Augustus Chapman Allen (July 4, 1806 – January 11, 1864), along with his younger brother, John Kirby Allen, founded the City of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in the U.S. state of Texas. He was born on July 4, 1806, in Canaseraga Village, New York (now the hamlet of Sullivan in the Town of Sullivan, New York), to Sarah (Chapman) and Roland Allen.

Early years

Not long after turning 17, Augustus graduated from the Polytechnic Institute at Chittenango, New York, and started teaching mathematics there. In 1827, he changed careers and resigned his professorship. Allen then went to work as a bookkeeper for the H. and H. Canfield Company in New York. After two years, he and his brother John bought an interest in the business. In the summer of 1832, the Allen brothers left Canfield to move to Texas, where they settled in San Augustine. By June 1833, the brothers had moved to Nacogdoches.

In Texas

The Allen brothers arrived first in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, and then moved to the small town of Saint Augustine. In 1833, Allen and his brother associated with a group of entrepreneurs in Nacogdoches and started operating as land speculators.

During the Texas Revolution

Instead of joining the army when the Texas War of Independence started, Augustus and his brother engaged in keeping supply channels open. At their own expense, they outfitted a ship, the '' Brutus'', to protect the Texas coast and assist troops and supplies from the United States to arrive safely in Texas. Nevertheless, some members of the Texas provisional government objected to the Allen brothers' activities, and rumors indicated they were engaged in privateering. In January 1836, they sold the ''Brutus'' to the Texas Navy, and it became only the second ship in the fledgling naval force. Augustus and John Allen continued to raise money and operate as receivers and dispensers of supplies and funds for the war effort without charge. Despite the brothers' services, gossip and censure were aimed at the Allens because they were not in the armed services.

After the Revolution

Financed by an inheritance received by Augustus' wife, Charlotte, on August 26, 1836, the Allen brothers purchased 6,600 acres (27 km²) along the Buffalo Bayou for $5,000, to establish a new city. At the suggestion of Charlotte, they named their townsite for the hero of the time, General Sam Houston. In the years after his brother John's death in 1838, the Allen family grew apart and squabbled about the family's various businesses and finances, which had been somewhat commingled. These family disputes eventually led to Allen's separation from his wife in 1850.

Later life and legacy

Soon, Allen's health began to fail, and he decided to leave Houston, signing over to his wife, whom he had never divorced, most of what remained of his many enterprises. Augustus Allen relocated to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to tend to his health and a new start in life. In 1852, Augustus was appointed United States consul for the port of Tehuantepec on the Pacific Ocean, and in 1858, he was given the same position for the port of Minotitlán. These offices gave him control of the consular affairs of the United States for the entire

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...

, a commercially important position. In partnership with an Englishman named Welsh, Allen developed an extensive private shipping business. He was never able to recover his health, however, and realized, in 1864, that he was critically ill. Augustus then closed his business and went to Washington, D.C., to resign his consulships. Soon after arriving there, he contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, and died on Monday, January 11, 1864, aged 58 in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Several Houston landmarks, including Allen Parkway and Allen Center, as well as Allen's Landing Park, commemorate Augustus and his brother, the city's two founders.

''New York Times'' (New York, NY), Fri., 15 Jan 1864, p. 5, c. 3
''New York Herald'' (New York, NY), Fri., 15 Jan 1864, p. 8, c. 3

DIED - ALLEN - In Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 11, Augustus C. Allen. His friends are invited to attend his funeral, which will occur at the Church of the Transfiguration, 29th St., this day (Friday) 15th inst., at 10 A.M.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Augustus Chapman 1806 births 1864 deaths American city founders History of Houston People from Houston People from Sullivan, New York Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American emigrants to Mexico