More on the Early History of the Pelham Public Library

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In 1914, Pelham residents were unhappy that they still did not have a public library.  Efforts began to change that situation and create the first Pelham Public Library.

I have written before about the early history of the Pelham Public Library.  See Fri., Sep. 11, 2015:  Early Efforts to Create a Public Library for the Town of Pelham.  In that article, I noted the dearth of information on the earliest efforts to create a public library in Pelham.  The article stated, in part, as follows:

"In the early 20th century, a corner on the first floor of the Town Hall of the Town of Pelham served as a tiny lending library for the entire Town of Pelham. The space was entirely inadequate. Indeed, the library corner was little used and languished in relative obscurity for a number of years. 

In about 1915, an initiative to create a public library for the Town of Pelham took root in the Village of North Pelham. On June 25, 1915, the State of New York granted a state charter for operation of the Pelham Public Library. In August of that year, Pelham's first librarian, Mary A. Dickenson, began her work in library space made available in the Hutchinson Elementary School. Ms. Dickenson continued to serve as the librarian for nearly thirty-five years until her death in 1949."

Additional research now has shed more light on the establishment of the Pelham Public Library in the Hutchinson School (today's Hutchinson Elementary School).  Today's Historic Pelham article details the results of that additional research.

The initiative to establish a substantial public library for Pelham residents in the Hutchinson School began in 1914.  The principal instigator and moving force behind the initiative was Jacob A. Wirth and his wife, Adella Mills Wirth, of the Village of North Pelham.  Jacob and Adella Wirth were public-spirited residents involved in a host of organizations and public-spirited activities in Pelham for many decades.  

Jacob Mills worked as a salesman for a Methodist book publisher located in Yonkers, though he and his family (including four sons:  Frederick M., LeRoy E., Archer W., and Ernest B.) lived in the Village of North Pelham.  Jacob Wirth served as Town Tax Collector and was an active member of the Winyah Lodge No. 866, F. & A. M. for many years.  He served as a member of the local Board of Education.  He was a member of the somewhat mysterious and light-hearted organization known as the "Bull Chasers" together with a number of his friends including Remington Schuyler, Walter Schlaefer, W. H. McIlroy, Clyde Howes, F. P. Schall, and Stacy Wood, among others.  His wife, Adella, died in 1947.  Jacob died on Saturday, May 10, 1952 at the Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York, at the age of eighty-six.  

At intervals during a three year period from 1912 into 1914, Jacob and Adella Wirth offered a large collection of more than five hundred books to the Village of North Pelham provided that a public library would be established to accept the donation.  Facing little success, in 1914, Jacob and Adella Wirth pushed a group known as the "Mothers' Circle" to establish a public library for Town residents in the Hutchinson School.  The Mothers' Circle was a group of Pelham women who provided support to the Hutchinson School.  Mr. and Mrs. Wirth offered to donate 500 books to the new library if the Mothers' Circle would found and oversee it.

The Mothers' Circle, together with the "Woman's Club of North Pelham," took up the challenge and embraced the initiative.  Mrs. Francis Harris was appointed to lead the project and plan the new library.  The enterprise began with the sponsorship of a town-wide "Book Day" where Pelham residents were asked to donate books for the new library.  Hundreds of books were donated in response.  In addition, Jacob and Adella Wirth donated more than 500 books to the new library.

All of Pelham supported the initiative.  The School Board and the Hutchinson School made a corner of a room in the school available to serve as the library until a more permanent home could be found.  In less than six weeks, more than 1,500 volumes, most brand new, were sitting on shelves in the new library, all "passed by the library censor as worthy of a place in the collection."

The first plan was to run the library as a department of the Mothers' Circle, a women's organization that supported Hutchinson School.  The library charged one dollar per year for membership.  As Pelhamites joined the new library and paid their dues, additional books were bought and donated.  Within a very short time the Pelham Library held more than 2,000 volumes.  

From the outset, Library board member Mrs. Paul Harris served as a volunteer librarian.  Clearly, however, the administrative duties quickly became overwhelming as the library catalog grew and the institution became more popular.  The members of the Mothers' Circle began clamoring for the services of a "regular librarian."  

