Methodist History, 44:4 (July 2006)
[biography sections below]
Allen was a professor of mental and moral philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, for two decades beginning in 1892 and was one of the last American university professors to bear this academic title carried over from previous centuries here and abroad. Southwestern was one of the finest institutions of higher education in Texas a century ago. Three of the first five Rhodes scholars from Texas graduated from Southwestern while Allen taught there.
Allen had been an itinerant clergyman for many years before accepting his university position. It is useful to trace his intellectual development and life experience which prepared him to teach psychology, logic, ethics, and the history of philosophy so effectively at Southwestern.
Allen was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, on November 21, 1851, to the Rev. Dr. Archibald Campbell Allen (1818-1880) and his wife Mary Adeline (nee Tucker), who were married November 4, 1846. The senior Allen attended Emory-Henry College and, beginning 1842, preached for ten years in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in North Carolina. In 1852, a year after John Robert was born, his father relocated the family to Chickasaw County, Mississippi, where he preached and was president of a female institute at Okolona.
Young John Robert Allen became a Christian on August 15, 1866, under the preaching of the Rev. Robert Gilderoy Porter. Allen felt the call to preach the gospel of Christ and was licensed as a lay preacher in 1868. He attended Andrew College (Trenton, Tennessee) and taught school before receiving his A.B. degree in 1873 from Southern University (Greensboro, Alabama).
Prior to his ordination in 1875, John Robert Allen served as pastor in Okolona, Mississippi, in 1873 and Crawford, Mississippi, in 1874. Upon ordination Allen was pastor of the Dallas City Mission and Floyd Street (later Grace Methodist) Church in Dallas in 1875-1876. During this period he and his brother William H. Allen established Rock College in Dallas. This is evidently when he met his second wife, Mary Florence "Mollie" Crutchfield, of Dallas. Allen's first wife, Florence Worley, died earlier.
Mary Florence was born in Texas on October 26, 1854, to James Oscar Crutchfield (1830-1912) and Frances Patience (nee Floyd), who were married September 15, 1851. J. O. Crutchfield served as a Major in the Confederate cavalry and fought in nearly every important battle of the Trans-Mississippi region south of Arkansas. His father, Thomas Crutchfield, owned the famous Crutchfield House, the leading hotel in Dallas.
Dr. Allen served as president of Marvin College in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1877-78, and also as pastor of the Waxahachie church in 1878. On October 3, 1878, he and Mary Florence Crutchfield were married in Dallas.
The Allens ministered to the Fort Worth church in 1879-1880, the Paris, Texas church from 1881 to 1884, and the McKinney, Texas church in 1885. Allen was presiding elder of the Bonham District in 1886-1887. At that time he published, A Book of Forms, Suggested for Use in the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1887). In many respects this volume is an exercise in both logic and ethics.
In 1888-1889 Allen was pastor of the First Church in Dallas. Then he was moved to the Honey Grove, Texas church in 1890-1891 where he published, Man, Money, and the Bible; or, Biblical Economics, a Treatise Upon the Economical System of the Bible and its Solution of the Social Problems That Confront the Nineteenth Century. Allen used this work as a textbook at Southwestern in teaching the trusteeship of wealth as presented in the teachings
of Christ. Southern University, his alma mater, conferred on John Robert Allen the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1891.
In 1892 Allen was named Associate Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Southwestern University. He was associate to the university's Regent, The Rev. Dr. John H. McLean, who also held the professorship of Mental and Moral Philosophy. Under this arrangement Allen at first taught only logic and political economy. Ultimately, as professor of mental and moral philosophy, he taught courses in psychology, logic, ethics, history of philosophy, economics, history of civilization, political science, the Christian religion, and allied subjects.
Allen is perhaps best remembered for his insightful book, Man, Money, and the Bible, an early indication of the breadth that made him the right man to assume his faculty post at Southwestern University. This breadth also made him the right man to serve as the university's chairman of the faculty year after year and interim Regent (president) in 1897-1898, his strong leadership "holding the ship on course" while Southwestern's trustees sought an administrator to stimulate the university's further development.
Though a university professor, Allen remained at heart ever an itinerant preacher. In 1897 he published, The Itinerants Guide; a Book Intended For the Guidance of Young Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the Discharge of All Pastoral Duties. It was in this book that he made the connection between practical application of pastoral theology and psychology.
During much of his two decades at Southwestern, Allen was also Superintendent of the university's Ladies' Annex and Mrs. Allen was its matron. They were affectionately called, "Uncle John" and "Aunt Molly (sic)." The Annex was where the university's female students resided and received instruction. The Allens occupied a residence there. Dr. Allen was Superintendent from 1892 to 1900 and from 1904 to 1908.
The Allens never had children of their own, but in effect were substitute parents to many of the Annex's young women who came to them for counsel. Mrs. Allen, especially, became the "mother confessor" to hundreds of young women. Moreover, they reared Sam Shaw, the orphaned son of a Methodist itinerant preacher, and also raised the motherless daughters
[Bess Patience and Hallie Louise Crutchfield] of Mrs. Allen's brother [Charles Thomas Crutchfield. Hallie and her husband George F. Pierce later named a son, John Allen Pierce, after Dr. John R. Allen, and he named his first son John Allen Pierce, Jr.]
Allen retired as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy in 1912 but continued to reside in Georgetown, where he published and edited the Williamson County Sun newspaper. He was active in community affairs and his local church. He was a bank director and a stockholder in more than one local business and invested his modest income wisely. As emeritus professor it is likely that he preached, lectured, and/or taught part-time at Southwestern.
The Allens also made several trips to Europe and the Holy Land throughout their lives.
The Allens left Georgetown in 1918 when he and his wife resumed pastoral work. They served two years at the Jacksboro church and two years at Cedar Hill, Texas. The following year Mrs. Allen became sick with a lingering illness and she and Dr. Allen moved to live with the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Pierce [one of Mrs. Allen's nieces that the Allens raised] in Dallas. Mrs. Allen died in 1923.
In retirement Allen continued his scholarly work, for example publishing the article, "Paul's Christology," in the Methodist Quarterly Review in 1927. It is a fascinating article in which Allen traced the "growth of the conception in Paul's mind of the idea of Christ.
Allen joined the fellowship of Cochran's Chapel near Dallas and frequently preached there and elsewhere. In 1933 he returned to Southwestern University as a special honoree for the commencement. He continued to live with the [George F.] Pierce family until his own death on February 6, 1937. He and Mrs. Allen are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas.
========================
ALLEN, Dr. John Robert, age 85, died Saturday afternoon at home of his niece, Mrs. George F. Pierce, 4225 Lorraine Ave. Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. S. J. Bass of Terrell and Mrs. Charlie Crutchfield of Hope, Ark.; seven nephews and five nieces. Funeral arrangements pending with George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel.
February 7, 1937, Dallas Daily Times Herald,
Sec. II, p. 4, col. 1.
[biography sections below]
Allen was a professor of mental and moral philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, for two decades beginning in 1892 and was one of the last American university professors to bear this academic title carried over from previous centuries here and abroad. Southwestern was one of the finest institutions of higher education in Texas a century ago. Three of the first five Rhodes scholars from Texas graduated from Southwestern while Allen taught there.
Allen had been an itinerant clergyman for many years before accepting his university position. It is useful to trace his intellectual development and life experience which prepared him to teach psychology, logic, ethics, and the history of philosophy so effectively at Southwestern.
Allen was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, on November 21, 1851, to the Rev. Dr. Archibald Campbell Allen (1818-1880) and his wife Mary Adeline (nee Tucker), who were married November 4, 1846. The senior Allen attended Emory-Henry College and, beginning 1842, preached for ten years in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in North Carolina. In 1852, a year after John Robert was born, his father relocated the family to Chickasaw County, Mississippi, where he preached and was president of a female institute at Okolona.
Young John Robert Allen became a Christian on August 15, 1866, under the preaching of the Rev. Robert Gilderoy Porter. Allen felt the call to preach the gospel of Christ and was licensed as a lay preacher in 1868. He attended Andrew College (Trenton, Tennessee) and taught school before receiving his A.B. degree in 1873 from Southern University (Greensboro, Alabama).
Prior to his ordination in 1875, John Robert Allen served as pastor in Okolona, Mississippi, in 1873 and Crawford, Mississippi, in 1874. Upon ordination Allen was pastor of the Dallas City Mission and Floyd Street (later Grace Methodist) Church in Dallas in 1875-1876. During this period he and his brother William H. Allen established Rock College in Dallas. This is evidently when he met his second wife, Mary Florence "Mollie" Crutchfield, of Dallas. Allen's first wife, Florence Worley, died earlier.
Mary Florence was born in Texas on October 26, 1854, to James Oscar Crutchfield (1830-1912) and Frances Patience (nee Floyd), who were married September 15, 1851. J. O. Crutchfield served as a Major in the Confederate cavalry and fought in nearly every important battle of the Trans-Mississippi region south of Arkansas. His father, Thomas Crutchfield, owned the famous Crutchfield House, the leading hotel in Dallas.
Dr. Allen served as president of Marvin College in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1877-78, and also as pastor of the Waxahachie church in 1878. On October 3, 1878, he and Mary Florence Crutchfield were married in Dallas.
The Allens ministered to the Fort Worth church in 1879-1880, the Paris, Texas church from 1881 to 1884, and the McKinney, Texas church in 1885. Allen was presiding elder of the Bonham District in 1886-1887. At that time he published, A Book of Forms, Suggested for Use in the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1887). In many respects this volume is an exercise in both logic and ethics.
In 1888-1889 Allen was pastor of the First Church in Dallas. Then he was moved to the Honey Grove, Texas church in 1890-1891 where he published, Man, Money, and the Bible; or, Biblical Economics, a Treatise Upon the Economical System of the Bible and its Solution of the Social Problems That Confront the Nineteenth Century. Allen used this work as a textbook at Southwestern in teaching the trusteeship of wealth as presented in the teachings
of Christ. Southern University, his alma mater, conferred on John Robert Allen the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1891.
In 1892 Allen was named Associate Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Southwestern University. He was associate to the university's Regent, The Rev. Dr. John H. McLean, who also held the professorship of Mental and Moral Philosophy. Under this arrangement Allen at first taught only logic and political economy. Ultimately, as professor of mental and moral philosophy, he taught courses in psychology, logic, ethics, history of philosophy, economics, history of civilization, political science, the Christian religion, and allied subjects.
Allen is perhaps best remembered for his insightful book, Man, Money, and the Bible, an early indication of the breadth that made him the right man to assume his faculty post at Southwestern University. This breadth also made him the right man to serve as the university's chairman of the faculty year after year and interim Regent (president) in 1897-1898, his strong leadership "holding the ship on course" while Southwestern's trustees sought an administrator to stimulate the university's further development.
Though a university professor, Allen remained at heart ever an itinerant preacher. In 1897 he published, The Itinerants Guide; a Book Intended For the Guidance of Young Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the Discharge of All Pastoral Duties. It was in this book that he made the connection between practical application of pastoral theology and psychology.
During much of his two decades at Southwestern, Allen was also Superintendent of the university's Ladies' Annex and Mrs. Allen was its matron. They were affectionately called, "Uncle John" and "Aunt Molly (sic)." The Annex was where the university's female students resided and received instruction. The Allens occupied a residence there. Dr. Allen was Superintendent from 1892 to 1900 and from 1904 to 1908.
The Allens never had children of their own, but in effect were substitute parents to many of the Annex's young women who came to them for counsel. Mrs. Allen, especially, became the "mother confessor" to hundreds of young women. Moreover, they reared Sam Shaw, the orphaned son of a Methodist itinerant preacher, and also raised the motherless daughters
[Bess Patience and Hallie Louise Crutchfield] of Mrs. Allen's brother [Charles Thomas Crutchfield. Hallie and her husband George F. Pierce later named a son, John Allen Pierce, after Dr. John R. Allen, and he named his first son John Allen Pierce, Jr.]
Allen retired as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy in 1912 but continued to reside in Georgetown, where he published and edited the Williamson County Sun newspaper. He was active in community affairs and his local church. He was a bank director and a stockholder in more than one local business and invested his modest income wisely. As emeritus professor it is likely that he preached, lectured, and/or taught part-time at Southwestern.
The Allens also made several trips to Europe and the Holy Land throughout their lives.
The Allens left Georgetown in 1918 when he and his wife resumed pastoral work. They served two years at the Jacksboro church and two years at Cedar Hill, Texas. The following year Mrs. Allen became sick with a lingering illness and she and Dr. Allen moved to live with the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Pierce [one of Mrs. Allen's nieces that the Allens raised] in Dallas. Mrs. Allen died in 1923.
In retirement Allen continued his scholarly work, for example publishing the article, "Paul's Christology," in the Methodist Quarterly Review in 1927. It is a fascinating article in which Allen traced the "growth of the conception in Paul's mind of the idea of Christ.
Allen joined the fellowship of Cochran's Chapel near Dallas and frequently preached there and elsewhere. In 1933 he returned to Southwestern University as a special honoree for the commencement. He continued to live with the [George F.] Pierce family until his own death on February 6, 1937. He and Mrs. Allen are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas.
========================
ALLEN, Dr. John Robert, age 85, died Saturday afternoon at home of his niece, Mrs. George F. Pierce, 4225 Lorraine Ave. Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. S. J. Bass of Terrell and Mrs. Charlie Crutchfield of Hope, Ark.; seven nephews and five nieces. Funeral arrangements pending with George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel.
February 7, 1937, Dallas Daily Times Herald,
Sec. II, p. 4, col. 1.
Methodist History, 44:4 (July 2006)
[biography sections below]
Allen was a professor of mental and moral philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, for two decades beginning in 1892 and was one of the last American university professors to bear this academic title carried over from previous centuries here and abroad. Southwestern was one of the finest institutions of higher education in Texas a century ago. Three of the first five Rhodes scholars from Texas graduated from Southwestern while Allen taught there.
Allen had been an itinerant clergyman for many years before accepting his university position. It is useful to trace his intellectual development and life experience which prepared him to teach psychology, logic, ethics, and the history of philosophy so effectively at Southwestern.
Allen was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, on November 21, 1851, to the Rev. Dr. Archibald Campbell Allen (1818-1880) and his wife Mary Adeline (nee Tucker), who were married November 4, 1846. The senior Allen attended Emory-Henry College and, beginning 1842, preached for ten years in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in North Carolina. In 1852, a year after John Robert was born, his father relocated the family to Chickasaw County, Mississippi, where he preached and was president of a female institute at Okolona.
Young John Robert Allen became a Christian on August 15, 1866, under the preaching of the Rev. Robert Gilderoy Porter. Allen felt the call to preach the gospel of Christ and was licensed as a lay preacher in 1868. He attended Andrew College (Trenton, Tennessee) and taught school before receiving his A.B. degree in 1873 from Southern University (Greensboro, Alabama).
Prior to his ordination in 1875, John Robert Allen served as pastor in Okolona, Mississippi, in 1873 and Crawford, Mississippi, in 1874. Upon ordination Allen was pastor of the Dallas City Mission and Floyd Street (later Grace Methodist) Church in Dallas in 1875-1876. During this period he and his brother William H. Allen established Rock College in Dallas. This is evidently when he met his second wife, Mary Florence "Mollie" Crutchfield, of Dallas. Allen's first wife, Florence Worley, died earlier.
Mary Florence was born in Texas on October 26, 1854, to James Oscar Crutchfield (1830-1912) and Frances Patience (nee Floyd), who were married September 15, 1851. J. O. Crutchfield served as a Major in the Confederate cavalry and fought in nearly every important battle of the Trans-Mississippi region south of Arkansas. His father, Thomas Crutchfield, owned the famous Crutchfield House, the leading hotel in Dallas.
Dr. Allen served as president of Marvin College in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1877-78, and also as pastor of the Waxahachie church in 1878. On October 3, 1878, he and Mary Florence Crutchfield were married in Dallas.
The Allens ministered to the Fort Worth church in 1879-1880, the Paris, Texas church from 1881 to 1884, and the McKinney, Texas church in 1885. Allen was presiding elder of the Bonham District in 1886-1887. At that time he published, A Book of Forms, Suggested for Use in the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1887). In many respects this volume is an exercise in both logic and ethics.
In 1888-1889 Allen was pastor of the First Church in Dallas. Then he was moved to the Honey Grove, Texas church in 1890-1891 where he published, Man, Money, and the Bible; or, Biblical Economics, a Treatise Upon the Economical System of the Bible and its Solution of the Social Problems That Confront the Nineteenth Century. Allen used this work as a textbook at Southwestern in teaching the trusteeship of wealth as presented in the teachings
of Christ. Southern University, his alma mater, conferred on John Robert Allen the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1891.
In 1892 Allen was named Associate Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Southwestern University. He was associate to the university's Regent, The Rev. Dr. John H. McLean, who also held the professorship of Mental and Moral Philosophy. Under this arrangement Allen at first taught only logic and political economy. Ultimately, as professor of mental and moral philosophy, he taught courses in psychology, logic, ethics, history of philosophy, economics, history of civilization, political science, the Christian religion, and allied subjects.
Allen is perhaps best remembered for his insightful book, Man, Money, and the Bible, an early indication of the breadth that made him the right man to assume his faculty post at Southwestern University. This breadth also made him the right man to serve as the university's chairman of the faculty year after year and interim Regent (president) in 1897-1898, his strong leadership "holding the ship on course" while Southwestern's trustees sought an administrator to stimulate the university's further development.
Though a university professor, Allen remained at heart ever an itinerant preacher. In 1897 he published, The Itinerants Guide; a Book Intended For the Guidance of Young Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the Discharge of All Pastoral Duties. It was in this book that he made the connection between practical application of pastoral theology and psychology.
During much of his two decades at Southwestern, Allen was also Superintendent of the university's Ladies' Annex and Mrs. Allen was its matron. They were affectionately called, "Uncle John" and "Aunt Molly (sic)." The Annex was where the university's female students resided and received instruction. The Allens occupied a residence there. Dr. Allen was Superintendent from 1892 to 1900 and from 1904 to 1908.
The Allens never had children of their own, but in effect were substitute parents to many of the Annex's young women who came to them for counsel. Mrs. Allen, especially, became the "mother confessor" to hundreds of young women. Moreover, they reared Sam Shaw, the orphaned son of a Methodist itinerant preacher, and also raised the motherless daughters
[Bess Patience and Hallie Louise Crutchfield] of Mrs. Allen's brother [Charles Thomas Crutchfield. Hallie and her husband George F. Pierce later named a son, John Allen Pierce, after Dr. John R. Allen, and he named his first son John Allen Pierce, Jr.]
Allen retired as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy in 1912 but continued to reside in Georgetown, where he published and edited the Williamson County Sun newspaper. He was active in community affairs and his local church. He was a bank director and a stockholder in more than one local business and invested his modest income wisely. As emeritus professor it is likely that he preached, lectured, and/or taught part-time at Southwestern.
The Allens also made several trips to Europe and the Holy Land throughout their lives.
The Allens left Georgetown in 1918 when he and his wife resumed pastoral work. They served two years at the Jacksboro church and two years at Cedar Hill, Texas. The following year Mrs. Allen became sick with a lingering illness and she and Dr. Allen moved to live with the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Pierce [one of Mrs. Allen's nieces that the Allens raised] in Dallas. Mrs. Allen died in 1923.
In retirement Allen continued his scholarly work, for example publishing the article, "Paul's Christology," in the Methodist Quarterly Review in 1927. It is a fascinating article in which Allen traced the "growth of the conception in Paul's mind of the idea of Christ.
Allen joined the fellowship of Cochran's Chapel near Dallas and frequently preached there and elsewhere. In 1933 he returned to Southwestern University as a special honoree for the commencement. He continued to live with the [George F.] Pierce family until his own death on February 6, 1937. He and Mrs. Allen are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas.
========================
ALLEN, Dr. John Robert, age 85, died Saturday afternoon at home of his niece, Mrs. George F. Pierce, 4225 Lorraine Ave. Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. S. J. Bass of Terrell and Mrs. Charlie Crutchfield of Hope, Ark.; seven nephews and five nieces. Funeral arrangements pending with George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel.
February 7, 1937, Dallas Daily Times Herald,
Sec. II, p. 4, col. 1.
[biography sections below]
Allen was a professor of mental and moral philosophy at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, for two decades beginning in 1892 and was one of the last American university professors to bear this academic title carried over from previous centuries here and abroad. Southwestern was one of the finest institutions of higher education in Texas a century ago. Three of the first five Rhodes scholars from Texas graduated from Southwestern while Allen taught there.
Allen had been an itinerant clergyman for many years before accepting his university position. It is useful to trace his intellectual development and life experience which prepared him to teach psychology, logic, ethics, and the history of philosophy so effectively at Southwestern.
Allen was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, on November 21, 1851, to the Rev. Dr. Archibald Campbell Allen (1818-1880) and his wife Mary Adeline (nee Tucker), who were married November 4, 1846. The senior Allen attended Emory-Henry College and, beginning 1842, preached for ten years in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in North Carolina. In 1852, a year after John Robert was born, his father relocated the family to Chickasaw County, Mississippi, where he preached and was president of a female institute at Okolona.
Young John Robert Allen became a Christian on August 15, 1866, under the preaching of the Rev. Robert Gilderoy Porter. Allen felt the call to preach the gospel of Christ and was licensed as a lay preacher in 1868. He attended Andrew College (Trenton, Tennessee) and taught school before receiving his A.B. degree in 1873 from Southern University (Greensboro, Alabama).
Prior to his ordination in 1875, John Robert Allen served as pastor in Okolona, Mississippi, in 1873 and Crawford, Mississippi, in 1874. Upon ordination Allen was pastor of the Dallas City Mission and Floyd Street (later Grace Methodist) Church in Dallas in 1875-1876. During this period he and his brother William H. Allen established Rock College in Dallas. This is evidently when he met his second wife, Mary Florence "Mollie" Crutchfield, of Dallas. Allen's first wife, Florence Worley, died earlier.
Mary Florence was born in Texas on October 26, 1854, to James Oscar Crutchfield (1830-1912) and Frances Patience (nee Floyd), who were married September 15, 1851. J. O. Crutchfield served as a Major in the Confederate cavalry and fought in nearly every important battle of the Trans-Mississippi region south of Arkansas. His father, Thomas Crutchfield, owned the famous Crutchfield House, the leading hotel in Dallas.
Dr. Allen served as president of Marvin College in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1877-78, and also as pastor of the Waxahachie church in 1878. On October 3, 1878, he and Mary Florence Crutchfield were married in Dallas.
The Allens ministered to the Fort Worth church in 1879-1880, the Paris, Texas church from 1881 to 1884, and the McKinney, Texas church in 1885. Allen was presiding elder of the Bonham District in 1886-1887. At that time he published, A Book of Forms, Suggested for Use in the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1887). In many respects this volume is an exercise in both logic and ethics.
