Miner Jesse Allen

As printed in 1908

MINER JESSE ALLEN, prominently identified with the American Cereal Company, is one of Akron's substantial citizens whose large interests make him a notable factor in its Vmsiness life. Mr. Allen was born November 11, 1829, in Coventry Township, Sunnnit County, Ohio, and is a son of Levi and Phebe (Spicer) Allen.

Jesse Allen, the paternal grandfather of Miner J., was born in 1770, in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and came to Ohio in 1811, purchasing a large tract of wild land in Coventry Township, Summit County. He reared a family of ten children. The maternal grandfather, Major Miner Spicer, was also a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut, and came on horseback to Summit County, Ohio, in 1810, buying 260 acres of land in what is now Portage Township. He settled here with his family in 1811. During the War of 1812 he served as a major of militia. Major Spicer married Cynthia Allyn, who traced her ancestry back to Lieutenant Governor Jones, who was the first governor of the New Haven Colony.

Levi Allen was born February 10, 1799, in Tompkins County, New York, and was the second child of his parents. He was twelve years of age when he walked from there to Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, driving the cattle and sheep with which his father proposed to stock the new farm. He assisted in clearing and developing the land until his majority, when he purchased land for himself on which he resided until 1868. He then retired to Akron, where he died May 11, 1887. On December 10, 1823, he was married to Phebe Spicer, who was a daughter of Major Miner and Cynthia (Allyn) Spicer, and they had the following children: Levi, Miner S., Albert, Miner J., Walter S. and Cynthia. Mrs. Levi Allen died January 10,

Miner J. Allen, the direct subject of this sketch, was engaged in farming in Coventry Township, where he was reared and educated, until 1867, Avhen he came to Akron to assume the duties of local, and also traveling, grain buyer for the firm of Commins & Allen. In 1884 he invested in a one-fifth interest in the Akron Milling Company, which was merged two years later into the F. Schumacher Milling Company. Later this organization was merged into the American Cereal Company, and Mr. Allen is still connected with this great corporation, being one of its directors.

Mr. Allen was married June 1, 1876, to Frances C. De Wolf, a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (King) De Wolf, of Trumbull County, Ohio. Mrs. Allen's grandparents were Joseph and Sarah (Gibbons) De Wolf, the former of whom was a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Allen can trace a clear ancestral line to early colonial days, members of her family residing at Wethersfield, Connecticut, as early as 1664. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have five children, namely: Albert Mark, Miner W., Margaret P., Christine C, and Frances De Wolf. The family home is at No. 30 Howery Street. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members of the First Disciples' Church at Akron. They have always evinced a deep interest in educational matters, and Mrs. Allen was one of the first two ladies to be elected a member of the Akron Board of Education. In earlier years Mr. Allen was interested in politics, but since taking up his residence at Akron he has been too closely engaged in business to give much time to political affairs. His public spirit, however, has often been proved and he stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens.

As printed in Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens (1908). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.