In short, the growing library was quickly becoming an important institution in need of more professional and more regular administration.  Those involved with the venture began exploring the possibility of turning the institution over to the Village of North Pelham so that taxpayer funds would be available to support the institution.  Additionally, those involved pushed to have the institution chartered by the State as a public library so that state funds might be made available for further support.

Mrs. Francis Harris, the Mothers' Circle, and the Woman's Club of North Pelham raised an additional $100 toward funding the continued operation of the proposed library and to obtain from the State of New York a matching $100 grant.  Then, at some point during the Spring of 1915, Mrs. Francis communicated with the head of the library system of the schools of New York to find out how to obtain a formal charter for the library and how to seek matching State funds to help support the new institution.

At the same time, efforts were underway to turn the library over to the Village of North Pelham.  Finally, on Monday, May 24, 1915, the Board of Trustees of the Village of North Pelham held a special meeting and agreed to take over the library organized by Mrs. Francis Harris, the Mothers' Circle, and the Woman's Club of North Pelham.  During the same meeting, the Village Board appointed a Library Board of Trustees consisting of Jacob A. Wirth, Thomas J. James, Isaac C. Hill, Frederick Henderschoff and, significantly, Mrs. Paul Harris who soon became the first librarian of the Pelham Public Library.  The Village Board also appropriated $600 to support the Pelham Public Library.  

The following Friday evening, May 28, 1915, the Library Board of Trustees met.  The first order of business was to create staggered terms for the board members by drawing lots for the terms of their office varying from one to five years.  Thereafter the trustees organized and proceeded with the affairs of the new library.  

There must have been a hum of excitement among the trustees as they met that evening.  Earlier in the day, Mrs. Francis Harris had received a letter from Asa Wynkopp, head of the library system of the schools of New York State.  Mrs. Harris had submitted information about the status of the Town's new library and had requested information regarding how to apply for a formal library charter and to obtain state aid for the new venture.  Asa Wynkopp's letter responded, in part, as follows:

"Again let us congratulate you on the remarkable success you are achieving in your library enterprise.  How could such interest and energy be kept back all these years?  The state has known very few such remarkable developments in such a small community.  If your application is on hand in due form by Monday of next week, I think it will receive favorable action by the regents at the June meeting."

It took some time to obtain the charter.  By March, 1916, however, the Pelham Library received its charter and was off and running.  

In 1916, the Board of Trustees of the Village of North Pelham appropriated another $600 to support the Library.  In 1917, the Board increased the appropriation to $900.  A year later, in 1918, the appropriation was raised to $1,000.  In each of 1919, 1920, and 1921, the North Pelham Board appropriated $1,200.  (There is some confusion in the newspaper accounts, but these numbers give a rough sense as to the appropriations provided in the Library's earliest years.)

A "regular" librarian finally was appointed in 1916 to replace the volunteer librarian, Mrs. Paul Harris.  The librarian was Mrs. Mary A. Dickenson who served in the role for more than 25 years.  

By 1923, The Pelham Sun reported that the Pelham Library had become so successful and important to the town that a dedicated building was needed.  The paper said:  "Because of the growth and increased usefulness of the library, it will soon be necessary to construct a building.  The trustees are considering this and are investigating suitable sites."  It would, however, be about seventy years before the objective was achieved.

Mary A. Dickenson, Pelham's First Full-Time Librarian.  Source:

Mrs. Dickenson Completing 25 Years Service At Pelham Public

Library Reviews Growth In Readers, Books -- Librarian Started

Service in 1915 When Readers Numbered About 100. List of

Subscribers Now Totals 3,600 Who Have 8,000 Volumes to Choose

From in Widely Diversified Fields, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 9, 1940, Vol.

30, No. 19, p. 5, cols. 3-5. NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

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"Pelham Library Now Contains Over 7,000 Books
-----

The Pelham Public Library in the Hutchinson School now contains 7006 volumes and has a daily circulation of 60 books.  The fact that the library is of great service is shown by the large membership of 1780 persons.

