Sorting Out the Ralph Allens
by Katrina Haney
This is a Prime example of why genealogical data needs to be verified.
I am in the process of sorting out the two Ralph Allens who coexisted in Sandwich during the Pilgrim period. Much of the information written even in esteemed genealogical journals has mixed up information for the two of them. Therefore the information below is most likely not totally accurate. I am leaving it for now until I get it sorted out.
In general, here is what is now known:
During a short span of time, two Ralph Allens resided in sandwich, and both of them became involved, with the Quaker movement, along with other members of the Allen family.
The Ralph who was the son of George was the one designated at Ralph Sr. in the records, and was the second one to come to Sandwich.
The Ralph who was NOT the son of George was residing in Sandwich first, and had children born there named Jedediah, Experience and Ephraim. Before the arrival of Ralph Sr. to Sandwich, he was just named Ralph Allen in the records, and became Ralph Jr. after the arrival of the other Ralph to the town.
Justification for assigning Ralph Sr. as the son of George:
Prior to their both living there, one Ralph was residing at Sandwich and the other was residing at Rehoboth. Before moving to Rehoboth, however, one Ralph sold thirty acres of land at Weymouth, 22 acres of which originally belonged to George Allen.
The Ralph Allen who was at Sandwich first had a son named Jedediah born there in January 1646/47. The other Ralph was still at Rehoboth where he received a division of the New Meadow in February 1646/47. So based on this alone, the Ralph who sold a piece of land at Weymouth that belonged to George originally, and was living at Rehoboth in 1646/47, was not the Ralph who was the father of Jedediah.
The Ralph who was the father of Jedediah was also found to have had children born at Sandwich named Experience and Ephraim in 1651 and 1656, respectively. This Ralph is also listed as being a mason by trade. This Ralph Allen died in about 1662/1663 as abstracted from Jedediah’s bible. He was married to Esther Swift.
The other Ralph Allen, who moved from Rehoboth to Sandwich, died in 1698 and left a will naming all of his children. No Jedediah, no Experience, and no Ephraim were named. This Ralph did have a daughter named Mary, however, who died young in 1675. This Ralph was referred to as Ralph, Sr. in the burial record. He was also referred to in other records as being a planter and wheelwright by trade. In his will he also mentions his brother William, who is a known son of George Allen.
Although the suffix Sr. and Jr. were found in a number of cases in the records involving the two Ralphs, the definitive use of the suffix Sr. was with the Ralph Allen, who was a planter, and who died in 1698.
The other Ralph, who was a mason by trade, was married to Esther Swift, and was the father of your Jedediah, may very well be related to George Allen somehow, but not his son. He could easily be a nephew or cousin, however.
Information on the two John Allens
There is also some confusion regarding which John Allen was the son of George, as there was a John at Sandwich, and another at Rehoboth. Circumstantial points more reasonably to the one at Rehoboth being the son of George.
Prior to George and his wife and young sons arriving in the colony, there was both a Ralph Allen and a John Allen. After George went to Sandwich, 22 acres of land sold by Ralph Allen were part of 30 acres of land originally owned by George just before he moved from Weymouth. The other 8 acres were held by John Allen. Ralph and John’s lands were both owned by George before his moving to Sandwich and were located at Westerneck. When Ralph moved to Rehoboth, John moved there with him.
At the time the name John Allen began to show up in the records for Sandwich, Ralph’s son John was old enough to be a young adult, and this was most likely the one in the Sandwich records.
Robert Allen as the son of George:
The Plymouth Colony records indicate that Robert Allen committed suicide in the home of his brother John at Rehoboth, and Robert still owned cattle in Sandwich at the time of his death. If the John in Rehoboth is the son of George, then so is Robert. The Ralph, John, and Robert who were at Rehoboth at the time were then most likely the sons of George.
I will write this information up in a story format as soon as I feel I have all the information there is to get. If you have anything to add, please contact or leave a comment.
(My unending gratitude is extended to Jack MacDonald for having already performed all this research, and helping me sort out my Ralphs. His excellent web page on the Allen Genealogy can be found here.)
Katrina Haney is a Family Historian, Freelance Writer and a Digital Scrapbook Artist who pursues all her passions at GenScraps, where you can find scraps of genealogical wisdom, and information on scrapping your family history, as well as digital products to be used to make your own Family History and Genealogical Scrapbooks. These digital designs can also be used in Ancestry’s book printing section.
If you would like to use this article on your Allen family pages, permission is granted. A link back would be appreciated.
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