Individual Notes
Note for: James R Allen, 1829 -
Index
Individual Note: 1870 census conducted on the 11th day of July, 1870 of the 4th Ward of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois:
James R. Allen Age 40 / Male/ White Hardware Dealer Born: New Jersey
Mary E. Age 36 /Female/White Keeping House Born: Indiana
Minnie M. Age 8 / Female /White At Home Illinois
Lizzie B. Age 4 /Female /White At Home Michigan
1880 census of Florida - Surname misspelled as "Alin" and cenus image incorrect in Ancestry.com listing.
James ALIN Self M Male W 47 NJ Farming NJ NJ
Mary ALIN Wife M Female W 42 IN Keeping House VA ---
Minnie ALIN Dau S Female W 19 IL --- ---
Lila ALIN Dau Female W 15 MI --- ---
Source Information:
Census Place Precinct 1, Sumter, Florida
Family History Library Film 1254132
NA Film Number T9-0132
Page Number 241D
Orange grower in 1885 census of Florida, in Lanier, near Leesburg, Sumter (later Lake) County. May have been Lilly and Minnie's stepfather, as their father is listed as being born in England, and James shown as born in NewJersey.
Lanier Post Office was othertimes named Thomas, Lake Griffin, Silverton, and Orange Bend.
In the late 1880’s, Col. Thomas C. Lanier came down the Oklawaha River to Lake Griffin in search of fortune. He purchased this land from Hubbard L. Hart, owner of both the Hart Steamship Line and a substantial tract of land south of Treasure Island. Its proximity to the soon to be built rail line from Leesburg to Altoona made it the ideal location for homesteaders to settle and plant citrus. In 1886, the infant town of Lanier was born and grew to feature a steamship dock, railroad depot, freight office, and a post office. After the twin freezes of 1894 and 1895 devastated citrus crops, both the town and the rail line disappeared. A century later all that remained was the rail bed and a plat map recorded in the Sumter County archives (Lake County did not exist until 1887). Lanier Glen is the rebirth of Col. Lanier’s town. Its clay roads are laid out as originally platted and canopied by overhanging oaks and towering pines. Of the 22 lots we originally laid out, only a few remain. Come be a part of Col. Lanier’s vision and own a piece of Florida history.
Wording from the original sales brochure:
Situated Five miles from Leesburg. Offers Special Inducements of the new extension of the Florida Southern Railway to the Settlers as Follows:
Large bodies of the richest drained prairie Land bordering Lake Griffin. Best possible track farming insuring great crops and freedom from drought. The new town and station are situated on healthful high pine land adjoining the great famous hammocks and wild budded orange groves which have made the place a center of wealth and wealthy men.
Col. Thomas C. Lanier 1866