William C. Allen

William Cheney Allen (February 2, 1814 – January 12, 1887) was an American lawyer, businessman, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the earliest American settlers at what is now Delavan, Wisconsin, and represented that area of Walworth County as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1866 and 1867 sessions. He was also the county judge of Walworth County for 10 years in the 1840s and 1850s.

Early life and education William C. Allen was born in Hoosick, in Rensselaer County, New York, in February 1814. He was raised and worked on his father's farm until age 16, but then had to look for work to raise funds for his own education. He went to work as a farm hand for a neighbor named "Wheeler", and was also invited to study in the extensive library of his well-educated neighbor. He continued to work in the Summer months for Wheeler, utilizing his library, and attended select school courses in the Fall and Winter months. He then attended an academy in Jefferson, New York, for two and a half years.

In the meantime, he had become involved in several business ventures in the region. He was one of the founders of the Walworth County Bank in 1850, and remained associated with the bank until its dissolution and re-incorporation under the new banking law in 1863. He was also one of the incorporators of the "Western Union Railroad" also known as the "Racine, Janesville, and Mississippi Railroad". He resigned his judicial office in 1856 with nearly two years left in his term in order to devote all of his energy to the construction of the railroad. He served for three years, but was forced to resign in 1874 due to poor health.

Personal life and family William C. Allen was a son of Jacob and Lucy ( Cheney) Allen. Both parents were of English ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Allen, was a soldier in the New Hampshire militia during the American Revolutionary War.