Edward Wellington Allen, eldest son of James and Emily Allen, was born at
Baring, Maine, January 15, 1843. At the age of seven years the family
moved from Baring to Sheboygan, Wis., and in 1858 from there to Two Rivers,
Manitowoc county. In 1859 they moved to Eau Claire, Wis. From that date
until he enlisted in the army, December, 1863, he attended school when he
could and was a pupil of Rev. A. Kidder. He worked during that time in
Mayhew's furniture factory, located near where the old Empire Lumber
Company's office now stands, and at the time he enlisted he was clerking in
the store of William H. Smith. At Sparta, Wis., December 31, 1863, he was
formally mustered into the United States army with the rank of orderly
sergeant of Company H, Sixteenth regiment, Wisconsin volunteers, with D. C.
Whipple, captain; J. T. Tinker, first lieutenant, and M. Grover, second
lieutenant. They soon went to Camp Randall, Madison, where they were
drilled and on February 26, the company being complete, they were ordered
south.
On his return from the war he was employed on the steamer Phil Sheridan,
running on the Chippewa river, and that winter was in the logging camp of
Pond (William H.) & McVicar, scaling, keeping books, etc. June 20, 1866, he
married Miss Mary S. Davenport, at Middlebury, Vt. That fall and winter he
clerked in the store of Wilson & Foster on the corner where now stands the
Howard Culver Company's shoe store. During the spring of 1867 Mr. Allen and
Captain M. W. Harris became partners under the name of Allen & Harris and
founded the first furniture store of Eau Claire in a building on the present
opera house site, which building was burned in 1870. The firm then occupied
the building in the middle of the next block north, now owned by Mrs. M. W.
Harris. The firm was dissolved in 1877 and Mr. Allen thereafter established
the pioneer music store of the city, first on Barstow street and soon after
put up the buildings on Grand avenue east, now occupied by the Allen-Johnson
Company.
Mr. Allen continued in the business until 1906, when he turned it over to his
son, James E. Allen, and Hans Johnson. Five children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Allen, three of whom are living: Mrs. Edna, wife of James Long, of
Mexico City, Mexico; Fred. H. Allen, druggist at Tacoma, Wash., and James E.
Allen, Eau Claire, Wis. In 1878 Mr. Allen was instrumental with others in
organizing the first militia company in Eau Claire after the war. The Eau
Claire city guards was organized with D. C. Whipple as captain, M. E.
O'Connell first and E. W. Allen second lieutenants.
On the 18th day of February, 1908, while sitting in the opera house waiting
for the lecture of W. J. Bryan, he suddenly and without warning passed away
at the age of 64 years.
--- "The History of Eau Claire County, 1914, Past & Present", Pages 629-633

• Married: 20 JUN 1866 in Middlebury, Addison Co., VT

1. Edna ALLEN b: FEB 1868 in Wisconsin
2. Fred H. ALLEN b: ABT 1870 in Wisconsin
3. James E. ALLEN b: 6 MAR 1881 in Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI