Allen family.

Horatio Allen, a noted civil engineer and inventor, was born in Schenectady, N.Y., on May 10, 1802. His father, Dr. Benjamin Allen, was then professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Union College.

Horatio graduated from Columbia College in 1823 with high honors in mathematics. Deciding upon a career in engineering, he spent a year on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Around 1825 he joined the staff of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company as a resident engineer. When the company decided to import locomotives for use on its connecting railroad, Allen was sent to England in 1828 to procure them. Four locomotives were contracted for, the first in the United States. One, the STOURBRIDGE LION, was tested at Honesdale, Pa., on August 9, 1829, and Allen had the distinction of being the first man to operate a locomotive in the western hemisphere. However, the locomotives proved to be too heavy for the track structure and were not used in revenue service.

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