Under the instigation of Jacob A. Wirth in 1914 the library was founded by the Mothers' Circle, an organization interested in the Hutchinson School.  Mr. Wirth offered to donate 500 books if the Mothers' Circle would organize a library.  

Mrs. Frances A. Harris was appointed to plan the organization.  The first plan was to run the library as a department of the Mothers' Circle and to charge a dollar a year for membership.  Under Mrs. Harris' management the library acquired 2,000 books by soliciting and by means of a book day which was a great success.

The members of the Mothers' Circle soon decided that it was necessary to secure the services of a regular librarian.  At this time, June, 1915, the library was taken over by the Board of Trustees of the Village of North Pelham and was granted a charter as a public library by the University of the State of New York.

The trustees at this time were Jacob A. Wirth, Frances A. Harris, Thomas J. James, Isaac C. Hill and Frederick C. Henderschott.

In a letter received from Albany, the trustees were informed that they had broken the state record for the number of books and the rapid organization of a self-supporting village library.

When the Village Board took it over in 1915 they granted an appropriation of $600 a year.  This amount was again appropriated in 1916.  In 1917 it went to $900 and the year after to $1000.  The amount was raised fo $1200 for the next two years and for the last three years has been $1800.  Through the courtesy of the Board of Education, rent, light and heat are provided free of charge.

J. W. Crooks, president of the Board of Library Trustees, recently constructed a number of shelves so that there is now room for all the books on hand and space provided for an additional two thousand.

Mrs. Mary A. Dickenson has been the librarian for over seven years.  The present Board of Trustees is comprised of J. W. Crooks, president; Isaac C. Hill, treasurer; Mrs. John T. Brook, Mrs. A. Wilbur Crane and John R. O'Donnell.

Because of the growth and increased usefulness of the library, it will soon be necessary to construct a building.  The trustees are considering this and are investigating suitable sites."

Source:  Pelham Library Now Contains Over 7,000 Books, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 13, 1923, p. 9, cols. 2-3.

"Pelham.  Under the leadership of the Mothers Club of North Pelham, a rapidly growing new library has been established for the benefit of the village and town located in a room of the Hutchinson School.  The enterprise began with the calling of a 'book day,' when hundreds of excellent books were contributed.  Interest thus aroused continued to such a degree that within six weeks 1500 volumes were on the shelves, including such as were passed by the library censor as worthy of a place in the collection.  A good proportion of gifts were of new books, bought specially for the library and more than one-third are nonfiction.  The largest gift, including more than 500 volumes, was from Mrs. Jacob A. Wirth.  The directing spirit in the movement, now acting as volunteer librarian, is Mrs. Frances A. Harris."

Source:  "Help Rendered by Library Organizers" in New York Libraries:  A Quarterly Devoted to the Interests of the Libraries of the State, Vol. IV (November 1913 - August 1915), p. 228 (Vol. 4, No. 7, Albany, NY:  May 1915).

"STATE PRAISES THE PELHAM LIBRARY
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North Pelham, May 28. -- The following is an extract from a letter just received by Mrs. Francis Harris, of 400 Seventh avenue, this village, from Asa Wynkopp, head of the library system of the schools of New York, in reference to the Pelham library, which was taken over by the village of North Pelham at a special meeting held last Monday evening.  The letter reads in part:  'Again let us congratulate you on the remarkable success you are achieving in your library enterprise.  How could such interest and energy be kept back all these years?  The state has known very few such remarkable developments in such a small community.  

'If your application is on hand in due form by Monday of next week, I think it will receive favorable action by the regents at the June meeting.'

(The application above referred to is for the charter of the Pelham library and for the $100 of the state money to be added to the $100 of the money raised in this town for the library, to be used in purchasing books known as state aid for libraries).  The board of trustees appointed last Monday evening, consisting of Jacob A. Wirth, Thomas J. James, I. C. Hill, Mrs. Paul Harris and Frederick Henderschott, will meet this evening in executive session at the library in the Hutchinson school and draw lots for the terms of their offices, which vary from one year to five years.  The trustees will then organize and proceed with the affairs of the library, which was instigated by Mrs. Harris, and brought by her, with the aid of the residents of this village and the Mothers' Circle and the Woman's Club of North Pelham up to its present status."

Source:  STATE PRAISES THE PELHAM LIBRARY, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 28, 1915, p. 3, col. 1.  

"News in Nearby Towns
NORTH PELHAM
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SURPRISE AT PRIMARY.
-----
John Rohrs Defeats Organization Choice For Collector.

The Democratic committee of the village of North Pelham received a surprise Tuesday evening, when at the village primaries at the town hall sudden opposition developed for the office of village tax collector, and the committee's candidate was defeated.  About fifty enrolled Democrats and some Republicans appeared at the town hall Tuesday evening when the nominations were in order.

For a time harmony prevailed and the nominations of Peter Ceder for village president, Charles A. Barker for village trustee, and A. P. Delcambre for village treasurer were unanimous.  Then came the contest.  George O'Sullivan was designated by the Democratic committee for village tax collector and John Rohrs appeared in opposition.  A vote was taken, with the result that Rohrs received 25 votes against O'Sullivan's 21, carrying the nomination by four votes.

The nominations for trustees of the Pelham public library were unanimous, as follows:  Jacob Wirth, Isaac C. Hill, F. C. Henderschott, Mrs. Paul Harris and Thomas J. James.  The committee to fill vacancies consists of the Democratic village committee, C. L. Chapman, chairman; W. J. Griffin, secretary; Paul Harris, Michael Lynch, George Lambert, E. F. Campbell and Maurice Hayes.

The Republican primaries will be held next Monday evening at the town hall, Fifth avenue.  Monday is the last day for making the nominations, which have to be filed with the commissioner of elections 15 days prior to the election.  It is reported about North Pelham that the agitation of a division of the Union free school district of Pelham will be the most important issue of the campaign.  Altho the matter is entirely in the hands of the district superintendent and the state commissioners, the activities of the local politicians have made it an issue, along which lines the campaign will be waged."

Source:  News in Nearby Towns -- NORTH PELHAM -- SURPRISE AT PRIMARY -- John Rohrs Defeats Organization Choice For Collector, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 2, 1916, p. 7, cols. 1-2.  

"HAPPENINGS IN NORTH PELHAM
-----
REPORT FOR LIBRARY
-----
Two years old and had 823 members on January 1.
-----

The following report of the Pelham public library has been issued:

Our library is two years old this month and the trustees believe that a statistical report will be of great interest to the patrons and taxpayers.  By way of introduction, it may be in order to give a brief history of the starting of the library.

Jacob A. Wirth at intervals for three years offered a collection of books to the village provided somebody would open and conduct a library.  This offer was finally accepted by the Women's club on condition that Mrs. Paul Harris would do the work necessary, without any payment.  At the end of three months, the result was, a Free Public Library, one of the state chain, supported by the School District and the taxpayers of North Pelham.  A letter was received from the authorities at Albany congratulating Mr. Wirth and Mrs. Harris on the fact that they had broken all state records in village library progress.

Located in Hutchinson school building, and open at 8:30 on school mornings, the library has become a haven of fairy land, folk lore, facts and fiction to every child who attends the school; their parents search its walls for their reading afternoons and evenings.  The only complaint ever brought to the attention of the library trustees is that there are not enough books.  The state law provides that one-third of the book money must go for non-fiction, leaving only $133 1/3 available of the present allotment for the children and for novels.  Not much for a library of 822 members, is it?

January 1917, there were 608 members.  During the year 117 children and 96 adults enrolled and they drew out a total of 13,070 books.  This number would have been greater had it not been for the breaking of the pipes which necessitated the closing of the libraray for some weeks this winter.  The trustees feel that the library is wanted, needed and will be heartily supported by the tax payers who must surely feel pride in their library which leads all village libraries in the state of New York.

Treasurer's report, Pelham Public Library, 1917, March 1917 to March 1918.

