William Shepherd Allen (22 June 1831 – 15 January 1915) was an English

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He also worked as a farmer and served as an MP in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Biography

Allen was born at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, the son of William Allen and his wife Maria Shepherd. His father was JP for Staffordshire, residing at

Woodhead Hall Woodhead Hall is a country house at Cheadle in Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History Woodhead Hall was originally commissioned by a Mr Leigh and completed in 1720. It was acquired by William Allen, a merchant, in the 1840s and ...

, Cheadle. Allen was educated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. He graduated with a BA in law and history in 1854, and an MA in 1857. In 1869, Allen married Elizabeth Penelope Candlish, the daughter of

John Candlish John Candlish (baptism, bapt. 28 April 1816 – 17 March 1874) was a British glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Early life Candlish was born in Tarset, Northumberland, the eldest son of farmer John Candli ...

MP for

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. Their eldest son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was later MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme. Another son, Colonel Sir

Stephen Allen Stephen Allen (July 2, 1767 – July 28, 1852) was an American politician from New York. Biography Orphaned by the death of his parent(s) in the Revolutionary War, Allen grew to become a wealthy sailmaker. He was the 55th Mayor of New York ...

, (1882–1964) was a New Zealand lawyer, farmer, local body politician, and Mayor of Morrinsville. He served in World War I and in the Territorial Army, and was Administrator of the colony of Western Samoa (now

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

) 1928–31. He was a devout

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and wrote several religious papers. Allen was elected as member of parliament for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

in 1865. He held the seat until 1886. In later life he shared his time between Woodhead Hall in England and his property ''Annandale'' near Morrinsville in New Zealand. In

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

he was elected MP for Te Aroha in New Zealand, but his election was disallowed on petition by

William Fraser William Fraser may refer to: Military people *William W. Fraser (1844–1915), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient *William Archibald Kenneth Fraser (1886–1969), British army officer *William Fraser (British Army officer) ( ...

in 1891. The judges disqualified Allen from standing in the Te Aroha electorate for 12 months and he expressed disappointment that he could not contest the resulting , which was won by Fraser. Allen contested the electorate in the as an Independent, but was beaten by the incumbent,

Frank Lawry Francis "Frank" Lawry (1839 – 19 January 1921) was a conservative then Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Early life Lawry was born in Bleadon, Somerset, England, in 1839, the son of William Lawry, a farmer and Meth ...

, who represented the Liberal Party. His son, John Candlish Allen, was one of three candidates in Parnell in the , but came last with Lawry at the head of the poll. He died at Cheadle on 15 January 1915 at the age of 83 and is buried at St Giles the Abbot's Churchyard in Cheadle. His wife died in 1922.

Publications

* ''The Teaching of Christ With Respect to the Future Punishment of the Wicked'' * ''The present position of Wesleyan Methodism : the causes of its decreasing numbers, and the means which must be adopted to secure an increase''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, William Shepherd 1831 births 1915 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand farmers Politics of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme