Representative Judson Allen

Judson Allen (April 3, 1797 – August 6, 1880) was a 19th-century American businessman and Democratic politician who served one term as a member of the United States House of Representatives for New York’s 20th congressional district. His career spanned local, state, and national office, as well as extensive business activity in several industries.

Allen was born on April 3, 1797, in Plymouth, Connecticut. He attended the public schools of Plymouth, receiving the basic education typical of the period. As a young man he entered the lumber industry in his native town, gaining early experience in commerce and trade that would shape much of his later professional life.

Seeking broader opportunities, Allen moved from Connecticut to Harpursville, in Broome County, New York. There he continued his involvement in business while beginning a parallel career in public service. From 1830 to 1839 he served as postmaster of Harpursville, an important local federal appointment that placed him at the center of communications and community affairs. During this period he also entered the legal and legislative arenas. He served as a judge of the Broome County court for eight years, exercising judicial responsibilities in a growing upstate New York community, and was elected to the New York State Assembly, serving as a member from 1836 to 1837.

Allen’s state-level experience and prominence in Broome County politics led to his election to the United States House of Representatives. In 1839 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent New York’s 20th congressional district in the Twenty-sixth Congress. He served one term in the House, from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1841. As a Democratic Party representative from New York, Allen participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American political history, contributing to debates and decisions in the national legislature and representing the interests of his constituents in the 20th district.

After completing his term in Congress, Allen did not seek or hold further federal office. Instead, he moved west to St. Louis, Missouri, which was emerging as a major commercial center in the mid-19th century. There he resumed and expanded his business pursuits, becoming actively involved in the produce, lumber, marble, and grocery trades. His activities in these fields reflected both his earlier experience in the lumber industry and the broader economic development of St. Louis as a hub of river and overland commerce.

In his personal life, Allen married Roena Badger, daughter of Lemuel Badger and Sabra Smith, in 1825. After Roena’s death on December 2, 1830, he married her sister, Sabra Badger, on June 4, 1835, a practice not uncommon in the era and one that maintained close family ties. These marriages connected him to established New England families as he built his career in New York and later in Missouri.

Judson Allen died in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 6, 1880. He was interred at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, a resting place for many of the city’s prominent citizens. His life encompassed the transition from early 19th-century New England to the expanding American West, marked by service as a local official, county judge, state legislator, and United States Representative, as well as by a long engagement in American commercial enterprise.