The Remarkable Allens

By Bill Ward, SNUC Trustee

     In the autumn of 1857, future President of the United States, James A. Garfield, accepted an invitation to speak at the South Newbury Congregational Church.  At the time, Garfield was the President of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, later Hiram College.  He was also a prominent preacher in the Stone-Campbell Disciples of Christ movement.  On the morning of the lecture, Monday, December 7, 1857, South Newbury resident Anson Matthews departed for Hiram to retrieve Mr. Garfield.  In the meantime, elders of the Congregational Church met to discuss their concerns about Garfield’s forthcoming speech, fearful that his words may conflict with the church’s orthodoxy.  When the carriage carrying Matthews and Garfield arrived at the steps of the church, the unimaginable happened.  Garfield was disinvited on the spot.  His disbarment from the church was the catalyst for the creation of a free-speech building erected by the free-thinking people of South Newbury.  The structure became known as the South Newbury Union Chapel.

     Garfield may have inspired the creation of the Chapel, but in later years one has to wonder who was the motivating force behind South Newbury’s transformation from a sleepy village to an epicenter in the fight for women’s rights?  The unheralded name that’s all but lost to history is Darius Allen, who could rightly be called an “outside influencer."

Community Leaders

   Darius and his wife, Sophia, were well to do people who came to Newbury from the Boston area in the early 1860’s.  They, more than any other family, were often credited with influencing the cultural development and social life of South Newbury.

     The Allens lived in a stately brick house on a rise of ground with a terraced lawn and stone walkway that led to the State Road.  Nearly every room had an open fireplace.  But the most impressive feature of the house was a large library that the Allens liberally shared with friends and neighbors.  In 1969, 90-year-old Irma Redfield McIntyre, who grew up in South Newbury, reminisced about the Allens’ generosity.  “Almost opposite the post office was a fenced, well-kept lane, with a drive leading to the Allens’ grove of large maple trees.  Underbrush and weeds were never allowed to multiply.  Picnic tables were scattered here and there and many family groups, as well as community gatherings used it whenever they pleased.   Adjoining the grove was an orchard of various kinds of fine apples, free for the picking.  All this was a community gift from Mr. & Mrs. Allen.”  It was on the Allens’ property that The Centennial Oak was planted on July 4, 1876 by the Women’s Political Suffrage Club.  The tree was not only a symbol of 100 years of freedom in America, it also represented the cause of equal rights in America.  While the suffragists would have preferred to plant the tree in front of the Chapel, it was wisely decided to plant it on private property to protect it from vandals who were threatened by social reform and gender equality.

Why South Newbury?

      Darius Allen and Sophia Ober were married on June 5, 1855 in Reading, Massachusetts and resided for some years near Concord, where Darius devoted himself to teaching and literary pursuits.  He was also active in various moral and social reforms.  He was a well-known abolitionist within the national organization and often gave speeches against slavery in the Chapel and the Congregational Church.  He was also frequently listed in Garrison’s publication, “The Liberator.” 

The Liberator (Boston) February 22, 1861

From a True-Hearted Abolitionist

Newbury, Geauga, Ohio, January 28, 1861: Friend Garrison - The World moves – for which I feel to thank God, and take fresh courage.

This afternoon, with the consent of the leaders in the Orthodox Congregational Church in this place, Darius M. Allen read for the service, Wendell Phillp’s Speech, in Music Hall – “The Lesson of the Hour.”  It was listened to by a good audience, which seemed to appreciate its burning truths.

There has been good anti-slavery work done here the past few years…and DM Allen has contributed much to keep the ball of reform in motion by his uncompromising lectures…

The Jeffersonian Democrat – (Chardon, Ohio) September 29, 1865

Darius M. Allen will speak in the Free Chapel, South Newbury, on Sunday, April 2, 1 pm.  Subject, the Atonement.

___________________

     Sophia was a graduate from the first normal school for women in America at West Newton, Massachusetts and went on to teach in the public schools of Lowell, Massachusetts.  She was an ardent follower of the teachings of Friedrick Frobel, the German scholar who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children had unique needs and capabilities.    Frobel created the concept of early childhood education, which came to be known as “kindergarten.” 

