The Allen Family in Northern Ireland

Updated December 26, 2006

Though many of the Ulster Scots were tenant farmers, William's father Robert (as far as we know) owned his own farm on the northern edge of Larne, perhaps receiving it in a grant from the Earl of Antrim. This would have made him fairly well off, given the general economic malaise of the time. He was reported by descendents to have been a ruling elder in one of the local Presbyterian congregations. (There were two as of 1712 when the Larne congregation split over the selection of a new minister.) Robert's name does not appear on the session lists that still exist from the time, but since the records are incomplete this is not conclusive evidence that he wasn't. We do not know for sure when his family came over from Scotland, nor from where in Scotland they came, but there is some evidence that points to the 1620s and Greenoch, Scotland. (There were Allens living at Ballygalley, about five miles north Larne, in the 1660s. Ballygalley was developed by James Shaw of Greenoch starting around 1625.)

Robert was born in 1676 and married Janet Hare (b. 1679). Her father is given in one source as William Hare, who is mentioned in a history of the Old Presbyterian Congregation of Larne and Kilwaughter. He is described as the "keeper of a public house" who was elected to the church session in 1699.

One account of these years states that Robert Allen "took a prominent part in the war James II waged in Ireland for regaining his crown." If true, Robert would have certainly fought on the side of William of Orange, not that of James (who was Catholic). However, this war took place in 1689 and 90, when Robert was 13 or 14. It is much more likely that his father (also Robert) was the one involved.

We don't have a marriage date for Robert and Janet, but it was probably in the late 1690s, as she was approaching the age of twenty. Given that Janet was thirty-two when William was born, it is likely that he was somewhere between her 5th and 8th child. She lived to be seventy-five (d. March 31, 1754) and Robert lived to be ninety-four (d. 1770).

Of their twenty-three children, eighteen are said to have lived to maturity. We have the names of a few of them. David, an older brother (b. 1710) is noted in most of the stories about William coming to this country because they came over together in 1729 (more on him later). Other names are listed in accounts of this family, though some are (I believe) conjectural. In the list below I've starred the ones we are most certain of.

The Joseph listed above is a "stretch" entry. A Joseph Allen came to Philadelphia from Larne in 1730 with his two children and his brother William. There is no mention of him in the records of our William Allen's descendents and there is no reason to believe that he was a child of Robert Allen and Janet Hare, though some genealogists have made the connection. I have tried to do this myself, since I am descended from Joseph on my mother's side, but other than the common last name, the common departure city, and the nearness of departure date, there is no evidence to suggest a family connection. That he traveled with a brother named William is actually evidence to the contrary, since these two Williams are distinct people, each with his own history in this country. Additionally, Larne and the region around it had many unrelated Allen families. One piece of evidence in support of two different Allen families: in 1724 a Jean Allen, daughter of William Allen, was baptized in one of the Larne Presbyterian churches. The timing would make her not the Jean listed above and her father would not be our William. He could, however, be the William that came over with Joseph Allen in 1730.

As far as we know, the two pairs of brothers had no contacted with each other after coming to America.

(Recent DNA testing of descendents of both families supports the case that there is no relation between them.)

Ballycragie View

The Allen farm was about two miles north of Larne in a district called Ballycraigy (pictured here, looking north along the Antrim coast). It sat on a hill which slopes down to the North Channel of the Irish Sea to the east, and has a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. On a clear day one can see Scotland in the distance. The property was in the Allen family until the early 20th century. As of 1994 it was still agricultural land, though just barely. The town of Larne has expanded to what is apparently the property line. No house or other structures remain.

Janet Hare tombstone

The graveyard of the local Church of Ireland has a head stone for the family, though it has been separated from the grave itself. It reads:

"Here lieth the body of Janet Har who died March ye 31, 1754 aged 75 years Who was wife to Robert Allen of Bally-Craigie and he died 1770 aged 94 years. Also his son Thomas Allen who died 15th August 1804 aged 84 years Also the remains of Martha Anne widow of the late John Boyle of Ballycraigie died 7th January 1866 in the 93rd year of her age."

(This is just a guess, but Martha (b. 1773) may have been Thomas Allen's daughter.)

There are still descendents of William's brother Patrick Allen living in Larne, whom we met when visiting there in 1994.

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