Henry Allen (Colorado settler)
19th-century American settler / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Allen (c. 1815 – February 18, 1871) was an American pioneer and politician. He served in the United States Army before settling in Council Bluffs, where he was a postmaster. He was at the front of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, arriving in Denver of the Kansas Territory (now the state of Colorado) in October 1858. He prospected for gold and was the first official postmaster of the Pikes Peak region. As a surveyor, he helped establish Auraria, Highland, which later came part of the city of Denver. He was a founder of a company that diverted water from the South Platte River through irrigation ditches. He held the first meeting in his cabin for what became the Auraria Masonic Lodge. He was a delegate from Auraria for the first Constitutional Convention of the Jefferson Territory. Allen and his wife lived in mining towns in Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Due to poor health, Henry and Susan Allen moved to California, where Allen died in 1871.
Henry Allen | |
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Member of the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives | |
In office 1865–1866 | |
Constituency | Boise County |
Personal details | |
Born | Henry Allen c. 1815 Marlborough (Upper Marlboro), Maryland |
Died | (1871-02-18)February 18, 1871 Los Angeles, California |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Susan Benner |
Children | 2 |