was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, and was the seventh of ten children
born to Benjamin and Margaret (Youel) Allen, both natives of Virginia.
Benjamin Allen was educated and married in his native state, where in early
life he was engaged in the manufacture of sickles. Afterward he engaged in
blacksmithing and general farming. In 1802 he removed to Shelby county,
Kentucky, and from there, in 1830, he moved to Parke county, Indiana, where
he resided until his death, which occurred in 1847. From early life he was a
consistent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was for over
thirty years an elder.
James Cameron Allen, his son, and the subject
of this memoir, received his early education in the log school house common
to the period in which he was reared, and later he attended a high school at
Rockville, Indiana. Until he was nineteen years of age the greater part of
his time was spent on his father's farm. He then commenced reading law in
the office of Messrs. Howard & Wright of Rockville, Indiana, and in August,
1843, he was admitted to the bar. In the following December he removed to
Sullivan, Indiana, where he was engaged in the practice of law until the
autumn of 1845, and in that fall he was elected prosecuting attorney for the
seventh judicial district of Indiana, holding the office for two years. In
1847 Mr. Allen removed to Palestine, Crawford county, Illinois, where he
remained for twenty-nine years consecutively. In 1850-51 he represented
Crawford and Jasper counties in the lower house of the state legislature. In
1852 he was elected to congress from the seventh congressional district of
Illinois, and was re-elected in 1854. At that time the election was
contested by Colonel W. B. Archer, of Marshall, Illinois. The evidence
showed the election of Colonel Archer, but he offended the South American
Faction by being made a vice-president of the convention that nominated
Fremont, and the seat was declared vacant. Another election followed, at
which Mr. Allen was elected. In 1857 he was elected clerk of the House of
Representatives, serving during the Thirty-fifth Congress. In 1860 he was
the Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois, but was defeated by
Richard Yates. In 1861 he was elected judge of the seventh judicial
district, which position he held until the fall of 1862, when he was elected
congressman-at-large for Illinois. In 1861 Governor Yates tendered him the
command of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment of Infantry, which he declined
on the ground that he had no military training or inclination, but requested
that U. S. Grant be placed in command, which was done. In 1862 President
Lincoln offered him the command of a brigade, which he declined for the same
reasons given Governor Yates. In 1870 he was a delegate to the
constitutional convention of Illinois, and in June, 1873, was elected judge
of the second judicial circuit. In 1876 he removed to Olney, Richland
county, where he remained as a resident until the time of his death, and in
the year following, 1877, he was appointed one of the appellate judges for
the fourth district of Illinois. He held this office until 1879, when he
resumed the practice of his profession.
Judge Allen was first
married on January 22, 1845, to Ellen Kitchell, youngest daughter of Hon.
Joseph Kitchell. Three children were born to them, all deceased. Mrs. Allen
died in May, 1852. In June, 1857, Judge Allen was again married. His second
wife was Julia Kitchell, a daughter of Harvey Kitchell. Seven children were
born of this latter union. Judge Allen and his wife were members of the
Presbyterian church.
The Judge was a staunch Democrat politically.
In a speech at the memorial meeting of the bar, Judge E. Callahan thus
speaks of the attitude of Judge Allen at the time of the war: "In congress
he voted for every appropriation of men and money which was asked for by the
administration for the prosecution of the war, though he did not fully
approve of them. There was a line that he would never pass, and from which
he later retreated. If he had crossed that line and given his full support
to the administration of President Lincoln he might have won a senatorial
toga, or seated himself in the gubernatorial chair. This was the hour of his
opportunity but it was allowed to pass by.
"June 17, 1863, he was a
speaker at the conclave of politicians at Springfield that resolved 'That
the further offensive prosecution of the war tends to subvert the
constitution and the government and entails upon the nation all the
disastrous consequences of misrule and anarchy' and 'earnestly requested the
president to withdraw the proclamation of emancipation.'
"In 1869 he
was elected without opposition a member of the constitutional convention
that formed the present constitution of the state of Illinois. He was
chairman of the committee on the Legislative Department and was entitled to
great credit for service wisely rendered in that capacity. He was one of the
most prominent and useful members of the convention."
In connection
also with the political career of Judge Allen, the Olney Times, following
his death, printed the following interesting sketch concerning his political
activities: "The younger generation of Olney does not know of an incident in
the life of the late Judge Allen which came near changing the current of his
existence and landing him in the presidential chair. Judge Allen was always
fond of relating stories that referred principally to his colleagues of
former times, while the incidents that affected him personally he seldom
referred to. For this reason, it is only the older people who knew of the
situation at the Charleston convention when the withdrawal of Douglas was
the only thing essential to the nomination of Judge Allen for the
presidency.
"At that time, 'Jim' Allen of Illinois was a national
figure. His several terms in Congress and his four years as clerk of the
national house, coupled with his great power as a public speaker, had
brought him the notice of the entire country. He occupied a steadfast
position, and his character was such that he drew the confidence of the
people.
"As 1860 approached with its slavery agitation and its
'national conventions, there was a conflict growing between the northern and
southern Democrats. The south became more distrustful of Senator Douglas of
Illinois, who for three years had been conceded the Democratic nomination,
and the Charleston convention showed that this hostility was so great that
if Douglas were named the party would split. It was at this juncture that
the southern Democrats urged Douglas to withdraw in the hope of keeping the
party united. They made this proposition to the Illinois delegation: 'Induce
Douglas to withdraw and we will join you in nominating Jim Allen.' Although
facing division and defeat if nominated, the autocratic Douglas refused to
listen to withdrawal talk and kept his delegates in line. Judge Allen was
then nominated for governor of Illinois and made the historic race against
Richard Yates, Sr.
"Judge Allen possessed all the elements of a
great public man. Had he been nominated at Charleston or had he defeated
Yates in 1860, his subsequent career would have been interwoven with
national affairs for many years."
Extracted 13 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, pages 1608-1610.
| Jasper | Crawford | |
| Clay |
 |
Lawrence |
| Wayne | Edwards | Wabash |
