Conrad 2

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CONRAD ALLEN, page 2

Marriage License and Marriage Certificate, 25 Aug 1896, Union, Salt Lake County, Utah.

Witnesses were Conrad's mother, Eliza, and her husband, who Conrad thought was his father.

The 1900 U.S. census, Union, Salt Lake County Utah has Conrad Nelson and wife Annie living next to Oke G. Nelson and wife Elizabeth and their children, Matilda, Alfred, Albert, Eliza and Henry.  Annie had already lost 3 children. But after meeting his Allen family, Con began using the name Allen and left and his job at the smelter to make his home in Lewiston, Cache County, Utah where he worked as a farmer with his brothers. He and Annie and their 5 children are there in the 1910 census. Then he and several of his brothers set out for Dubois Idaho to prove up homesteads.  There he and  Annie delivered and buried their 12th child, Johnie, who only lived a few days.  Annie developed Bright's disease (Nephritis/Kidney disease) and was bedridden for 2 years until she died on the 20^th of October 1916. Annie had lived only 39 yrs. 5 mo. & 10 days. She was buried at Dubois next to her baby.  Their oldest child, Florence, was 15 and the youngest child, Nettie, was just 3.

 

Conrad’s mother whom the children called Grandma Nelson, would often come for a long visit to help with the family.  Florence remembered that she always carried her bag of remedies, ready to dose the children for spring fever, coughs, etc.  Grace’s small bladder always caused trouble, so before leaving the house, grandma would say in her Danish accent, “Graaaace, haf you peeeeed?” causing another trip to the outhouse.  Grandma Nelson was remembered as good natured and the most patient person in the world.  Grace once wrote that her father “inherited a sense of humor, a great courage, self reliance and fortitude” from his mother and from his father “a thatch of beautiful red hair and physical features”.

Elizabeth "Eliza" Davids Nielson, Conrad's mother

Conrad Allen homesteaded near Dubois, Clark Co. Idaho. It was a dry farm with a two room house which eventually held eight people. It had a bedroom and a kitchen.  Both rooms were large.   At times the family would winter in the town of Dubois.  The first few years were good but later on families lost their dry farms to the banks.  The 1920 census for Kilgore Precinct has this notation at the bottom of the page: "Enumerator reports that there is no population in Jacoby Precinct.  Nothing there but deserted dry farms. M.M. Bush, Inspector."  But on page 192, Jacoby precinct there are: Allen, Julius (Conrad's half-brother) and family, Ada; Ceathel; Delva; Flossie; Alda; Bryant; Bill; Bert; & Carrie.  Conrad and family, Carlos; Narvel; Clyde; George; Grace and Anete [Nettie] and next door where she could help with her siblings was (newly wed) oldest daughter Florence with her husband Jeff Mikesell. Conrad was afraid of losing his oldest helper but despite that and her brothers sabotaging any courting, Florence had married in 1919 with her father as a witness. Jeff had done his courting at the church dances that the family attended.  Con had always brought Annie coffee in bed in the early morning.  After her death he would bring Florence coffee to wake her for the busy day.  After Florence married the custom continued with Jeff bringing Florence her coffee. 

The census states that Conrad could read & write but Florence Allen Mikesell told her children that she and others helped him with his church work because he had so little education.  He was smart enough that very few knew of his illiteracy.  Clide lived with Florence & Jeff the winter of 1921-22 on top of Teton Pass, where Jeff drove a stage [yes, a stage with horses] everyday from Victor, Idaho to Jackson, Wyoming and back again the next day.  Then in 1922-23 Conrad left Grace and Nettie with Florence & Jeff near Victor, where Jeff worked for a Cattleman.  Con was gone for a year, never letting the family know where he went.  Grace was in the 7^th grade. The boys must have stayed on the farm. Soon the 320 acres that he claimed and took title to in march of 1919, was not providing a living for his family.  In April 1924 a mortgage was foreclosed and the property sold at public auction for $ 2674.72 to the Union Central Life Insurance Co.

