Texas RangerHenry Clay Allen (July 27, 1857 TX - June 27, 1946 AZ) was one of my two paternal great-grandfathers. His daughter, Etta Anna Allen (1885 TX - 1919 CA), was my paternal grandmother.Henry Clay Allen was born in Texas on July 27, 1857. He was four years old when the American Civil War began. He died in Arizona on June 27, 1946 in his 88th year.
The father of Henry Clay Allen served in and survived through the Confederate States Of America War For Independence (the American Civil War of 1861-1865), and was discharged honorably from the Confederate Army, then returned to his family in Texas. Henry Clay Allen was 8 years old when his father returned from the war, and Henry Clay Allen spoke of the rainy night when his father arrived unexpectedly at the family homestead.
Henry Clay Allen loved his mother very much, and spoke of her fondly often in his later years. He stated that her surname had been Miller, and her family had been originally from Kentucky.
Henry Clay Allen worked during his teen years as a cowboy "drover" on the Old Chisholm Trail, probably in the early 1870's, herding Texas cattle to the railhead in Abeline, Kansas USA. He loved the cowboy life, and often recalled his cowboy times in later life. His son, James, became a Hollywood movie actor who portrayed cowboys during the silent movie era in Tom Mix movies.
Later, Henry Clay Allen became a farmer, and in time, came to own a farm near Spur, Dickens County, Texas.
He served as a Texas Ranger under Captain Ira Long. His name is incribed on the roster of Texas Ranger veterans, and can be viewed presently on the Texas Ranger website, which lists those who served along with their years of service.
Henry Clay Allen's brothers, including Clint Allen, operated two livery stables, one in Amarillo, Texas and one in Wichita Falls, Texas. These were called the Allen Brothers Livery Stables. The Allen brothers also ran a horse farm in Seymour Texas called the Allen Brothers Horse Farm which bred, raised, and sold fine horses in the north Texas area.
Henry Clay Allen was married twice.
His first wife left him unexpectedly shortly after they were married during a religious camp meeting they both attended. In time, he obtained a divorce based on his wife's desertion of their marriage. Later, on April 5, 1881, he married Mary Eugenia Brazzel in Wise County, TX. The young couple later became deeply religious Baptists, and were founders of the Dry Lake Baptist Church.
The couple had at least three children: Tom Allen, who became a US Govt. Bureau Of Indian Affairs agent in Ft. Defiance, AZ; James Allen, who became a cowboy movie actor in Hollywood, California and performed in Tom Mix movies there during the silent movie era; and Etta Anna Allen, my grandmother, born in 1885, married to Otis Joseph Cudd in Oklahoma in 1904, mother of six children, including my father. She died during the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1919 with her husband Otis Joseph Cudd in Bakersfield, California on my father's eighth birthday, January 6, 1919, three days after her husband Otis died. The deceased couple were buried in Bakersfield, CA.
All six children survived, but were completely orphaned, and had no close family near Bakersfield, CA when both parents died suddenly.
When Etta Allen Cudd and her husband died in 1919, Henry Clay Allen mortgaged the farm he owned at that time in Spur, Dickens County, Texas for $400 and sent his son, Tom Allen of Arizona, to Bakersfield, CA to settle the affairs of his deceased daughter, Etta Allen Cudd, and his deceased son-in-law, Otis Joseph Cudd. Tom Allen then arranged for the transport of the six Cudd children back to Texas, where they were placed with various relatives in the Texas panhandle area in and near Amarillo, Texas. Helen Cudd (later Mrs. Royal Stewart, Sr. of Calfornia) was placed, along with her sister, Velma Cudd (later Mrs. Aubrey Bennett of Arizona), on the Henry Clay Allen farm near Spur, Dickens County, Texas, southeast of Amarillo, Texas in the Texas panhandle area.
Henry Clay Allen and his wife raised both granddaughters, Velma and Helen Cudd, until adulthood, when both went away to college. Helen Cudd attended Texas Tech College in Waco, TX, and Velma attended a Texas state teacher's college and later taught public school.
Helen Cudd Stewart recalled her grandfather, Henry Clay Allen, with great affection. She stated that he was a philosopher, but didn't know it. He loved stories and told many of them.
When Henry and Mary Allen reached their years of old age in the 1940's, and they were past 80 years old, Henry Clay Allen suffered from cataract problems with his eyes, which severely limited his eyesight. He continued to try to function, but in time, was unable to function independently.
He and his wife, Mary, went to Arizona to live with their son, Tom Allen and his family for a period. It appears that later the couple lived in a nursing home for a brief period before they died. She died on February 5, 1946 at age 87, he died on June 27, 1946, only five months later. They had been married for 65 years.
Both died in Arizona, but their bodies were returned to Spur, Texas, where they were buried in the Spur, Dickens County Texas, Cemetery.
Henry Clay Allen (1887 TX - 1946 AZ) was a great man.
A good husband, a good father, a good grandfather, a good neighbor, a community and church leader. A man of culture, intellect, extraordinary kindness, generosity, bravery, and perseverence in exceedingly difficult times. A man of good humor and warmth.
