Born in
Sinclairville,
Chautauqua County, New York, Allen was educated in the village school, until the end of his formal education in 1862. Thereafter self-taught, he studied civil engineering, and then read law with Hon. Obed Edson to gain
admission to the bar in
Buffalo on May 5, 1869. Allen moved first to Missouri, and then moved to
Pleasanton, Kansas, as of February 1, 1870. He practiced law there for twenty years, until 1990. ==Judicial service==