Conrad's hair was white at a young age. His daughter Grace told of an accident in the smelter where he worked and that his red hair turned pure white overnight.  It could have been caused by worrying over his family.  Carlos, Clide, & Narvel were great teasers.  All were hard workers.  All together Conrad & Annie had 12 children but only 7 lived to adulthood.  Of those, George Samuel died of appendicitis soon after he married but the other 6 lived to have children & see grandchildren. Con, with help from Florence, raised his children and continued to make a living.  Mormon Church activities kept them busy.  When Conrad farmed near Tuttle, Idaho, Florence would come for the summer, with her baby Ernie and later Betty, to help feed the hired men or the hay crews or just to cook for the family so they could work in the fields.  Later some of the family would spend time with Florence & Jeff when Jeff worked at the coal mine at Sam Idaho.  Florence divided her time between her two families.

Narvel married in 1925, George in 1928, Grace and Nettie in 1930, Clide in 1931 and Carlos in 1933.  Clide & Narvel farmed in Bliss Idaho in later years.  Grace married a rancher and lived in Gooding Idaho, after her 1st husband died.  Carlos & Florence moved to Spokane County, Washington and were close all of their lives.  Nettie was a hard worker and loved animals and people and everyone loved her.  She lived some years in California but spent her last years in Gooding.  Conrad must have been very proud of his children.  They all kept in contact and visited with each other. 

Con eventually settled in Gooding county but spent the last few years of his life at Idaho State Hospital in Blackfoot Idaho.  His death certificate states that he was senile, but also that he had arteriosclerosis for 30 years, so perhaps his senility was caused by hardening of the arteries to the brain.  Conrad died on the 19^th of September 1951 in Blackfoot.  He was buried at Hagerman, Idaho. Obituary

Sources:

Conrad Nielsen/AnnieAnderson marriage License/Certificate #5919 Salt Lake County, UT.

1900 U.S. Census, Union, Salt Lake Co. UT.

Union Ward  L.D.S. Church records of 1900-1921.

Annie E. Allen’s death certificate, State of Idaho, file # 15584

1966 Directory, Dubois Cemetery , Dubois, Idaho:  Allen, Annie Amelia, year of birth 1877, year of death, 1916.

Homestead papers, Conrad S. Allen, 320 acres, 27 Mar.1919  (Blackfoot 015739)

Dubois Idaho, plat map, Township #10, Range #37 E.B. Mer.: among land owners of interest to us were: Conrad S. Allen; Julius J. Allen; John L.& Geo. H. Anderson; George Aller; Mary Mikesell; Harriet E. Mikesell; Geo. W. Mikesell.

1920 U.S. Census, Idaho, Clark Co., Jacoby Precinct, SD2, En Dist.141, Sheet 5a, lines 39-47, taken 23 Jan 1920

Union Central Life Ins. Co., Plaintiff ( VS)  Conrad S. Allen & Freemont Cash Store, Defendants, Clark Co. ID. District Court. Feb. 1923.

Sheriff’s Deed on Foreclosure,  8 Apr. 1924, Clark Co. Idaho

Florence Allen Mikesell

Grace Allen Wells

Conrad Allen, death certificate,  State of Idaho, Div. of Vital Stat. Filed 27 Sep. 1951 [file # not legible, informant was “Records, State Hospital South, Blackfoot, ID.  This certificate has his middle name spelled wrong, mother’s name wrong, father’s birthplace wrong & burial location wrong.

Conrad S. Allen, obituary, 21 Sep. 1951, Gooding ID. Newspaper.

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Conrad Allen

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 CONRAD S. ALLEN

Annie Anderson and Conrad Allen wedding photo

25 Aug 1896 

Allen photo album.

 

Conrad Sophus Allen

1874-1951

Conrad's mother was Eliza Dorothea Henriche Davids, a Mormon convert from Denmark. Eliza came to the Utah home of her older half-sister Caroline, who had migrated earlier, and was married to Samuel Jackson Allen. Caroline was not strong and Eliza was to help her with the children and housework.

