Maj Gen Francis M. Allen
1875 – 1941
USAR
WWI
Francis Muir Allen was born January 1, 1875, in St. Louis, to James H. and Emma B. Kolze Allen.
By 1880, the family was farming in Ela Township.
On June 6, 1900, Allen married Isabel Crawford in Chicago, but they lived apart by 1910, and he married Genevieve (unknown) in 1917.
Allen’s military career spanned nearly four decades. In 1903, Allen enlisted as a Private in the First Regiment Infantry, rising quickly through the non-commissioned ranks, becoming a First Lieutenant in 1908. The “Dandy First” Regiment helped push Pancho Villa south of the U.S. border during the Mexican Revolution, and Allen was there in 1916 as a Captain. He later served in World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces in France with this regiment, where he took part in three of the largest and bloodiest battles – the Somme Offensive and Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Battle of Verdun. Returning as a Major in 1919, Allen continued in his service in the National Guard. In 1938, he was promoted to Major General of the National Guard 66th Infantry Brigade.
Allen was also a businessman, working in paint and oil-based manufacturing, eventually owning a putty manufacturing company.
Major General Francis M. Allen died July 28, 1941 in River Forest. He is buried with family members in Barrington’s Evergreen Cemetery.
-----
Remember. Honor. Teach.
Courtesy of Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution