Andrew Allen (96)

Andrew Allen (June 1740–7 March 1825) was a lawyer and public official, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born in Philadelphia, the second son of Chief Justice (and APS member) William Allen, he completed his coursework at the College of Philadelphia in 1758 before traveling to England to study law. Upon his return to Philadelphia he launched a successful legal practice and in 1765 was admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, He then assumed a slew of public offices, including attorney-general, member of the Governor’s Council, and Recorder of Philadelphia. In addition to the APS, Allen was involved in a number of Philadelphia institutions: he was a trustee of the Academy at Newark, Delaware, and the College of Philadelphia and a subscriber to the Silk Society and City Tavern. While he was a moderate supporter of colonial resistance to imperial taxation, he chiefly promoted reconciliation with Britain. Leading up to the American Revolution, he held a number of positions that speak to patriot leaders’ confidence in his abilities, including serving as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1775. By 1776, he had ceased attending Congress, which aroused suspicion of disloyalty. Having left Philadelphia alongside evacuating British forces in 1778, Allen felt that exile was his only option and removed to England. Encouraged by a pardon from Pennsylvania’s governor, he briefly returned to Philadelphia in 1793 to attend the marriage of his daughter. But he would spend the remainder of his life in England trying to recover his property in America while living on a government pension. In addition to his father, his brothers James and John Allen, uncle James Hamilton, and brother-in-law John Penn were also APS members. (PI, DAB)