Eliza left Caroline and Sam's home and married a Swedish Mormon convert named Oge [also written on some records as Oke or Ake] Nielsen [Nelson]. The marriage of Oke Nielsen and Eliza Davis [Davids] was in Salt Lake City on the 1st of September 1873.

They raised a family of six sons and two daughters.  Conrad was the oldest, born the 28th of March 1874 in Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah.

 Conrad Nielsen was married in 1873 to Annie Emelia Anderson, who was born in Norway.  Annie and Conrad’s first three children died at birth but then they had Florence Vivien, Carlos William and Narvel Leslie.

Around 1906 after Oge had died [d. 1904], Eliza heard that Sam Allen was not well. Caroline had died in 1900.  Eliza told Conrad that he was not the son of Oge Nielsen, as was believed, but was the son of Samuel Jackson Allen.

 Conrad took his wife & children to Lewiston Utah to see his real father.  The only record found of Conrad meeting his new family was written by Ada Glover Allen, Conrad’s sister-in-law, in 1965 as she remembered it:

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 St. Anthony Idaho, Aug. 2, 1965

I,  Ada Allen in my 85th year, just returned from the Allen reunion.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has requested that we get our genealogy into the Archives, and many of the   young people at the reunion asked about Uncle Conrad Allen’s family group sheet

I had been married to John Julius Allen for six years and was living in Lewiston, Utah.  We were neighbors with Julius’s father and his brother Arthur and his family.

 It was in the early spring when a knock came on Arthur’s door and when the door was opened by Arthur, a young man introduced himself as Conrad Allen, his half-brother.  Although this was a shock to Arthur, he had to believe it to be the truth, for this young man looked more like his father, Samuel Jackson Allen, than any of his other six boys.

After inviting Conrad, his wife Annie Anderson Allen and their three children…Florence, Carlos and Narvel into their home, Arthur walked thru the field to his father’s home.  He went up to his father and asked, “Father, do we have a brother that we do not know about?” Grandpa Allen answered, “There is a possibility.”  He then asked Arthur why and Arthur told him about Uncle Conrad.

Because of the respect the family had for their Father, no more questions were asked and Uncle Conrad was given a warm welcome by the six boys, George, Arthur, Lewis, Francis, Julius and Jim and their only sister, Carrie.

Conrad went back for his furnishings at Sandy, Utah and visited his Mother, Eliza Dorthea Henreche Davids.  She was a sister to Grandma Allen.  Grandma’s name was Caroline Amelia Davids.  Conrad returned to Lewiston and although his profession was a Smelter Worker, he began working with his brothers as a farmer.

Julius and I with our four children, Ceathel, Delva, Flossie and Alda, came to Idaho in 1907 and was here for two years.  We then returned to Lewiston for two years and once again returned to Idaho.  Uncle Conrad and his family moved to Idaho also.  Our two families went to Dubois, Clark County, Idaho and took up homesteads of 180 acres each.  Arthur and Lewis homesteaded in Idaho too.  That was in 1912 that we all went to Dubois.  While there, Uncle Conrad, like the rest of us, had good times along with the bad.  It was about January 1915 that they lost a baby boy.

From that time on, Aunt Annie developed Dropsy and she passed away in the fall of 1917 or about that time.  She was buried in Dubois, Idaho by her baby.

Uncle Con then moved his family into Parker, Idaho and put the children in school.  He went to work in the hay at Kilgore, Idaho.

Conrad done a marvelous job of  being  both  father  and  mother  to  his  lovely family  of  four  boys, Carlos, Narvel, Clide and George, and his three daughters, Florence, Grace and Nettie.   He and his family spent the latter part of his years around Bliss, near his brothers George and Jim.  He passed away in Gooding Idaho the 25^th of September 1951.

 I truly loved all of the Allen family as my own brothers and sisters.

                                                              Ada Glover Allen

Below is an Allen family family group sheet with Conrad and his Allen half-siblings. At the top is Samuel and his wife Caroline Davids Allen. Conrad's mother, Eliza Davids, is not pictured on the sheet.

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