Lt. Pickering Dodge Allen

Lt. Allen was born on May 20, 1838 in Salem, MA to John Fiske Allen, a horticulturalist known for his work with grapes, and Lucy Pickering Dodge. His mother died of consumption (tuberculosis) in Richmond, VA in 1840. In 1842 his father married Mary Hodges Cleveland. Lt. Allen had three sisters and one brother: Lucy, George Cleveland, Marion Cleveland, and Elizabeth Cleveland. The oldest two died in infancy.

From 1859-1861 Pickering Dodge Allen went on a world tour as many young men of means did during that time period. He cut his travels short in order to serve the Union during the US Civil War, and joined in October of 1861.

In his passport application Pickering Dodge Allen is given as being 6 feet 1/2 inches tall and having grey eyes, light brown hair, and a light complexion.

He helped raise 30 men to form an unattached Calvary unit under General Benjamin Butler, and was commissioned Lieutenant of that unit. In 1882 he became an Aide-de-Camp for General Godfrey Weitzel.

In early June 1863 he was wounded near Brashear City, LA, and succumbed to those wounds on June 2 or 3 at a field hospital. His body was brought back for burial in the family lot at Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem, MA.

Lt. Allen left most of his estate to his father, but gave a large portion of it to his surviving sisters.