William Francis Allen (September 5, 1830December 9, 1889) was an American classical scholar and an editor of the first book of American slave songs, '' Slave Songs of the United States.'' Allen was born in

Northborough, Massachusetts Northborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The official spelling of the town's name is "Northborough," but the alternative spelling "Northboro" is also used. The population was 15,741 at the 2020 census. History ...

in 1830, the son of Joseph Allen. He graduated

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1851; later he traveled and studied in Europe. A Unitarian, he considered the ministry before deciding to pursue a literary and scholarly career. In 1856, he became assistant principal at the West Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, headed by his cousin Nathaniel Topliff Allen. In 1862 he married a former student of the Allen School, Mary Tileston Lambert, daughter of Rev Henry and Catherine Porter Lambert, from West Newton. In 1863–4, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, William and his wife Mary ran a school for newly emancipated slaves on the Sea Islands of South Carolina. His detailed journals about their this experience were published in ''A Yankee Scholar in Coastal South Carolina: William Allen's Civil War Journals''. In 1864 and 1865, he worked as a sanitary agent among black war refugees in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. He returned to the Lambert family home in West Newton, MA in 1865 in time for the birth of their daughter Katherine, followed by the death of his wife Mary one month later. After the war, he taught at

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

, and in 1867, he became professor of ancient languages and history (afterwards

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

language and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

history) at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. His daughter Katherine Lambert Allen joined him and his new family in Wisconsin: she later earned a bachelor's degree (1887) and PhD (1898) and became an instructor at the university. Allen was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1888.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> He died in December 1889. He wrote prolifically for journals and magazines. His contributions to classical studies chiefly consist of schoolbooks published in the Allen (his brother Joseph Henry Allen) and Greenough series. The ''Slave Songs of the United States'' (1867), of which he was joint-editor with

Charles Pickard Ware Charles Pickard Ware (1840–1921), was an American educator and music transcriber. An abolitionist, he served as a civilian administrator in the Union Army, where he was a labor superintendent of freedmen on plantations at Port Royal, South Carolin ...

and

Lucy McKim Garrison Lucy McKim Garrison (October 30, 1842 – May 11, 1877) was an American song collector and co-editor of ''Slave Songs of the United States'', together with William Francis Allen and Charles Pickard Ware. Early life Lucy was born in Philadelphia, ...

, was inspired by his work among the freedmen and the first book of its kind ever published.

References

*Gerald Robbins, "William F. Allen: Classical Scholar Among the Slaves," History of Education Quarterly, 5:4 (Dec 1965), 211–223.

External links

* * *
Slave Songs of the United States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, William Francis 1830 births 1889 deaths Harvard College alumni People from Northborough, Massachusetts University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty American Unitarians Members of the American Antiquarian Society Antioch College faculty