     The Allens led the charge for the many important social reform movements that were launched within the walls of the South Newbury Union Chapel.  In 1871, nine Newbury women became Ohio’s first female voters.  Among “The Newbury Nine” was Sophia Allen.  The ballots were mysteriously “lost” somewhere between the Chapel and the Chardon Courthouse!

     In 1874, the second oldest Women’s Political Suffrage Club in the state was founded in the Chapel.  Darius Allen was elected the club’s vice president.  Without a doubt, the Allens were the right people for the tenor of the time.

     One might ask, why would such progressive, well-educated Bostonians uproot themselves for life in South Newbury, Ohio?  It certainly wasn’t by happenstance.  Sophia’s grandparents, Zachariah and Abigail, moved from New Hampshire to Newbury, Ohio before 1840.  Several family members followed and most were in the Geauga County area by 1860, including Darius and Sophia.

Amazing Willette

Off to Georgia

     In 1890, Willette left California for a new career opportunity in Georgia.  Moving to a farm in Douglasville along with her parents, she was put in charge of the summer kindergarten at the famous Chautauqua at Lithia Springs.  After speaking to a group of prominent people in Atlanta, she was invited to open a kindergarten department at the fashionable Capital Female College in Atlanta in 1895.  

     While Willette was creating a preschool empire, her parents enjoyed life on their farm in Douglasville and continued their political activism, joining the Georgia Women Suffrage Association.  Not surprisingly, Darius eventually held an executive position with the group.

     In 1897, Willette established the Atlanta Kindergarten Normal and Elementary School which was granted a charter by the state of Georgia.  Years later, when kindergartens were included in Atlanta Public Schools, Willette’s graduates were among the best trained teachers in the city. 

Passings

    On September 3, 1903, Darius died and was buried in Douglasville, Georgia.  Interestingly, there is an obelisk-type headstone in the South Newbury Cemetery with Darius’ and Sophia’s names on the southside of the stone and Reuben and Lima Ober’s names (Sophia’s parents) on the northside.  One local historian contends Darius’ body was returned to Ohio.  However, I have found no evidence to substantiate that claim.  My guess is someone, possibly Willette, had the stone made and placed in the memory of Darius and Sophia and to mark the burials of Sophia’s parents.  According to the Douglasville City Cemetery listings on Find-a-Grave, Darius, Sophia and Willette are buried there.   Following Darius’ death, Sophia lived with Willette in Atlanta.

     On January 1, 1908, Sophia passed away at the age of 77.  She was interred at the Douglasville Cemetery the following day after a brief service at Willette’s home. 

The Later Years

     Once kindergartens were incorporated in the public schools of Atlanta after the war, Willette focused her career on conducting leadership training for Sunday school teachers and wrote for kindergarten publications and Sunday school magazines.  She also became an instructor in childhood education at Emory University.

     In 1929 Willette attended the World Federation of Educations in Geneva, Switzerland and the World Fellowship of New Education at Elsinore, Denmark.  She also visited nursery schools in 9 European countries.

     After retiring in the late 30’s, Willette resided in Bluefield, West Virginia with friends before returning to Atlanta in June 1941.  Just weeks later, she suddenly became ill and died in a local sanitarium on July 26, 1941.  She was buried next to her parents in Douglasville.

     The Allens were remarkable people.  But it was Willette who introduced kindergarten to the world and the value of providing a child with a transition from home to school.  A true pioneer in early childhood education and her journey began in tiny South Newbury, Ohio.

Bibliography

• South Newbury Union Chapel archives

• Worthington (Ohio) Historical Society

• Lisa Cooper, Douglasville (Georgia) Sentinel

• Willette A. Allen Personality Subject File, James G. Research Center at the Atlanta History Center

• Atlanta Kindergarten Alumnae Club collection, MSS 389, James G. Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center

• History of the Kindergarten Movement in the Southeastern States presented at the 46th annual convention of the Association of Childhood Education, Atlanta, Georgia.  1939.  (booklet)