The Butler weekly times., 1890-02-12
AN OFFICIAL FAMILY.
Its Members Have Held Office
for q Century.

Louisville, Ky, Jan. 29.-The Al
lin family of Harrodsburg in this
state, of which the venerable Coun-
ty Clerk Ben Allin is the head, has
a history that for Office holders is
without a parallel in the state, and
perhaps in the United States.
From September, 1856, at the
first court ever held in Mercer coun-
ty, Thomas Allin, Sr., father OF Ben
c., the subject of this article, held
the Office of both county and circuit
clerk until 1880, a period of forty
four years. He was succeeded by
his son, Thomas Allin, Jr., brother
of Ben c. Thomas Allin, Jr. held
the Office (both county and circuit)
until 1856, a period of thirty six
years, and in 1859 Uncle Ben took
one of the Offices away from him.
He was succeeded in turn by Ben
c., the present county clerk, who
had been circuit clerk from 1849 to
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. Alin, q son of Ben c., who is
present circuit clerk. Ben C. was
ousted from the county clerks Office
during the war for a period of four
years, during which time tho Office
was held by DR.. S. G Abel. This
period is the only time that one or
both offices have not been in the AL
lin family, and 1866 Ben c., the
present clerk, was reelected county
clerk and has held it uninterrupted
ly ever since, period of twenty
four years. Barring the period of
four years during the war, the Office
of county clerk will have been in the
family one hundred years next Sep
tember, and the circuit court clerk
ship in the family for eighty years.
Nor is this all.
Uncle Ben had a brother Jack
who was clerk of Huntsville, Nc.
who held the Office for a number of
years, and he in turn was succeeded
by two sons. who held the Office for
long while, and still another neph-
ew, Thomas II was clerk of Kinks
vile, Mo, for three terms. Phil Al
lin, son of Uncle Ben, is circuit
clerk of Claiborne county, Tex, and
has been for three terms of 2 yea,
each. Another son, William B. was
county attorney for twelve years.
One of the most remarkable feats
of Uncle Ben's officeholding is yet to
come. At the last primary there
were 1,7O7 votes cast, of which he
got 1,706, Uncle Ben refusing to
vote for himself He is the only
man that ran for office in the county
who got the entire vote cast. He is
in his 80 year and enjoys good
health and attends to the duties of
the Office as regularly when he WAS
thirty. In 1878 he got his second
sight and now sees as we'll as he did
in his youth.
He and his wife, Susan, had born
to them eleven children, nine Of
whom grew to be men and women.
He has twenty grand children and
two great grandchildren. None OF
his children had more than two
children born to them except Bush
W.. who has twelve. 1t is proposed
that next September Mercer cele-
brate the centennial of the election
of the first of the Allins.
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 b az
been in one OF other of the offices
for over sixty-fve years. There is
not book or dead or anything else
int hat Office he cannot put his hand
on almost in the dark.
All the Alllns, from Thomas. Sr.