Alfred Gaither Allen (July 23, 1867 – December 9, 1932) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

from 1911 to 1917.

Biography

Born on a farm near

Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 12,664 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Micropolitan statistical area, Wilmington micropolitan area ...

, Allen attended public schools there. He graduated from Wilmington High School in 1886 and from the

Cincinnati Law School The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

in 1890, where he was

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi (), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan as a professional fraternity, ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1890 and commenced practice in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He served as United States commissioner from 1896 to 1900 and as delegate to the Democratic State conventions in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

in 1901 and 1908. He was a member of the city council from 1906 to 1908, and a member of the board of the

sinking-fund A sinking fund is a fund established by an economic entity by setting aside revenue over a period of time to fund a future capital expense, or repayment of a long-term debt. In North America and elsewhere where it is common for government entiti ...

trustees of Cincinnati from 1908 to 1910. Allen was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1911 - March 4, 1917). He declined renomination in 1916, and resumed his earlier profession in Cincinnati. He served as delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in San Francisco in 1920. He served as president of the Cincinnati Bar Association in 1925 and 1926. He died in

, December 9, 1932. He remains are interred at the Sugar Grove Cemetery in

. On December 10, 1901, Allen married Clara B. Forbes at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. She was the daughter of M. S. Forbes, president of Forbes Brothers' Tea and Spice Company. She graduated from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

. They had two children. They were members of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

. File:Allen Headstone.JPG, Allen family headstone at Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, Ohio. File:A. G. Allen.JPG, Gravemarker of Alfred G. Allen.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Alfred Gaither 1867 births 1932 deaths University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Ohio lawyers People from Wilmington, Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Cincinnati City Council members 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives