Family
Histories of Coleman County, Texas
George Henry
Allen
by Clyde D.
Allen
From A History of Coleman County
and Its People, 1985
edited by Judia and Ralph Terry, and
Vena Bob Gates - used by permission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The history of this
Allen family in Coleman County begins with
Daniel Washington Jackson (born September 9,
1829; died July 14, 1904; buried Weimar), a
surveyor who worked in various parts of the
state and took his fees in land. He
lived in Colorado County, having come to
Texas from Warren County, Georgia.
Among tracts of land in Coleman County which
he acquired was the place near Echo about 12
miles northeast of Coleman to which his
daughter Alice, and her husband George Henry
Allen moved about 1889. In 1892,
George Allen patented an apparent vacancy of
114.9 acres known as the Geo. H. Allen
Survey #151.
George (July 8,
1853, in Colorado County-December 15, 1893,
in Coleman, buried Weimar) was the son of
Clement Allen and Mary Ann Hancock. He
married Alice Jackson, July 20, 1882, they
had five children: Lee Dwyer, Mary Elizabeth
(Bess), Thurman Jackson, George Leslie, and
Wiley Douglas. George Henry Allen died
in Coleman after developing pneumonia while
moving a flock of sheep from Lampasas to
Coleman. George served as a Texas
Ranger for a number or years. Mr.
Audas, who ran a store at Burkett. described
him thus: He had the bluest eyes and the
hottest temper of any man I've known;
fair-minded but not a man to be crossed."
Alice Jackson
(November 20, 1865 in Colorado
County-September 24, 1928 in Coleman, buried
Weimar) returned to her family home in
Weimar at the death of George. On June
17, 1902, she married (2) J. W. Gates from
Nova Scotia, Canada, who had come Weimar to
pastor the church. The date of their
move back to Coleman is not known but in
February, 1909, they purchased the two story
house at the corner of Pecan Street and
Fifth Avenue which was their home until her
death. They had one child, Bernice
Elise (December 18, 1903-April 15, 1960;
buried Flagstaff, Arizona). Alice was
an accomplished musician; she played cello
and piano. She and her sister did the
art work for the baptistry when First
Christian Church building was erected in
1916.
Lee Dwyer (April
13, 1883 near Lometa-1965 in Houston; buried
Weimar) married Vida Herder of Weimar.
They had one child, George Herder, who never
lived in Coleman County. Dwyer owned
and operated a store in Novice and lived in
the home of . M. Barnett there. After
selling this store to the DePrangs, he moved
to Valera where he managed a store of the
family "chain" of Gates-Star-Allen.
Later he moved to Eagle Lake, where he
became an automobile dealer, subsequently
retired and moved to Houston.
Mary Elizabeth
"Bess" (August 18, 1886, near Lometa-March
29, 1981 in McAllen; buried McAllen) married
Clarence C. McDaniel. They operated
newspapers in Bay City and McAllen for many
years. She never lived in Coleman
County beyond childhood. Two children:
Clarence C., Jr. and Mary Alice; both are
deceased.
Thurman Jackson
(August 13, 1888, near Lometa-December 22,
1967, in Coleman; buried Coleman) married
Myrtle O. Tomlinson in Hillsboro, June 15,
1911. He toured several months as
tenor with a male quartet on the Chautauqua
Circuit before moving with his bride to
Novice, where he managed a store for
Gates-Starr-Allen. In 1918, the family
moved to Coleman where he owned and operated
a local insurance agency and livestock farms
until his death. He served on the
Coleman School Board for over 25 years and
subsequently served on the County School
Board. An Elder in the Christian
Church, he served as choir director a number
of years, a graduate of T.C.U. in 1910.
Myrtle (July 30,
1889, near Sparta in Bell County-October 26,
1975 in Coleman; buried Coleman) graduated
from T.C.U. in 1910 with a double major in
Music and English Literature. She
taught violin and piano in Novice and
Coleman for many years. A devoted
member of the First Christian Church, she
served as pianist and Sunday School
teacher. Thurman and Myrtle had three
sons:
(1) William Edward (June 21, 1913 in
Novice-February 6, 1974 in Austin, buried
Coleman) graduated from Coleman High School
and T.C.U. and was admitted to the bar of
Texas. He served as Coleman County
attorney until moving to Austin in 1956 to
join the staff of the Attorney General of
Texas. Later he became chief legal
advisor, Division of Occupational Safety,
Texas Department of Health. He married
Wilda Moody in Mineola in 1938. Their
two children are Patricia White (February 7,
1942 in Coleman) and Suzanne Gordon (May 17,
1945 in Fort Worth). He was active as
an Elder in the Christian Church in Coleman
and Austin. His widow resides in
Austin.
(2) Weldon Jackson, born June 14, 1915
in Fort Worth, Texas; graduated from Coleman
High School and earned B.A. and M.A. degrees
from T.C.U. While an undergraduate, he
was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism
for rescuing two elderly women from their
burning house. He lives in Houston
where he is involved with life insurance,
casualty insurance and oil-gas
investments. In World War Il he was a
pilot with the 387th Bomb Group. In
1966, he married Doris Jonas of
Houston. They have no children.
(3)
Clyde Dixon, born March 24, 1917 in
Hillsboro, graduated from Coleman High
School and T.C.U. Since 1939 he has
been partner and later sole owner of Allen
& Allen Insurance Agency of
Coleman. During World War II he served
as Naval Officer on the U.S.S. Kalk.
He has been a Director and Secretary of
Board of Holiday Hill, Inc. (Coleman County
Care Center) since 1951. An Elder in
the First Christian Church, he has taught an
interdenominational adult class more than 20
years. In 1955, he married Doris
McIntosh of Brownwood. They have two
children: Dorothy Dixon, November 3, 1956,
graduated from T.C.U. and has an M.A. degree
from the L.B.J. School of Public Affairs
(University of Texas); and Clyde Jackson,
born September 17, 1959, graduated from
Stanford University. Neither live in
Coleman.
George Leslie
(March 7, 1890, in Coleman County-1952, and
buried in Houston) married Irene Snodgrass
of Coleman (see Frank Lee Snodgrass).
After managing the Coleman branch of the
family firm of Gates-Star-Allen for awhile,
he left Coleman. Their one son, Frank
S., lived in Coleman several different times
as he was growing up and spent his adult
years in Fort Worth, where he died and was
buried in 1979.
Wiley Douglas Allen
attended T.C.U. and the University of Texas
(see W. D. Allen). During World War I he was
a lieutenant in the Balloon Corps.
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