Charles Allen (Massachusetts politician)

Not to be confused with Charles Herbert Allen.

Charles Allen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district
In office March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by	Charles Hudson
Succeeded by	William Appleton
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1830 1833 1835 1840
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1836-1837
Personal details
Born	August 9, 1797 Worcester, Massachusetts
Died	August 6, 1869 (aged 71) Worcester, Massachusetts
Political party	Free Soil Republican
Alma mater	Yale University

Charles Allen (August 9, 1797 – August 6, 1869) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts.

He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 9, 1797, the son Joseph Allen and grandnephew of Samuel Adams). Allen attended Leicester Academy (1809–1811) and Yale College (1811–1812) and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1818 and commenced practice in New Braintree. He returned to Worcester in 1824 and continued the practice of law. In 1827 he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.

Allen was a Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1830, 1833, 1835, and 1840); he served in the Massachusetts State Senate (1836–1837). He was a member of the Northeastern Boundary Commission in 1842; a judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1842–1845) and a delegate to the Whig National Convention at Philadelphia in 1848. He was elected as the Free-Soil Party candidate to Congress (March 4, 1849 - March 3, 1853) and did not seek renomination in 1852. In 1849 he edited the Boston " Whig," afterward called the "Republican."

After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Worcester. He was a member of the state's constitutional convention in 1853. He was Chief Justice of the Sufolk County Superior Court (1859–1867).

He was a delegate to the peace convention held at Washington, D.C. in 1861, in an effort to devise a means to prevent the impending Civil War.

Charles Allen died in Worcester on August 6, 1869. He was interred in the Rural Cemetery.

The home on which he began construction, the Charles Allen House, was completed by his descendants and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

See also

• Charles Allen House (Worcester, Massachusetts)

Sources

• United States Congress. "Charles Allen (id: A000115)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Charles Allen at Find-A-Grave