The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-07-01
GOVERNOR ALLEN.
A Sketch of His Life and Public
Services.
BY AMOS LAYMAN, ESQ.

Bl AMOS LA MAN, ESQs
Hon. William Allen, the present
Governor of Ohio, was born in Eden
ton, Chowan County, North Carolina.
in the year 1907. He was, by the
death Of both father and mother, LETT
All orphan in his infancy. His parents
were poor. In his boyhOod days,
there were no common schools in
North Carolina, nor in Virginia,
whittier he early removed, and he
never attended any school of any kind,
except private infant school for
short time, until he came, at the age
of sixteen, to Chillicothe, Ohio. He
however, early managed to acquire
the rudiments of learning; and that
was the golden age OF public speaking,
and the era Of oratory and orators in
this country. He was enthused and
carried away with passion for lis
tening to public addresses, upon every
occasion and upon any subject, mark
ing the manner and treasuring up the
words of the various speakers he lis
tened to, and he would go far to get
the opportunity to hear. lie soon Sc
cured prize to him more precious
than silver and gold-a pocket copy of
Walkers Dictionary, which he con-
suited for the pronunciation and mean
ing of every word that he heard and
did not understand. This companion
accompanied him to public meetings,
all of which he sought and attended
as a deeply interested hearer.
Several OF the years of his boyhood
life were spent at Lynchburgh, Vir-
ginia, where he supported himself
working as sadler's apprentice
When he was sixteen years cid, he
collected together his worldly goods,
tied them in handkerchief, and set
out on fsot, walking every step of the
way from Lynchburgh, Va, to Chilli
cothe, Ohio, where he found his sister,
Mrs. Pleasant Thurman, the mother of
Hon. Allen G. Thurman, who was
then small boy whom he had never
seen before.
After taking up his residence at
Chillicothe, where he has ever since
resided, young Allen was, by his sister
placed in the old Chillicothe Academy
where he received his only real in
struction from teacher. She herself
selected and supervised his general
reading. In this he considers that he
derived the greatest advantage. The
books she placed in his hands were the
books of the best and most advanced
writers and thinkers, by the aid of
which his thoughts were impelled in
the right direction and his mental de-
yelopment became true and compre-
hensive.
Struggling on and and maintaining
himseifas best he could, Allen entered
as law student, the office of Edward
King, father of Hon. Rufus King, Pres
ident of the late Ohio Constitutional
Convention, and the NEST gifted son
of the great Rufus King, Of Revolu-
tionary memory and fame. When he
came to the bar, and while he contin-
ueI to practice, forensic power, the
ability and art of addressing a jury
successfully and indispensable to a
LAWYERS success. This Allen possess
ed and assiduously cultivated, rather
than the learning of cases, and tech
nical rules and pure legal habits and
thought and statement, which make a
counsellor influential with the Court.
Political activity, a wide. spread rep
utation as power in the judicial for
um before jury, and fine military
figure and bearing, Joined to voice
of command, fixed him in the public
eye as one deserving political promo
ton. He had not long to wait. His
Congressional District was strong
ly Whig. William Key Bond and
Richard Douglas 50 hstly contested
for the place in that party that split
was produced, to heal which Govern
or Duncan Nc ARTHUR was induced to
decline a late Gubernatorial re- election
and become a candidate, they both
withdrew in his favor. Against him
William Allen was put in nomination
by the Democracy, to make what
was deemed a hopeless race. With a
determination to succeed, such as he
manifested in the late Gubernatorial
canvass, he spoke everywhere, ably
and effectively, mapped out every path
h in, ho nj nd -. =
ed nearly every voter at his home,
thus insuring the full vote of his par
ty at the polls, and the accession Of
many converts. During this campaign
Sumpter Murphy, the grandson of the
Revolutionary General Sumpter, and
at the same time recognized as the
first orator in Ohio, who had been put
forward as another Dem ocratic candi-
date to divide with Allen the. Demo
cratic vote. The pswer he displayed
in this canvas was fully exemplified
in Allen at a later period, when he
accepted the challenge of the Wings
to debate with Thomas Ewing. In
the very first debate, Allen, in the
opinion of the audience, had much
the best of it, and so firm did the
opinion become that Ewing was with
drawn after the second joint discus
sion.
AT the end of that mem orable con-
test for seat in Congress, William
Allen was declared elected by one
vote, when he had scarce attained The
Constitutional age to occupy il. Five
hundred men are yet living who. claim
the homer of having, by lucky acci-
dent, cast that vote. Although the
youngest member, he at once took
rank among the foremost men in the