Robert Allyn, the immigrant progenitor of the branch of the family now being considered, came over in 1637, and settled in Salem, Mass., remaining there until 1651, when he removed to New London, Conn., and obtained a large tract of land, including what is now Allyn Point, much of which is still in the family. From Robert Allyn the line descends, through John, Robert, Robert, James, a second James, and Charles, to Calvin, whose name appears at the beginning of this sketch. The younger James and his twin brother Ebenezer, who was the progenitor of the present Allyn Point branch, were born in that part of Groton which is now Ledyard, Conn., about 1750. James Allyn purchased the farm of John Dean, and the active years of his life were profitably spent in carrying it on. James Allyn, Jr., was married in 1768 at Stonington, Conn., to Anna Stanton, of that place. She was descended from Thomas Stanton, the Indian interpreter. A coverlid made and marked by her mother in 1743 and a chair that belonged to her ancestors have been handed down as heirlooms to the present generation. The children of James and Anna (Stanton) Allyn were: Joseph, Anna, Althea, Martha, Jabez, Charles, and Roswell, all of whom had families except Jabez. The mother died at sixty-seven and the father at eighty-six years of age. Their remains are resting in what is known as the Allyn Burial-ground, which was taken from the old farm in the town of Ledyard. The house in which James Allyn, Jr., and his children were born was also the birthplace of Silas Deane, one of the commissioners to France in Revolutionary times.

Charles Allyn, father of Calvin, was born September 28, 1781, twenty-two days after the massacre of Fort Griswold, New London, headed by Arnold, the traitor, September 6, 1781. He became a well-to-do man and influential citizen, and served acceptably as Selectman of Montville. He married in Groton, February 9, 1814, Miss Lois Gallup, a daughter of Jacob Gallup, who was a son of Colonel Nathan Gallup, one of the Committee of Safety that advised with Governor Trumbull. The children born of this union were: Louisa; Robert; Amanda; James; Calvin; and Harriet. Louisa married Robert A. Williams, of Preston, and died March 22, 1896, at eighty years of age, leaving five children. Robert was educated at the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., graduating in 1841. In 1857 he was elected Professor of Greek in Wesleyan University at Athens, Ohio; was afterward president of the Female College in Cincinnati, president of McKendree College at Lebanon, Ill., and the first principal of Southern Illinois State Normal School at Carbondale, Ill. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater, also that of Doctor of Laws; and he was ranked with the leading educators of the West. He died in Carbondale, Ill., January 7, 1894. Amanda, who was the wife of the Rev. Nathaniel Clark Lewis, a Methodist preacher, died September 19, 1891, in Onarga, Ill., leaving no children, and bequeathing her large property to the Northwestern University, at Evanston, near Chicago. Her husband was in the itinerancy in New England and Illinois, and was also engaged in university work. James Allyn, third, died in Waterford, Conn., March 18, 1893, aged seventy. Harriet lived to be but sixteen, and Calvin is now the sole survivor. At a family reunion held here August 15, 1889, all the sons and daughters except Harriet were present. Their mother died April 28, 1860, at sixty-nine years of age; their father, May 13, 1868, at eighty-six.

Calvin Allyn was born in Groton, Conn., New London County, May 26, 1827. His early education was supplemented by a course at Wilbraham Academy; and after that he taught school for three winters, but eventually turned his attention to farming, in which he has met with good success. He came to Norwich from Montville, where he had lived for forty-nine years, and now resides on the farm known as the Riverview, which he purchased of the Jedediah Spalding estate in 1881. Commodore Perry was staying at the tavern here, which was kept by his father at the time he was ordered to Lake Erie, where he engaged with the British fleet, and won his famous victory of September 10, 1813.

On February 26, 1861, Mr. Allyn was united in marriage with Sarah A. Gallup. She died in 1864, leaving one son, Robert Gallup Allyn, who lived to be but eighteen years of age, dying in 1881. On November 7, 1865, Mr. Allyn was married to Mrs. Eunice A. Ames, born Raymond, a daughter of William and Eunice B. Raymond. By her former marriage she had one son, Charles W. Ames, who was accidentally drowned at seventeen years of age. Three children blessed her union with Mr. Allyn, namely: Lois Anna, wife of Dwight L. Mason, a manufacturer of Winchendon, Mass.; James Raymond Allyn, who is engaged in the market business in Norwich, is unmarried, and lives at home; and Martha S., who was graduated from the Norwich Free Academy in 1894 and from the Normal School in 1896, and is now pursuing the study of art, for which she has special aptitude. Mrs. Allyn died April 19, 1897.

Mr. Allyn votes in the ranks of the Republican party, but prefers the quiet of home life to the turmoil of political service, and as a rule declines official honors

(2 Photos Attached)