Justin Allen was born in Hamilton, MA on September 29, 1826 to Ezekial and Sally (Roberts) Allen. Allen received the degree of medical doctor at Harvard University in 1856. He moved to Topsfield in 1857 after buying the practice of Dr. David Choate who relocated to Salem, MA that same year.
Dr. Allen served the community in many capacities. In addition to maintaining his medical practice in Topsfield until 1894, he was superintendent of schools in 1865, worked with others to establish the free town library in 1874, and served as president of the Topsfield Historical Society from its inception in 1894 until his death in 1908.
Justin Allen bequeathed the sum of $8000 to the town of Topsfield to help pay for a monument commemorating the lives of Topsfield residents who enlisted in the U.S. army in defense of the United States during the Civil War. The monument, Wounded Color Sergeant was created by sculptress Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson and dedicated July 25, 1914.
Justin Allen "...was respected by the entire community which he served for over fifty years" (Dow, 1908, p. 150).
Justin Allen (Frontispiece. The Historical Collection
of the Topsfield Historical Society, vol. 14)
Dr. Allen's grave is located in the Hamilton Cemetery, Bay Rd., Essex County, Hamilton MA.
In 1892, the house located at 3, 5 South Main Street was assessed to Dr. Justin Allen.
References
Bond, C. L. (1989). Houses and Buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts: An up-date of "The Houses and Buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts 1902" by J. H. Towne. Topsfield MA: Topsfield Historical Society. View Library Catalog record
Read online at archive.org
Dow, G. F. (1909). Justin Allen, M. D. In Topsfield Historical Society. The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, (14)148-150. Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society. View Library Catalog record
Dow, G. F. (1940). History of Topsfield Massachusetts. Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society. Reprinted 1982. View Library Catalog record
Gilbert, K. (2010). Dr. Justin Allen. Find A Grave. Retrieved from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=allen&GSfn=justin&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=21&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=52653110&df=all&
Further Reading
Allen, J. (1902). Letter to the President of the Topsfield Historical Society of 2002. Made available November 12, 2014 by the Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass.
Coffin, Amy (2013). Dr. Justin Allen's 1902 letter to be read in 100 years. Topsfield Stories, Topsfield Historical Society. Retrieved from http://www.topsfieldhistory.org/stories/.
Cutter, E. (1920). Justin Allen, M.D., an appreciation. In Topsfield Historical Society. The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, (25). Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society. Read at archive.org
Dow, G. F. (1908, 1909). The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, (13, 14). Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society. Read at archive.org
External Links
Topsfield Historical Society
Topsfield Town Library
Contents
Topsfield Times: A Community and Local History Resource
WKT
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