| William Vincent Allen | |
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| United States Senator from Nebraska |
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| In office March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1899 December 13, 1899 – March 28, 1901 |
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| Preceded by | Algernon S. Paddock (1893) Monroe L. Hayward (1899) |
| Succeeded by | Monroe L. Hayward (1899) Charles H. Dietrich (1901) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 28, 1847 Midway, Ohio |
| Died | January 12, 1924 (aged 76) Los Angeles, California |
| Resting place | Crown Hill Cemetery Madison, Nebraska |
| Political party | Populist |
| Occupation | Attorney, Judge |
William Vincent Allen (January 28, 1847 – January 12, 1924) was a jurist and twice a U.S. Senator from Nebraska.
Contents |
Biography [edit]
Allen was born in Midway, Ohio. He moved with his parents to Iowa in 1857, where he attended the common schools and Upper Iowa University at Fayette, Iowa. He served as a private with the 32nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War; he then studied law at West Union, Iowa and was admitted to the bar in 1869. Allen practiced in Iowa until 1884, when he moved to Madison, Nebraska. He served as judge of the district court of the ninth judicial district of Nebraska from 1891-1893.
Allen was the permanent chairman of the Populist State conventions in 1892, 1894 and 1896. Allen was elected as a Populist to the United States Senate by the Nebraska State Legislature and served from March 4, 1893, to March 4, 1899. During his term, he served as the chairman of the Committee on Forest Reservations and Game Protection (Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses). Allen championed various bills for public buildings and drought relief along the Missouri River Valley and authored the bill that would establish the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.
Allen was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1899. After that, he was appointed and subsequently elected judge of the district court of the ninth judicial district of Nebraska and served from March 9, 1899 to December 1899, when he resigned to return to the Senate, because he was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his successor, Monroe L. Hayward. He served from December 13, 1899, to March 28, 1901, when a successor was elected; he was not a candidate for election to the vacancy.
Allen then resumed the practice of law in Madison, where was again elected judge of the district court of the ninth judicial district of Nebraska in 1917 and served until his death. He died in Los Angeles, California on January 12, 1924. He was interred in Crown Hill Cemetery at Madison, Nebraska.
Committee assignments [edit]
At various times during his tenure as a United States Senator, Allen served on 10 standing committees[1] and 3 select or special committees.[2] During his first term in the Senate, he chaired the Select Committee on Forest Reservations, and retained his chairmanship when the committee became the standing Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game during the 54th Congress.[3] When he returned to the Senate for his second term during the 56th Congress, he was again appointed to this committee, but did not serve as chairman.[4]
| Committee | Congresses | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Reservations (Select) Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game |
53rd 54th – 56th |
Chairman (53rd – 55th) Renamed and made a standing committee in the 54th Congress |
| Claims | 53rd – 56th | |
| Indian Affairs | 53rd – 55th | |
| Public Lands | 53rd – 55th | |
| Transportation Routes to the Seaboard | 54th – 55th | |
| Privileges and Elections | 55th | |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 56th | |
| Interstate Commerce | 56th | |
| Pensions | 56th | |
| The Philippines | 56th | |
| Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (Select) | 53rd – 55th | |
| Investigate Attempts at Bribery, etc. (Special) | 53rd |
Works [edit]
- "Necessity of the People's Party," The Arena, vol. 30, no. 4 (Oct. 1903), pp. 410-414.
Footnotes [edit]
- ^ Official Congressional Directory. 53rd Congress (1893); 54th Congress (1895); 55th Congress (1897); 56th Congress (1900)
- ^ Canon, David T.; Garrison Nelson and Charles Stewart III (2002). Committees in the U.S. Congress: 1789-1946. Vol 4, Select Committees. Washington, DC: CQ Press. ISBN 1-56802-175-5.
- ^ "Chairmen of Senate Standing Committees 1789-Present". Senate Historical Office. June 2008. p. 35. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ^ Official Congressional Directory. 56th Congress, 1st session. 2nd edition. Page 134 (1900)
Other sources used [edit]
- American National Biography
- Dictionary of American Biography
- William V. Allen at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- William V. Allen papers at the Nebraska State Historical Society
Further reading [edit]
- Coletta, Paolo E. “A Tempest in a Teapot? Governor Poynter’s Appointment of William V. Allen to the United States Senate.” Nebraska History, vol. 38 (June 1957), pp. 155-163.
- Hoelscher, David W. "Genuine Populist: William V. Allen in the United States Senate, 1893-1901." M.A. thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2003.
- 1898 bio w/photo
- William V. Allen at Find a Grave
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Algernon S. Paddock |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Nebraska 1893–1899 Served alongside: Charles F. Manderson, John M. Thurston |
Succeeded by Monroe L. Hayward |
| Preceded by Monroe L. Hayward |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Nebraska 1899–1901 Served alongside: John M. Thurston, Joseph H. Millard |
Succeeded by Charles H. Dietrich |
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