James C. Allen

James Cameron Allen (January 29, 1822 – January 30, 1912) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.

Born in Shelby County, Kentucky to Benjamin and Margaret (née Youel) Allen, the seventh of ten children. His family moved to Parke County, Indiana in 1830.

Allen read law in the office of Howard & Wright in Rockville, Indiana, and in August, 1843, he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in Sullivan, Indiana. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Illinois Governor in 1860, losing to Richard Yates.

In 1861 Governor Yates offered Allen the command of the 21st Illinois Infantry Regiment. Allen declined, claiming no military experiences and recommended that the command be offered to Ulysses S. Grant.

Allen was elected circuit court judge in April 1861 and served until he resigned in 1863 to serve a second term in Congress during the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864, losing to Shelbyville, Illinois state legislator Samuel W. Moulton. He returned to Illinois to practice law.

He was reelected circuit court judge in 1873 and upon the establishment of the appellate court was appointed its judge, occupying both positions and serving from 1873 to 1879.

Private life

Allen married Ellen Kitchell on January 22, 1845, to Ellen Kitchell, the daughter of Joseph Kitchell. They had three children. Ellen Allen died in May, 1852. In June, 1857, Allen married Julia Kitchell, the daughter of Harvey Kitchell. He had seven more children with his second wife.

He moved to Olney, Illinois, in 1876 and practiced law until he retired in 1907.

He died in Olney on January 30, 1912, the day after his 90th birthday, and is buried in Olney Cemetery.