Elihu Marcellus Allen was born on May 14, 1791, in Cambridge, Washington, New York. He married Laura Foote and, upon her death in 1823, married her cousin Lola Ann Clawson. Allen and Lola Ann joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometime in the mid-1830s, during which time the family (Allen had a total of 16 children) moved to Caldwell, Missouri. Facing religious persecution, the Allens relocated several times, first to Illinois, then Iowa, and finally Utah, where they arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in October 1847. Lola Ann Allen died shortly after their arrival, and Elihu Allen succumbed to inflammation of the lungs on October 11, 1850.
From the description of Letter to "dear son and daughter," 1850, June 23. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 496139081
