Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1890-04-11
= AN OFFICIAL FAMILY.
Its Members Have HELD Onlcc for Hun
dred Years,

dred Years.
Harrodsburg (Ky.) correspondent OF
the Louisville Courier-Journal says:
The Allin family OF this place, of which
our venerable County Clerk Ben Allin is
the head, have n history that for OFF,
GERS and office-holders is without par
allel in the State, and perhaps in the
United States.
In September, 1886, at the first court
ever held in Mercer County, Thomas
Allin, Sr., father of Ben c., the subject
of this article, held the Office of both
county and circuit clerk until $780, a
period CT forty-four years. lie was sue
ceeded by his son, Thomas Allin, Jr., q
brother of Ben @. Thomas Allin, Jr.
held the office (both county and
circuit) until 1866, period of
thirty-six years, and in 1s49 Uncle
Ben took one of the offices from him.
He was succeeded in turn by Ben
c., our present county clerk, who
1862. Squire Richard Bonsel was then
elected to the Circuit Court clerkship,
and held the office until 1884, when he
was defeated by Bush w. Allin, son of
Ben c., who is the present circuit clerk.
Ben c. was ousted from the County
Courts office during the war for period
Of four years, during which time the Of
fee was held by DIR. c. S. Abell. This
period is the only time since this has
been a county that one or both offices
have not been in tho Allin family, and
in 1866 Ben c., the present clerk, was
reelected county clerk and has held it
uninterruptedly ever since, a period of
nearly forty-one years. Barring the
period OF four years during the war the
office OF county clerk will have been in
this family one hundred years next
September, and the Circuit Court clerk
ship in the family for eighty years. Nor
is this all.
Uncle Ben had brother Jack, who
was clerk of Huntsville, Mo-, who held
the office for number OF years, and he
in turn was succeeded by two sons, who
held the office for long while, and still
another nephew, Thomas H., was clerk
OF Kirksville, Mo-, for three terms. Phil
Allin, son OF Uncle Ben, is circuit
clerk OF Claiborne, Tex, and has been
for three terms Of two years each. An
other son, William b., OF this place, was
county attorney for twelve years, and
doubt II there is man in the county
who could beat him now II he offered for
the place. One of the most remarkable
features of Uncle Ben's oihce-holding Is
yet to come. At the last primary there
were 1,707 votes cast, Of which he got
1,700, Uncle Ben refusing to vote for
himself He is the only man who ever
run for Office in the county who got The
entire vote cast. He is in his eighty
second year, and enjoys good health,
and attends to the duties of the office
with that regularity that he did thirty
years ago. In 1878 he got his second
sight, and he now sees as well as he did
when he was youth.
He and his excellent wife, Aunt Susan,
had born to them eleven children, nine
OF whom grew up to be men and women.
He has twenty grandchildren and two
great-grandchlldren None OF his chill
dren had over two children born to them
except Bush w., who has twelve. II
there is family more remarkable for
holding Office would like to hear from
them. And there is not a county In the
State that has better clerks than Mercer
1t is proposed that next September
Mercer celebrate tho centennial cleo
ton OF the first OF the Allins in way
to make the old mans heart prouder
than it was last election cay, when he
got every vote east but his own.
Uncle Ben's actual term of Office does
not include all his time spent in the
office. He acted as deputy to both his
father and brother. When this time is
considered he has been in one or the
other Of the Offices for ovor sixty-five
wears. There is not book or deed or
aby thing else in that Office he can not
nut his hand on almost in tho dark. All
the Allins, from Thomas, Sr., to Warren
l., tho present deputy, arc noted for
their pretty, smooth, oven and legiblo
writing. In fact, it is so plain that a
child can read any thing written by an
Allin that ever wrote in either the coun-
ty or circuit clerks Office.