Allen was born in
Maine on October 22, 1818, and educated in
Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to the
American West as part of the
California Gold Rush, arriving in
Colorado City, Arizona Territory (now Yuma) in 1857. From there he moved to
Gila City to work in the placer fields before arriving in
Tucson in 1858. Upon his arrival in Tucson, Allen gave up his ambition of striking it rich by finding gold. Instead, he began baking pies with dried apples and selling them to the local townsfolk and soldiers for a
dollar a pie. Following his initial success, Allen opened stores in
Tubac and
Maricopa Wells. Additionally, he branched out into farming and ranching activities. Governor
Richard C. McCormick then appointed him Territorial Treasurer on December 31, 1867. In 1881 the 63-year-old Allen proposed marriage to a teenaged girl named Lola Tapia. The girl's mother agreed to the union on the condition she stayed in a convent. The marriage took place and Lola remained at the convent till the next year when she gave birth to a daughter. The marriage lasted until 1891 when Allen was granted a divorce on grounds of his wife's infidelity. In April 1899, Allen was suffering through the final stages of terminal cancer when his friends in Tucson decided to hold a dinner in his honor. ==References==