He was a man who served Texas and America during the 19th century years when the frontier was tamed and opened up to families who moved west in hope of a better future. He was a cowboy, a farmer, and a Texas Ranger.
Many people loved Henry Clay Allen (1857-1946) and their love was justified.
---Submitted February 11, 2004 by David Roger Allen (1944- ), great-grandson of Henry Clay Allen (1857 - 1946).
REVISED: March 31, 2004 by David Roger Allen The oldest known direct ancestor of Henry Clay Allen (1857TX-1946AZ) is George (Alleyne) Allen (1460 Chartley Manor, Stafford, England - 1540 England). George Allen's ancestors were as follow:Richard (Alleyne) Allen (1490 England-1559 England)
John (Alleyne) Allen (1510 England-1557 England)
Richard (Alleyne) Allen I (1550 Hundleby, Lincoln County, England-14August1616Hundleby, Lincoln County, England)
Note: 1616 is the year William Shakespeare died in England.Richard (Alleyne) Allen II (9Nov1572Skillington, Lincoln County, England-25 October 1651 Stowting, Kent County, England)
Note: He studied at Oxford U.(Corpus Christi College) and was awarded four degrees: BA, MA, B.D., and D. Divinity. He became rector of St. Mildred's Church (some sources state "St. Michael's Church") in Canterbury, Kent County, England, then became rector in Stowting, Kent County, England until his death in 1651. He was the last Allen ancestor of Henry Clay Allen (1857TX-1946AZ) to die in England. His son and grandson both were born in England, but emmigrated to America (New Kent County, Virginia) where they settled permanently between 1651 and 1675.Richard Allen III (1613 Canterbury, Kent County, England-1690 New Kent County, Virginia USA)
Richard Allen IV (1650 England-17June1725 Hanover, Virginia USA) Note: Richard Allen IV (1650England-1725 Virginia) died in Virginia the same year his USA Revolutionary War veteran great-grandson, William Carr Allen (1725 VA-1789 VA) was born in New Kent County, Virginia USA.
Robert Allen (1675 New Kent County, Virginia USA-4 October 1755, Hanover County, Virginia USA)
Robert Allen (1704 St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, Virginia-March 1784 Caswell County, North Carolina)
William Carr Allen (1725 New Kent County, Virginia-8 April 1789 St. James Parish, Mecklenburg County, Virginia)
Note: William Carr Allen (1725 VA-1789 VA) "was a soldier in the USA American Revolution"Drury Allen (1745 Hanover County, Virginia USA-10 April 1823, Anson County, North Carolina USA). Note: Family histories, not mentined in the Opal Bernice Allen geneology of the Allen family state that Drury Allen served as a soldier in the USA American Revolutionary War.
Thomas Allen (1775 Hanover County, Virginia USA-January 1858 Fayette County, Tennessee USA)
Jeremiah Allen (1806 North Carolina USA-1880/1885 Bastrop County, Texas USA)
James T. Allen (February 1832 Polk County, Tennessee-31 October 1900 Decatur, Wise County, Texas) Note: James T. Allen (1832 TN -1900 TX) served as a soldier in the Confederate States Of America rebel army during the USA American Civil War. He "was a member of the 18th Texas Cavalry, Company "B" of the Confederate Army, also known as Darnell's Regiment", most of which was recruited from Wise County, Texas. The 18th Texas Cavalry CSA fought in Arkansas, was imprisoned in a POW camp near Springfield, Ohio, later released and fought in Georgia in both Ringgold, Georgia and in Atlanta, Georgia. After 1864, most of the 18th Texas Cavalry CSA was "unmounted" (i.e. fought as foot soldier w/o horses). James T. Allen was decorated and honorably discharged from the CSA army in Georgia, and made his way back to his family in Wise County, Texas alone, riding the entire way on a mule, foraging for food including "dry land terrepin (turtle)" before arriving home on a rainy night unexpectedly. His 8 year old son, Henry Clay Allen (1857TX-1846AZ) often recalled and recounted the story of his father's return home after the Civil War to his grandchildren. The return from the Civil War of James T. Allen, as told by his son, Henry Clay Allen, was described in a letter written by Henry Clay Allen's granddaughter Velma Cudd Bennett to her sister, Juanita Cudd Russell in the 1960's. Foy Allen (1911 TX-2003 MD USA) obtained a copy of that descriptive letter, and in turn gave a copy of it to his son (me), David Roger Allen (1944- ). A fragment of that letter is presently (March 2004) in my possession. James T. Allen (1932TN - 1900TX) died in 1900. Two years following his death, James T. Allen's surviving widow, Sarah (Sallie) Miller (August 1839 Kentucky USA - 5 November 1902, Decatur, Wise County, TX) applied unsuccessfully for a "Confederate Pension, State of Texas," which she was refused due to her owning a home worth $400 and miscellaneous property worth $100. She was "deemed able to take in borders." Her application for a pension (#9373) was disapproved by Comptroller R.W. Love on September 22, 1902. She died approximately 6 weeks after the disapproval date, on November 5, 1902. Information provided here about the subject of Sarah Allen's Confederate Pension Application is provided in footnote "Sources" at the end of the "Ancestors Of Opal Bernice Allen" document on which most of the facts of the geneological history of Henry Clay Allen's ancestors offered here is based.