In 1888-1889 Allen was pastor of the First Church in Dallas. Then he was moved to the Honey Grove, Texas church in 1890-1891 where he published, Man, Money, and the Bible; or, Biblical Economics, a Treatise Upon the Economical System of the Bible and its Solution of the Social Problems That Confront the Nineteenth Century. Allen used this work as a textbook at Southwestern in teaching the trusteeship of wealth as presented in the teachings
of Christ. Southern University, his alma mater, conferred on John Robert Allen the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1891.
In 1892 Allen was named Associate Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Southwestern University. He was associate to the university's Regent, The Rev. Dr. John H. McLean, who also held the professorship of Mental and Moral Philosophy. Under this arrangement Allen at first taught only logic and political economy. Ultimately, as professor of mental and moral philosophy, he taught courses in psychology, logic, ethics, history of philosophy, economics, history of civilization, political science, the Christian religion, and allied subjects.
Allen is perhaps best remembered for his insightful book, Man, Money, and the Bible, an early indication of the breadth that made him the right man to assume his faculty post at Southwestern University. This breadth also made him the right man to serve as the university's chairman of the faculty year after year and interim Regent (president) in 1897-1898, his strong leadership "holding the ship on course" while Southwestern's trustees sought an administrator to stimulate the university's further development.
Though a university professor, Allen remained at heart ever an itinerant preacher. In 1897 he published, The Itinerants Guide; a Book Intended For the Guidance of Young Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the Discharge of All Pastoral Duties. It was in this book that he made the connection between practical application of pastoral theology and psychology.
During much of his two decades at Southwestern, Allen was also Superintendent of the university's Ladies' Annex and Mrs. Allen was its matron. They were affectionately called, "Uncle John" and "Aunt Molly (sic)." The Annex was where the university's female students resided and received instruction. The Allens occupied a residence there. Dr. Allen was Superintendent from 1892 to 1900 and from 1904 to 1908.
The Allens never had children of their own, but in effect were substitute parents to many of the Annex's young women who came to them for counsel. Mrs. Allen, especially, became the "mother confessor" to hundreds of young women. Moreover, they reared Sam Shaw, the orphaned son of a Methodist itinerant preacher, and also raised the motherless daughters
[Bess Patience and Hallie Louise Crutchfield] of Mrs. Allen's brother [Charles Thomas Crutchfield. Hallie and her husband George F. Pierce later named a son, John Allen Pierce, after Dr. John R. Allen, and he named his first son John Allen Pierce, Jr.]
Allen retired as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy in 1912 but continued to reside in Georgetown, where he published and edited the Williamson County Sun newspaper. He was active in community affairs and his local church. He was a bank director and a stockholder in more than one local business and invested his modest income wisely. As emeritus professor it is likely that he preached, lectured, and/or taught part-time at Southwestern.
The Allens also made several trips to Europe and the Holy Land throughout their lives.
The Allens left Georgetown in 1918 when he and his wife resumed pastoral work. They served two years at the Jacksboro church and two years at Cedar Hill, Texas. The following year Mrs. Allen became sick with a lingering illness and she and Dr. Allen moved to live with the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Pierce [one of Mrs. Allen's nieces that the Allens raised] in Dallas. Mrs. Allen died in 1923.
In retirement Allen continued his scholarly work, for example publishing the article, "Paul's Christology," in the Methodist Quarterly Review in 1927. It is a fascinating article in which Allen traced the "growth of the conception in Paul's mind of the idea of Christ.
Allen joined the fellowship of Cochran's Chapel near Dallas and frequently preached there and elsewhere. In 1933 he returned to Southwestern University as a special honoree for the commencement. He continued to live with the [George F.] Pierce family until his own death on February 6, 1937. He and Mrs. Allen are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas.
========================
ALLEN, Dr. John Robert, age 85, died Saturday afternoon at home of his niece, Mrs. George F. Pierce, 4225 Lorraine Ave. Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. S. J. Bass of Terrell and Mrs. Charlie Crutchfield of Hope, Ark.; seven nephews and five nieces. Funeral arrangements pending with George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel.
February 7, 1937, Dallas Daily Times Herald,
Sec. II, p. 4, col. 1.
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