Skip to main content

The Mexican American War, Maternal Line

Allen, Albern.
(1802-1867)
 4th Great Grandfather   


    Albern Allen was born in Connecticut and fatefully moved to New York state where he met his first wife, Marcia, and became a convert to the Church of LDS in 1835. He moved several times with the first LDS members ending up serving as a Private in the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican American War. 
    The battalion is the only religion based unit in the history of the US military. It came to be that at the time the Mormons faced much persecution and this had been ignored by the US government. A member went to Washington to appeal for federal aid to pioneer west rather than continue to face persecution where they were. It happens that at that time the US had just declared war on Mexico to contest the territories that now make up the US southwest. A deal was struck for a group of men to muster for the US army in exchange for funding and protection to move west. It took Brigham Young 3 weeks to obtain the numbers he needed. 
    It is not known if Albern Allen was an eager volunteer or was pressured to do so but in either case he was a private in the US Army as part of this battalion. They marched from Iowa to San Diego, some 1900 miles. Their role was more of a peace keeping force and they did not see much action in the way of battles. Some men died from disease along the way. 
    In 1847 Albern was released from service and moved to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah where he settled with his wife and 7 living children as a farmer. Details are unclear but he is known to have had several wives (as polygamy was a practice in the LDS faith at that time) and many children. It is also recorded that he was a generous man and would be quick to give financial assistance to any who needed it. 
North Am Fam Histories 1500-2000. Descendents of Robert Alling, p 136

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah Burgett 4th Great-Grandfather, Paternal

 Isaiah Burgett was born July 20, 1808 in New York, possibly New York City, to Milberry Burgett of Schoharie County, NY and Sarah Andrews, of Connecticut. Isaiah Married Betsy Parker on September 17, 1829 in Harpersfield, Ohio. They had 9 children together including my 3rd great-grandfather, Alphonso Burgett. Sometimes family trees can get muddled and it is always reassuring to have a DNA test that supports a direct connection, as I do here with Isaiah.  A family story passed down from a book, “Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve” tells that after being married in Harpersfield the couple moved to Trumbull, Ohio in 1832. They built one of the first framed houses on the town line road. This book reports they had 10 children and lived out their lives in Ohio. His father, Milberry Burgett, had fought in the War of 1812 and his grandfather, Jehoiakim Burgett, had fought in the American Revolutionary War.  The family was originally settled in the Albany area an...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Allen and Evans Family Pioneers, 1847-1874

This report is fairly trimmed and g-rated for a 5th grade talk I am giving tomorrow. Although these are fairly wholesome people the big reveal is that Mary Ann Hoopes Yearsley became a 3rd wife for Albern Allen and they had a daughter together. He was still married to Marcia/Marsha Allen and also had married an Elizabeth, with whom he had at least one other child. People of their time and place I suppose but here it is, my pioneer notes for 5th graders, learning about the Oregon Trail, absenting the previously mentioned information from above... Allen Family pioneers (8) The Allen and Hadlock families Albern Allen (4th great grandfather - 4ggf) born in Connecticut but met Marsha  in upstate NY where they married. They did not have much money so someone from their community went to the government and asked for help. The government had just declared war on Mexico so they struck a deal. Money for wagons and supplies but a regiment had to be formed to go to war. Albern became a private...
Post a Comment
Read more

Military History, Maternal Line, The American Revolution

Peter Fore (likely born Pierre Faure)   7th Great Grandfather Peter Fore was born in 1706 Manakin Town, a Huguenot settlement in what became Powhatan County, Virginia, the son of Mary and Pierre. His story is so interesting that more than his military record will be relayed here. He married Marie Godwin and was willed land by his father in neighboring Goochland County (about 300 acres). According to the will, Peter already lived on that land before his father's death. For reasons unknown, Peter sold his son Joseph the land in 1778 and moved to Prince Edward County onto 130 acres of land.   At 73 years old, he moved with some his younger children to Martin's Station in what was then Kentucky County, Virginia (now Kentucky state). He settled on the banks of Stoner Creek during the winter of 1779-1780. Peter, despite his age, was on the muster roll of Captain Gatliff's company at Martin's Station at the time of an attack by local Natives that had sided with the Britis...
Post a Comment
Read more