Bessie Marie Allen was born in 1909 in Mt. Vernon, Missouri. She was the youngest of four children and the only girl. After graduating high school in 1927, Bessie discovered she was pregnant and her baby's father, Alton Bloser, abandoned her. She gave birth to Gene Alton Allen in 1928. By 1930, she had married Claude Gray and they had four children together: Barbara, Jerry, Sue, and Donald. Bessie came from a farming family with deep roots in Lawrence County, Missouri, dating back to the 1840s. Her mother Della's family, the Haworths, were early settlers in Tennessee with ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and Civil War

1. ALLEN FAMILY HISTORY

3. Bessie Marie Allen
1909 - 1994
Gene Barbara Sue Ann Jerry Donald

4. in Mt.
July 1909
a s bo r n 1
ie Allen w oungest o
f four
B essie Mar was the y
on, Miss ouri. She grew up in
Mt.
Vern irl. She
nd the only g school in
children a from high
aduated
ere she gr
Vernon wh 1927.
n, at age
fter graduatio
Shortly a he was
dis covered s
18, Bessie ther,
. The baby’s fa
pregnant her.
sser, a bandoned
Alton Blo ne Alton
b irth to Ge
She gave in Mt.
7M arch 1928
Allen on 2 Graduation
Vernon.
had met
B y 1930 she
Claude
an d married
r they
Gra y. Togethe
ren:
had four child
Sue,
Barba ra, Jerry,
and Don
llen
Alton A
e
Gen

5. Bessie age 16
Bessie (right) with her friend
Lois Lewis

6. Bessie’s Parents
Della Haworth Allen and Walter Allen
c. 1957
Della and Gene

7. Della & Walter
Wedding Day
28 Aug 1900

8. Walter about age 5 with his
parents Porter and Melinda and
his sisters Pearl (left) and Osie
(right)
circa 1885

9. Walter’s father William Porter Allen (he
preferred Porter) was born in 1854 on the family
farm in Lawrence County, Missouri. His
parents and grandparents settled near the
Spring River about 1840. Porter inherited some
or all of the family farm.
Sometime in the late 1880s, while Walter was
still a small boy, he and his father were working
out in the fields one day when they were
approached by two bearded men. Walter called
them “Dutchmen,” but they were more likely
immigrants from the nearby German
settlement of Freistatt. The men spoke to
Walter’s father and offered to buy his farm.
Porter named a ridiculously high price (or so he
thought). The men spoke to each other in
German, agreed to the price and pulled out a
large wad of cash.
William Porter Allen
4 May 1854 ~ 5 Dec 1908 Just like that, Porter sold the farm. After the
sale the family moved into town—Mt. Vernon,
Mo. Porter invested the money in the futures
market and lost all of it. That branch of the
family never owned property again. Porter died
5 Dec 1908. He is buried at Spanish Fort
cemetery near his parents.

10. Sampson Russell Allen
Porter’s Parents
1831 ~ 1899
Josephine Porter Johnson
1834 ~ 1895
Hon. Sampson Russell ALLEN. Among the successful and enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Mount Vernon Township, Lawrence Co., Mo., and who has
made a name in the county's history, is Hon. Sampson R. Allen, who was born in DeKalb County (now Smith County), Tenn., November 1, 1831, and is the son
of Thomas and Elizabeth (DOUGHERTY) Allen. The father, who was a farmer and stock raiser, settled on Spring River, Lawrence Co., Mo., in 1840, and carried
on his professional work until 1884, when he died, lacking a few days of being ninety-three years of age. The mother has been deceased many years. The
grandfather on the Allen side was a native of North Carolina, and served in the Revolutionary War. Sampson Russell Allen was the seventh child and the fifth son
of eight children born to his parents. He reached his majority in Lawrence County, and in the spring of 1849 joined an elder brother, M. F. ALLEN, and others in
an overland trip to California, driving an ox team, and spending six months on the way. He remained two years in California, and then returned to his home in
Missouri, where he engaged in farming. In 1854 he purchased land and engaged in farming and stock raising. He here married Miss Josephine Porter JOHNSON,
a daughter of James and Sarah (DAVIDSON) JOHNSON, the former a native of the Old Dominion, and the latter of old Tennessee stock. To Mr. and Mrs. Allen
were born eight children: William Porter, Elmira E. (wife of W. H. GIBSON), John D., Sarah E. (wife of W. M. LEE), S. R., James, Charles, and Homer L. Mr.
and Mrs. Allen worship at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. During the late war our subject enlisted in the service of the State Militia, and served in
Company B, Seventy-sixth Regiment. He was afterward commissioned second lieutenant of Company D, Forty-sixth Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Infantry,
and rendered active service until the close of the war. He was a war Democrat in his political views, and an original member of the Grange. In 1874-75 he was
elected to represent Lawrence County in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly of the State of Missouri. He has served on the school board of his district and has
about 600 acres of land in one tract. He pays considerable attention to the raising of blooded stock, especially Short-horn cattle. Mr. Allen is independent in
religion and politics.
~from Goodspeed’s History of Lawrence County

