MSS 781 George Wesley Allen and Allen Family Papers

              MSS 781
George Wesley Allen & Allen Family Papers
Page 1
 
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscripts/ Audiovisual Collections
MSS 781
GEORGE WESLEY ALLEN & ALLEN FAMILY PAPERS
1876- 1977
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number:
MSS 781 and MSS 781 AV
Title:
George Wesley Allen & Allen Family Papers
Creator:
Bertha Allen Mason
Dates:
1876- 1977
Media:
Papers & Black and White Photographs
Quantity:
1.3 Cubic Feet
Location:
Ohio Historical Society
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
The Allens were a prominent African- American family of Atlanta, Georgia; Boston, Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. George Wesley Allen, the head of the family, was the editor of the Southern Christian Recorder, the official publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church ( A. M. E.) from 1904 to1932. He also taught in various Alabama schools for 32 years. In 1873 he became the first black member of Alabama legislature and served until 1876. One of his accomplishments in the legislature was presenting the bill that led to the founding of the Tuskegee Institute. George was the father of seven sons and one daughter. Six of his sons are represented by materials in this collection.
Two sons also became active in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Alexander Joseph Allen graduated first from Clark University in Atlanta and then from Yale Divinity School in 1915. He served as division secretary for the American Bible Society from 1931 to 1940. In May 1940 he was consecrated 62nd Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Ohio. William Wesley Allen graduated from Georgia State College in Savannah, Georgia. He assisted his father as editor of the Southern Christian Recorder from 1904 to 1910 and was a delegate to all African Methodist Episcopal Church general conferences from1908 to 1926. Additionally, he ran a store in