Scots-Irish Allens

[JkellsX]

I almost have to suppress a chuckle each time I see the statement that Allan spelled with an -an is Scottish and Allen with an -en is English.  The reason I have this reaction is that I suspect that the largest number of Allens in the US are descended from what I call "Allen spelt with an X."  I am referring, of course, to the frequent encounters I have had with wills, deeds, etc., made out for planters in Virginia and North Carolina in the 17th, 18th. and into the 19th centuries that were signed with the letter "X."  Many of these Allens-spelt-with-an-X were Scots-Irish, meaning they came from the north of Ireland, but before that were Scots mainly from the Midlands of Scotland or were English from the border country with Scotland.

I really don't know for certain if the Scots-Irish Allens outnumber the other flavors, but we are huge in the Southeast and Southwest, with Texas being the state with the most Allens.  This would mirror the pattern of migration of the Scots-Irish. The rampant illiteracy may not have been much of an impediment to their success on the frontiers of early America, but the tracks they left are very hard to follow indeed.  For this reason, dna testing and sharing of documented history is vital to any hope of success in figuring out which William or James belongs to whom.  I welcome your comments and suggestions for dealing with Scots-Irish Allens.  Jerry Allen, aka, Jerry X

[dougallen]

I've done some digging through old documents from 17th and 18th century Northern Ireland - the "Ulster Scots" of Plantation fame.  Spellings of the name I've seen include:
Allan
Allin
Allein
Allonn
Allum

Given that standardized spelling is a later invention, it does seem pointless to attribute certain variations to any particular place.

[Cheryl30523]

That's a good one Jerry!  I think I'll opt for "Alien" lol.  Has any one here ever heard of the ship "Hopewell" that sailed from Ireland (I believe) in late 1769 that landed in Savannah GA and then went on up to Charleston SC later?  There was Allens aboard this ship and I'd like to find a passenger list to see exactly how many came.
Cheryl W
Cheryl30523@yahoo.com

[winterbergs1]

Well put.
My 4x great grandfather's last name was spelled Allin and Allen depending on what document you look at. People tend to forget with our VA, NC, pioneer families.. that how their last name was spelled depened on the nationality and literacy of the person writing and recoding the documents.

With the huge amount of Allen Families that traversed through Virginia to whatever their final destinations... DNA is the only way we are ever going to figure out who belongs to who.

BTW.. my fathers DNA shows.... Scotch Irish as the group he belongs to... and he spells it ALLEN.. LOL

[Alien Pirate]

Hi see your reference to the different spellings of Allen Alain Allan Alan etc - apparently the most historic one is 'Alan' from  the Caucus Mountains in Eastern Europe the Alan tribe (G2 p15 DNA link the true Allens!!) pre christian age - but after many attempts to get OCR (optical character programs to Read 'Allen' as 'Allen' - I have opted on computer forums to be the Alien pirate -the hat and beard complete the aline look!

if you find Eli Allen from 1780 Ilminster chard area of the UK would much appreciate being informed

[Cheryl30523]

So you are a "G" Allen too?  I got my ownself REALLY mixed up when I started looking at the "Alans of Georgia".  Yes, I'm from the State of GA, and the male yDNA donor from my Allen line is in the G haplogroup.  I was looking for a place in the state of GA called Ossetia or Sarmatia.  Talk about being geographically challenged..... 
Cheryl

[annastar28]

I've done some digging through old documents from 17th and 18th century Northern Ireland - the "Ulster Scots" of Plantation fame.  Spellings of the name I've seen include:
Allan
Allin
Allein
Allonn
Allum

Given that standardized spelling is a later invention, it does seem pointless to attribute certain variations to any particular place.