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Hannah Bowen (Whipple) Allen

Hannah Bowen Allen (Born Hannah Whipple, November 28, 1787-April 14, 1848) was an American author and woman of science alive during the American Renaissance Era. She published two known books, Farmer Housten and the Speculator: A New England Tale in 1839 and The Poetical Geognosy in 1841, though she is mostly noted for her extensive fossil collection, preserved in the Cleveland Cabinet of Mineralogy. She married Fredric Allen who was a lawyer in 1812 when she was 25 and they had seven children together. She died in 1848 at the age of 60 and was laid to rest in Gardiner, Kennebec County, Maine, USA, and her daughters donated most of her things to the Massachusetts historical records.

Early Life & Family Background

Hannah Bowen Allen (1787-1848) was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Oliver Whipple and Abigail Whipple (née Gardiner). Her grandfather, Dr. Silvester Gardiner, was a renowned physician who founded Gardiner, Maine, in 1760. Abigail, known as "Nabby," was a Loyalist during the American Revolution and married Oliver Whipple in 1774. Oliver Whipple, a distinguished Harvard graduate, was a lawyer for Silvester Gardiner and a state representative for Hampton from 1796 to 1800. Despite their achievements, Hannah's parents experienced marital difficulties, leading to a divorce and subsequent remarriage in 1797. Oliver Whipple eventually passed away in his office in the early 1800s.

Marriage:

In 1812, Hannah Bowen Allen married Frederick Allen, a prominent lawyer. Together, they had seven children: Augustus Oliver Allen, Frederick Allen, Eleanor Gay, Margaret Ann Elton, Hannah Frances Allen, Charles Edward Allen, and John J. Allen.

Career & Works:

Hannah Bowen Allen is credited with two books: "Farmer Houston and the Speculator: A New England Tale" and "A Poetical Geognosy." The former is a fiction novel set in early New England, exploring themes of morality, economic hardship, and community dynamics. The latter is a nonfiction scientific work on geology and mineralogy. Despite the genre differences, Allen's writing maintains a matter-of-fact tone throughout both works.

Legacy:

Hannah Bowen Allen was an avid collector of minerals, fossils, and shells. She corresponded with prominent scientists and attracted their visits. She is noted for her fossil collection, which includes many pieces she found within the clay bank that her father owned. J.W. Hanson and H.K. Morrell praised her scientific achievements and the attention she received from leading scientists.

Allen's daughters, Margaret Allen Elton and Hannah F. Allen, donated her geological collection to Bowdoin College. The collection comprises over a thousand specimens and occupies an entire alcove in the rooms of the Cleveland Cabinet of Mineralogy.