Allen, William F. (William Franklin), 1883-1946

William Franklin Allen was born in Bridgeville, Delaware, on January 19, 1883, and lived there until 1889, when his family moved to Seaford. In 1903, the family moved to Laurel where they finally settled and Allen attended both grade school and high school. After graduating, Allen began working for the Pennsylvania Railroad as an agent, train dispatcher, and telegrapher. In 1922, he returned to Seaford and began a real estate business while also forming a second business of buying and selling fruit and produce along the Eastern Shore. In 1927, Allen branched into the petroleum business and founded Allen Petroleum Corporation and also founded Allen Package Company. He married Addie M. Davis and together they had three children: Robert (b. 1916), Franklin (b. 1919), and Doris (b. 1920).

During this time, Allen was also deeply involved in both state and local politics. Allen served as school commissioner for the city of Seaford from 1920 until 1924. Also in 1920, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention held in San Francisco, California. From 1923 until 1927, he served as state senator, presiding as president pro tempore during his last session. A Democrat and firm believer in President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal policies, in 1936, he was elected to the Seventy-fifth Congress, serving from January 1937 until January 1939. He was defeated in his re-election bid of 1938 in a national Republican landslide. Following his defeat, Allen removed himself from politics and focused his attention on his petroleum business. He died on June 14, 1946, and was buried in Seaford, Delaware.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/ (accessed May 14, 2004). Biographical information also derived from the collection.

From the guide to the William F. Allen scrapbooks, 1830-1946, 1937-1938, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)