11. The Allen family were among the early settlers, and
one of the most prominent families in Lawrence
County. Thomas Allen was born in Rockingham
County, N. C., September 15, 1790, and there lived for
many years. He then moved to East Tennessee, settling
there when the Indians were so hostile that the settlers
were obliged to live in forts. Mr. Allen moved to
Lawrence County, Mo., in 1840, and his eldest brother
served in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Allen and two
brothers were in the Creek War, and his eldest brother
was wounded in the battle of Camp Lookout. Mr. Allen
was the father of a large family. Several members of
the same are now living in this county, and are much
respected. A few years ago they were all together at a
big family dinner. There were 119 children,
grandchildren and great- grandchildren. Then by
including his own children, the sons- and daughters-in-
law, the husbands and wifes {sic} of his grandchildren,
the number ran up to over 150. They formed a
procession which was a sight worth seeing, and which
will probably never be seen again.
Thomas Allen -from Goodspeed’s History of Lawrence County
1790-1883
father of Sampson R. Allen

12. Della Haworth’s family circa 1886 at the family farm near
Mirable, Missouri
Della is seated, second from the left.
John Leonard Haworth
1848 ~ 1907
Della’s mother,
Sarah Orilla Hodges Haworth
1846 ~ 1929

13. Haworth Family
lly from
uaker s, origina to
orth fam ily were Q sylvania and then
The Haw Penn
om igrated to ard and A
nn
England,
wh 0 Rich na
roli na. About 179 rom North Caroli
North Ca d their fa
mily f
r to Tenn
essee.
move Rive
Haworth th e Holston n in
via flat b oats down anks of the Holsto ers of
the b emb
They s ettled on were f ounding m , which is
rson Co unty and riends Ch
urch rgia
Jeffe reek F Geo
ch, Lost C at Resaca,
their chu
r
w Market
, TN. John Battlefield
ting in Ne , Dell a’s father
still opera Civil War David an
d Isaac
tbre ak of the illiam,
At the ou others W isk of
an d his br e Infa ntr y. At r
Haworth e 3rd Tennesse rate army
, the
enlisted i
n th onfede home,
ed i nto the C om their
being con
script veled fr
ers se cretly tra Lick,
Hawo rth broth G ap to Flat tion.
he Cu mberland st recr uiting sta
through t the neare the
wh ich was thers fought in
Kentucky 64 a ll four bro eldest, Capt. Willi
am
4, 18
On May 1 Georgia.
The
three bro
thers
Re saca e other
Battle of illed. Th war,
t h was k After the
C. Hawor d in the b
attle. 0, the
were all wounde er’s de ath in 187
their fath ssouri
fter C ounty Mi
possibly a rated to Caldwell r lives.
brother s mig aind er of thei
y liv ed the rem
where the

14. Haworth Homestead
Haworth Bend
near New Market, TN
Haworth Road which ran in front of the
original home site and family cemetery.
Looking across the Holston River from the Haworth homestead. The
land was located on a bend in the river, surrounded by it on three sides.

15. Lost Creek Church
Richard and Ann Haworth were founding
members. The original church building was
burned during the Civil War but was rebuilt
using some of the original timbers. The
adjacent cemetery was also mostly
destroyed but a small corner has standing
headstones. The church is still operating
and holding services.

16. Families
are
Forever