Henry Clay Allen (27 July 1857 Wise County Texas-24June1946 Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona) Note: Henry Clay Allen (1857TX-1946AZ) worked during his teen years inthe 1870's as a cowboy "drover" on the Old Chisholm Trail, herding Texas longhorn cattle from Texas to the railhead in Abeline, Kansas from which the cows were shipped to meat packing facilities in Chicago, Illinois by train. Henry Clay Allen married twice, once briefly to woman who deserted their marriage weeks after it was declared. His new wife left him unexpectedly during a religious camp meeting the newly-wed couple was attending. He obtained a divorce, and re-married Mary Eugenia (Mollie) Brazil (26 November 1859 Marion County, Texas - 5 February 1946 Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona USA) in the early 1880's. Both were buried near the farm they shared for decades. The couple was buried at the Old Spur Cemetery, Spur, Dickens County, Texas USA. Henry Clay Allen served as a Texas Ranger under Captain Ira Long during the 1880's, and is listed on the website identifying 19th century Texas Rangers as "Henry Allen." He was a lifelong, deeply religious member of the Baptist Church, and a founder of one of the Baptist congregations located in the "panhandle" region of northern Texas. He mortgaged his Dickens County TX farm for $400 in 1919 following the untimely death of his daughter, Etta Anna Allen Cudd (April 1886 [some records state 1885], Wise County, Texas - 6 January 1919 Bakersfield, California USA) and his son-in-law, Otis Joseph Cudd (1880 TX - 3 January 1919 Bakersfield, California USA), both casualties of the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1919 which killed 20 million Americans in the USA, and also an estimated 60 million worldwide. Henry Clay Allen's six grandchildren by his daughter, Etta Allen Cudd, were suddenly orphaned and left destitute in California with no close relatives or friends ! to care for them. Henry Clay Allen used the $400 he obtained by mortgaging his Dickens County TX farm and sent his son, Thomas Jesse Allen of New Mexico, to California where Thomas Jesse Allen arranged for the return of the orphaned grandchildren to Texas where they were placed with relatives. Henry Clay Allen raised two of his orphaned granddaughters until both reached adulthood and went away to college.
Henry Clay Allen had four children:
James Robert Allen (12 February 1884 Boonesville, Wise County, Texas - May 1970 Reno, Washoe County, Nevada)
Note: James Robert Allen (1884 TX - 1970 NV USA) worked as a movie actor in Tom Mix silent cowboy movies in Hollywood.Etta Anna Allen (April 1886 [some records state 1885], Wise County, Texas - 6 January 1919 Bakersfield, California USA), mother of six children, including Juanita Cudd Russell, Velma Cudd (Mrs. Aubrey) Bennett, Frederick Richard Cudd (who changed his name legally to "Foy Ray Allen" during his adult years), Helen Cudd (Mrs. Royal) Stewart, Lyndall Cudd (Mrs. Roger) Willock, and Joseph Otis Cudd.
Foy Allen (January 6, 1911 Floydada, Floyd County, Texas - June 17, 2003 Parkville, Baltimore County, Maryland) married Dorothy Hoppman Allen on May 30, 1941. They had four children, including David Roger Allen , Cynthia Dorothy Allen (Mrs. Gregory Norman) Strouse , Deborah Christine (Mrs. Richard Eugene) Holcomb , and Maeve Allen (2 July 1956 Baltimore, Maryland USA - 3 July 1956 Baltimore, Maryland USA).
Submitted by David Roger Allen, Freeland, Maryland USA on March 31, 2004. Email: DavidAllenUSA@Yahoo.Com.
Funeral services for Mary Eugenia Brazzel Allen, 87, wife of H.C. Allen, were conducted Sunday afternoon at the First Baptist church in Spur with Rev. Markham and Rev. Arnold officiating.A resident of Dickens county since 1910, until about 10 months ago, Mary Allen was taken to a hospital in Phoenix, AZ where she passed away on Feb. 5, 1946.
Mary Allen was born in Marion County, TX on November 26, 1859. She was married on April 5, 1881 to H.C. Allen in Wise Co., Texas. She was converted and joined the Baptist faith at the age of 31. She was a charter member of the Dry Lake Baptist church.
Mary Allen is survived by her husband and two sons: Tom of Ft. Defiance, AZ and Jim Allen of California; one sister, Mattie Osborn of Clairemont, TX, 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Flower bearers were: Mrs. Coy Dopson, Mrs. Jack Simmons, Alice Draper, Thelma Bass, Wanda Ruth Russell, Linda B. Beadle. Active pallbearers were Lloyd Hindman, Joe Kidd, Coy McMahan, Coy Dopson, Joe Long and O.L. Kelley. Honorary pallbearers were Walter Foreman, W.A. Johnson, Newt Kidd, Jim Hahn, Jeff Smith, Bob Hahn, Luther Karr and A.B. Studkey. Interment was in Spur Cemetery with Chandler Funeral Home in charge.
©The Texas Spur, February 14, 1946
from the records of Lillian Grace Nay
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