Daniel Allen was born 1634 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts to Walter Allen (1601-1681) and Rebecca Ward (1601-1678) and died 1705 Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts of unspecified causes. He married Mary Wilder (c1634-) 1658 in Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
Biography
According to the book, "The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725," page 298 (see https://archive.org/details/earlyrecordslan00masgoog), Mary Wilder married Daniel Allen, a cooper in Charlestown, "and upon a gift of forty acres of land from her father, they came to Lancaster, bringing children born in Charlestown and Watertown, but after some years' residence ...returned to Watertown." I am not sure this statement about bringing younger children with her is correct - from what I can tell, the 3 children born before moving to Lancaster all died before the move.
Regardless, while in Lancaster their early records show the birth of three additional children: (p. 315) Samuell Allin 17 (2) 1664 of Daniell and Marie (Wilder) (p. 316) Elnathan Allen 7 (11) 1666 of Daniel and Mary (p. 316) Thomas Allen Feb. 20, 1669 of Daniel and Mary
Lancaster was the site of a smaller Indian attack in 1675 when 8 people were killed, and a much larger attack in February, 1676, when upwards of 55 people were slain or captured. The city was abandoned, burned to the ground, and uninhabited for 3 about years. It looks like Mary and Daniel left town before these attacks, not to return. Daniel was gifted land from his father in 1673 in Watertown, and they moved then or a little before to Watertown.
Date of Death
After their removal to Watertown, there was a death date recorded for Daniel in Lancaster records: (p. 326) Daniel Allen in Watertown, March 1694.
I was confused by this death date and place for Daniel. I have seen numerous reports that Daniel died not in Watertown but in Sudbury, and not in 1694 but in 1705 when on 7 Apr. 1705 his son Elnathan Allen was named administrator of his estate. Then I found the book, "Walter Allen of Newbury, Mass., 1640, and some of his descendants : with a few notes on the Allen family in general..." which can be found online here: https://archive.org/details/walterallenofnew00bent. According to the author, "Savage must be in error when he says [Daniel] died March 7, 1694. There was a Dr. Daniel Allen of Boston, who died May 7, 1694, and they were evidently confused. Bond says 1706, but that was a slip of the pen most likely."
Purported Marriage to Mary Sherman
However, while this book helps to clear up one potential problem, it helps to either create or perpetuate an entirely separate one. This book lists Daniel's wife as Mary Sherman, who is a real person and did live during this time. For some more information on why the author of this book about Daniel's father might have mistaken his first wife for Mary Sherman, please see this website: http://catnip13.tripod.com/Allen.html. I like how this website explains: "Some genealogists have stated that Mary Allen, wife of Daniel was the daughter of John Sherman of Watertown, MA, who in his will named his daughter Mary Allen. Mary (Sherman) Allen was the wife of Lewis Allen of Watertown, who was her second husband. She married (1) at Watertown Henry Freeman on 27 Nov. 1656.34 He died at Watertown 12 Nov. 1672 and sometime after this date she married Lewis ALLEN. Mary (Sherman) Allen died in Watertown 15 July 1703."
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Daniel Allen (1659-1662) | |||
| Rebecca Allen (1660-1660) | |||
| Mary Allen (1662-1662) | |||
| Samuel Allen (1664-1745) | |||
| Elnathan Allen (1666-1735) | 7 January 1666 Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts | 1 October 1735 Shrewsbury, Worcester County, Massachusetts | Mercy Rice (1670-1727) |
| Thomas Allen (1669-1671) | |||
| Abigail Allen (1672-) | |||
| Ebenezer Allen (1674-1770) | |||
| Elizabeth Allen (1679-) | |||
| Lydia Allen (1680-) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| John Allen (1631-1711) | 1631 England | 1 December 1711 Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | Sarah Ann Smith (1640-1674) Mary Parmenter (1644-1727) |
| Daniel Allen (1635-1706) | 1634 Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | 1705 Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | Mary Wilder (c1634-) |
| Joseph Allen (1638-1721) | |||
| Benjamin Allen (1647-1678) | |||
| Abigail Allen (1641-) | |||
Residences
References
- Bent, Allen Herbert. Walter Allen of Newbury, Mass., 1640, and some of his descendants: with a few notes on the Allen family in general, 4. Daniel Allen, s/o Walter, first two children in Charlestown, then Watertown, to Lancaster about 1661, back to Watertown around 1670, last years in Sudbury. Son Elnathan settled his estate in April 1705.
- Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862), 1:29.
