Willis Allen (December 15, 1806 – April 15, 1859) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and the father of

William J. Allen William Joshua Allen (June 9, 1829 – January 26, 1901), frequently known as W. J. Allen, was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. He served as a United States representative from Illinois and a United States district judge of the United ...

Born near

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

, Allen attended the common schools. He taught school. He moved to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and settled in

Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Wilson County, Kansas *Wilson County, North Carolina *Wilson County, Tennessee *Wilson County, Texas Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...

. He moved to

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

(now Williamson) County, Illinois in 1830 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

. He was sheriff of Franklin County 1834–1838. He served as member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

1838–1840. He served as prosecuting attorney of the 1st judicial circuit in 1841. He served as member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

1844–1847. He served as member of the state constitutional convention in 1847 and 1848. Allen was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1854. He resumed the practice of his profession. Allen was elected judge of the twenty-sixth circuit court of Illinois on March 2, 1859, and served until his death while holding court in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

on April 15, 1859. He was interred in a family plot near his home and later reinterred in Rose Hill Cemetery in Marion. Allen's house in Marion is still standing; it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982, qualifying because of its connection to Allen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Willis 1806 births 1859 deaths Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Marion, Illinois Illinois sheriffs Illinois state court judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges