DescriptionJohn Allen was born in Augusta County, Virginia in 1796, son of James Allen Jr. and Elizabeth Tate. He married Polly Crawford (1798-1819) in 1815, and remarried Ann Isabella (Barry) McCue in 1821. He moved to New York and later settled in Michigan. Descendants live in Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin. John Allen was described in a 1906 Washtenaw County history as, "a man of exceedingly hopeful disposition." In similar language, Orlando Stephenson, in his 1927 history of Ann Arbor called him a "man of dreams." Some of his dreams were more successful than others. He was early recognized as a co-founder and driving force behind the settlement at Ann Arbor. Allen was also involved in many other Michigan settlements including Mason in Van Buren County (which later became Lawrence), Spring Arbor, South Haven, Grand Haven and Richmond in Allegan County.