George W. Allen (March 26, 1844 – January 28, 1928)George W. Allen, Former Resident of Warren, Dies
, ''The Warren Tribune'' (January 30, 1928), p. 1.Former Justice Allen Is Dead, Once Lived Here
, ''Fort Collins Coloradoan'' (January 29, 1928), p. 7. was an American politician and lawyer who served as an associate justice of the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

from 1917 to 1925, and chief justice from 1925 to 1927.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Pine Grove Township,

Warren County, Pennsylvania Warren County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,587. Its county seat is Warren. The county was established in 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties; attached to Crawf ...

, to Samuel P. and Mary E. Allen, Allen served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

.D. F. Stackelbeck, ''Bench & Bar of Colorado'' (1917), p. 47. An older brother,

Harrison Allen Harrison Allen (April 17, 1841 – November 14, 1897) was an American surgeon, anatomist, Zoology, zoologist, and educator. He served as a surgeon in the United States Army during the American Civil War and at several Philadelphia hospitals inclu ...

, was an officer in the same conflict, achieving the rank of brevet brigadier general. Allen thereafter

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in the office of Judge William P. Brown of Warren to gain

admission 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 Pennsylvania in 1865. He was elected as a district attorney in

, and was elected as a Republican to represent Warren County in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 1874, 1875, and 1876 terms. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1877 term. In 1879, Allen decided to move to the west, and for a time was located at

Leadville, Colorado Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

, and at

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

, where he "immediately won prominence as a lawyer". In 1881 he moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Judicial service

In 1888 he was elected to a district court seat in Denver and served until 1900. While serving in this position, he was an unsuccessful candidate in 1896 for both

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...

, and for a seat representing the state in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. He returned to the private practice of law from 1900 to 1906, when he was again elected to the district bench. He served in this capacity until 1917, when he resigned to take the seat to which he had been elected as a justice of the state supreme court. In the 1916 elections he was the only Republican on the state ticket to be elected. He served as chief justice from 1925 to 1927, and sought reelection in 1927, but was not renominated by his party for the seat.Judge Graham and Justice Teller Leading on Early Returns for Supreme Bench
, ''Fort Collins Coloradoan'' (September 15, 1926), p. 1.

Personal life and death

Allen was the father of two sons. He died at his home in Denver at the age of 83. He was interred at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, George W. 1844 births 1928 deaths People from Warren County, Pennsylvania U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Pennsylvania Republicans Colorado Republicans