Clarence Emir Allen
Born 8 September 1852 in Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania.[1] Son of Edwin R. Allen and Helen M. Anderson.[2] Attended Western Reserve College, in Hudson, Summit County, Ohio, 1873–1877.[3] Pitched semiprofessional baseball with the Erie Keystones, summer 1876.[4] Played collegiate baseball for Western Reserve College, where he is credited with being one of the first collegiate players to use the curveball, 1876.[5] Married Corinne M. Tuckerman, 28 November 1877, in Austinburg, Ashtabula County, Ohio.[6] Taught Greek at Western Reserve College, 1880–1881.[7] Moved to Salt Lake City, 1881.[8] Employed as an instructor at Salt Lake Academy, 1881–1886.[9] Worked in the mining industry, with short breaks to pursue other opportunities, 1886–1922.[10] Served as a member of the Utah territorial legislature, 1888, 1890, 1894.[11] Introduced a bill providing free public school education, 1890.[12] Served as clerk of Salt Lake County, Utah Territory, 1890–1893.[13] Supported a bill that would help the silk industry in Utah, 1894.[14] Served as Utah’s first congressman, January 1896–March 1897.[15] Died 8 July 1932 in Escondido, San Diego County, California; buried in Salt Lake City.[16]
[1] U.S. Passport Application for Clarence E. Allen, issued 12 May 1924, no. 412892, U.S., Passport Applications, 1795–1925, ancestry.com.
[2] History of Erie County, Pennsylvania [. . .] (Warner, Beers, 1884), part 6, 53; 1860 U.S. Census, Girard, Erie Co., PA, p. 49.
[3] “Hon. Clarence E. Allen,” Spanish Fork (Utah Territory) Herald, 11 Oct. 1895, [4]; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” in Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1949 (United States Government Printing Office, 1950), 772; Catalogue of Officers, Graduates and Students of Western Reserve College and of Adelbert College, 1826–1916 (Western Reserve University Press, 1916), 30.
[4] “First Curve Ball,” Kent (OH) Stater, 28 Apr. 1927, 3.
[5] James M. Egan Jr., Base Ball on the Western Reserve: The Early Game in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, Year by Year and Town by Town, 1865–1900 (McFarland, 2008), 75; “First Curve Ball,” 3.
[6] Ashtabula Co., OH, Marriage Records, 1812–1951, microfilm 890266, vol. G, p. 493, 28 Nov. 1877, FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (FamilySearch Library hereafter cited as FSL); “Golden Wedding Is Celebrated by Ex-Salt Lakers,” Salt Lake Telegram, 4 Dec. 1927, 5; 1900 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City Ward 15, Salt Lake Co., UT, enumeration dist. 46, p. 215A.
[7] Catalogue of Officers, 12.
[8] “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772.
[9] “Salt Lake Academy Congregational,” Rocky Mountain Christian Advocate (Salt Lake City), Sept. 1881, 6; “Utah Association,” Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 3 Apr. 1885, [4]; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772; “Hon. Clarence E. Allen,” [4].
[10] “Represnntative Mining Men,” Salt Lake Herald, 23 May 1899, 6; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772; “Golden Wedding Is Celebrated by Ex-Salt Lakers,” 5; “Democrats Can’t Register,” Salt Lake Herald, 25 Oct. 1900, 6.
[11] Utah State Archives staff, comp., Territory of Utah: Legislative Assembly Rosters, 1851–1894 (Utah State Archives, 2007), 52–56, 61–62; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772; “Represnntative Mining Men,” 6.
[12] “The Free School Bill,” Utah Enquirer (Provo, Utah Territory), 28 Jan. 1890, [2]; “For Utah’s Children,” Salt Lake Times, 10 July 1890, 8.
[13] “Are in the Harness,” Salt Lake Herald, 2 Sept. 1890, 3; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772; “Hon. Clarence E. Allen,” [4].
[14] Emmeline B. Wells, Diary, 7 and 16 Feb. 1894, Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, Church Historian’s Press, churchhistorianspress.org/emmeline-b-wells.
[15] James Vear Hansen, Congressmen of the First District of Utah, 1994, [1], Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; “Allen, Clarence Emir,” 772; “Represnntative Mining Men,” 6; Wells, Diary, 6 and 19 Nov. 1895; “Mr. Allen in Congress,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 6 Jan. 1896, 5.
[16] “Clarence E. Allen,” 8 July 1932, 84, California, U.S., Death Index, 1905–1939, ancestry.com; Death Records of Salt Lake City, UT, 1849–Sept. 1950, microfilm 26566, register 1135, 8 July 1932, FSL.