Amos L. Allen

Who was Amos L. Allen?

Amos Lawrence Allen was a U.S. Representative from Maine.

Born in Waterboro, Maine, Allen attended the common schools, Whitestown Seminary, Whitestown, New York, and was graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1860. He studied law at Columbian Law School, Washington, D.C.. He was admitted to the bar of York County in 1866 but never practiced. He served as a clerk in the United States Treasury Department from 1867 to 1870.

Allen was elected clerk of the courts for York County, Maine, in 1870, reelected three times, and served until January 1, 1883. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1886 and 1887. He was private secretary to Speaker Thomas B. Reed in the Fifty-first, Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-fifth Congresses. He served as delegate at large to the Republican National Convention at St. Louis in 1896.

Allen was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Thomas B. Reed. He was reelected to the Fifty-seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from November 6, 1899, until his death in Washington, D.C., February 20, 1911. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery, Alfred, Maine.