- Allen, Daniel, Charlestown, s. of Walter of the same, perhaps b. in Eng. but not prob. by w. Mary, d. of Rev. John Sherman by his first w. had David, b. 1 July 1659; Rebecca, 15 Jan 1661, d. in 10 days; rem. to Watertown, and had, Mary, 1662; rem. to Lancaster, there had Samuel, 17 Apr 1664; and Elnathan, 11 Feb. 1666; again rem. to W[atertown] and had Abigail; Thomas, 1670, wh. d. next yr.; Ebenezer 26 Dec. 1674; Eliz. and Lydia. He may be that gent. nam. in an order of President Dudley's Counc. 8 Dec 1686, relat. to Secretary's rec. See 3 Mass. Hist. Coll. VII. 162. He d. 7 Mar. 1694, and his neighb. Lawrence Hammond, highly extols his charact. in the Diary. Bond, wo. must be in error, as to his d. at Sudbury 1706, says, his s. David serv. in the expedit. to Canada, and d. 17 Oct 1711; that Abigail m. Moses Palmer of Stonington; and Eliz. m. Joseph Fletcher. One David, not his s. d. at Portsmouth, R.I. 10 Feb. 1685, aged 17.
- [Note: ironically Savage says Bond made a mistake in placing the death at Sudbury 1706, but BentS1 believes Savage made the mistake about the death date 7 Mar 1694, mistaking the death of Dr. Daniel Allen of Boston (husband of Mariana) for the death of this Daniel Allen [Bent: 'His last years were passed in Sudbury, probably with his son Elnathan, and in Sudbury he died early in 1705, presumably, for his son Elnathan settled his estate in April, 1705. Savage must be in error when he says he died March 7, 1694. There was a Dr. Daniel Allen of Boston, who died May 7, 1694, and they were evidently confused.']. There is a death listed in Lancaster records, p. 20: "Daniel Allen, at Watertown, March 7, 1694" which doesn't identify to which Daniel Allen it refers. The diary referred to by Savage, kept by Lawrence Hammond, p. 25, mentions the death of "Dr Daniel Allen" on 7 May 1694, and the burial of "Dr Allen" on 9 May. (Further messing up, Savage says about Dr. Daniel Allen that he was "chos. rep. Sept. 1693, and d. 7 Nov. foll.", i.e., 7 Nov 1693, but goes on to say that his will was dated 17 Nov, and he had a codicil dated 22 Nov!) Regardless of what the correct date is, it seems clear we cannot rely on Savage in this case.
- In addition to this confusion over death dates, Savage makes the common error that most older genealogies make, in erroneously matching this Daniel Allen with Mary Sherman instead of Mary Wilder (see note elsewhereN2).]
- Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Probate records 1648--1924. (Middlesex County, MA: Massachusetts Probate Court), FHL film 0386001 Middlesex Probate File 305: "Daniel Allen 1705".
- 23 Apr 1705: bond of Elnathan Allen, sureties John Allen and Ebenezer Allen of Stoningtown, "admitted adm'r of all and singlular the Goods &c of Daniel Allen father of the s'd Elnathan dec'd Intestate"
- 21 Apr 1705: "Inventory of the Estate of Daniell Allen Deceased" by Thomas Drury, Jonathan Rice. Sworn to by Elnathan Allen 23 Apr 1705. [no real estate listed]
- Following BentS1, who appears to have based his birth order on relative marriage dates, Daniel is assumed to be the second son. The birth of the eldest son is estimated about 1631, which makes Daniel probably about 1633. The earliest documented evidence of Walter Allen in New England is 1640 so he was probably born in England.
- BentS1, says Daniel m. abt. 1658 Mary, d/o Rev. John Sherman and that "it has been stated that Daniel was married again, about 1664, to Mary, daughter of Thomas Wilder of Lancaster, but this is evidently an error, for his wife Mary receives a bequest, in 1685, from the estate of her father, Rev. John Sherman." Most older genealogies are also misled by Rev. Sherman's bequest into pairing Mary Sherman with Daniel Allen including SavageS2, Bond, and others.
- Bent is right that the marriages he outlined are indeed an error, but the solution is not as Bent perceives it, and he himself helps to find the solution. In an article in Source:NEHGR, "Lewis Allen of Watertown Farms and His Descendants" by Bent, p. 54:396 (1900, 4 years after the Walter Allen book was published), he describes a deed dated 1665 by Henry Freeman and confirmed 6 Dec 1677 by "Mary Freeman alias Allin, with ye consent of Lewis Allen my husband", thus identifying another Mary Allin living in Watertown at the time of Rev. John Sherman's will. Further, the marriage of Henry Freeman to Mary Sherman is recorded in Watertown in 1656, showing her maiden name was Sherman.
- In addition, some information from Source:Nourse, Henry Stedman. Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1725, p. 298, shows that the Mary Allin in Rev. John Sherman's will could not have referred to Daniel's wife: "Thomas Wilder's daughter Mary married Daniel Allen, a cooper in Charlestown, and upon a gift of forty acres of land from her father, they came to Lancaster, bring children born in Charlestown and Watertown, but after some years' residence here, returned to Watertown." This deed of gift establishes that Daniel Allen's wife was Mary Wilder, not Mary Sherman.