Receipts.

Balance on hand.....................$   378.96
From village............................  1,200.00
Fines.......................................         4.00          $1,532.96

Disbursements.

Assistant Librarians................$    945.00
Janitor.....................................        19.50
Books.....................................       239.97
Sundries.................................         44.94
Insurance...............................         24.39          $1,273.80

     Balance on hand...........................................$  309.16

(Signed) I. C. Hill, 
Treasurer Pelham public library.

Of the balance on hand, $309.16, there is $100,00 pledged to the state for books.  It is estimated that $250.00 will be required to carry the library until it may expect the funds for 1918.  This leaves a probable deficit of at least $40, to be carried by the trustees, unless the requested increase of $300 is permitted to stand.  The trustees plan to buy more books than heretofore, they desire to purchase a suitable case for the splendid mineral collection received from Mrs. Hazen and Mrs. Tiers and they should have $100 to hold over for the 1919 appropriation for books, which becomes available in October, 1918.

Signed JACOB A. WIRTH, Pres.
FRANCES A. HARRIS, Secy."

Source:  HAPPENINGS IN NORTH PELHAM -- REPORT FOR LIBRARY -- Two years old and had 823 members on January 1, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 27, 1918, p. 7, col. 2.  

"Jacob A. Wirth
Retired Book Salesman

DOBBS FERRY -- Jacob A. Wirth of North Pelham, a retired salesman for the old Methodist book concern here, died Saturday at Rosary Hill Home, Hawthorne, at the age of eighty-six.

Mr. Wirth was active in New Rochelle in the Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star.  He was a life member of Winyah Chapter, OES, founded by his wife, Mrs. Adella Mills Wirth, who died five years ago.

Surviving are four sons, Frederick M., LeRoy E., Archer W., and Ernest B. Wirth."

Source:  Jacob A. Wirth -- Retired Book Salesman, The Herald Statesman [Yonkers, NY]. p. 2, col. 4.

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Sixteen-Year-Old Pelhamite Nicknamed "The Kid" Received the French Croix de Guerre for Bravery Twice

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This year marks the centennial of the entry of the United States into World War I on April 6, 1917. Thus, today's Historic Pelham article is the next in a series of articles intended to document Pelham's role in World War I. At the end of today's article is a list of previous articles concerning Pelham and World War I, with links.  

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The three were mere boys, doing men's work.  Julian Broome Livingston Allen of Pelham Manor, sixteen-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hobbes Allen of The Priory, was one of them.  Another was nineteen-year-old John Verplanck Newlin of Whitford, Pennsylvania.  The three were ambulance operators on the Front in France on that fateful day, August 3, 1917.  They were members of the 29th Section of the American Ambulance Corps.

The men of the 29th Section knew the routine.  They drove ambulances within sight of, and under fire from, the enemy.  Like their fighting counterparts, they had seen and heard so many German shells that they were proficient in judging the imminence of danger from the screeching pitch and crescendo of falling German artillery shells.  Almost intuitively, when the screeching pitch and the crescendo they heard together were just right, they knew to flop flat to the ground and cover before the impending explosion.  French troops, it was said, were bemused by the habit of English and Americans who often refused to flop flat to the ground, choosing instead to inspire others with their bravery as shells exploded around them.  

On August 3, 1917, the three young boys stepped outside of their abri, a form of dugout shelter used by troops to shield themselves from artillery shells and other dangers.  They were near Montzéville, a small village in northeast France.  They stood in a group near two of the Section 29 ambulances, though they should not have been outside the abri.  At that moment, the screeching pitch and the crescendo they heard together were just right.  They knew to flop flat to the ground.  One did.  Julian Allen and John Newlin, however, didn't.  According to one report, Julian Allen, the sixteen-year-old Chief of the unit, chose to inspire and stood tall.  His comrade John Newlin admired his bravery and chose to follow his lead.

The artillery shell explosion was massive.  It destroyed two ambulances, leaving masses of mangled metal.  It sprayed shrapnel in every direction.  The ambulance driver flat on the ground was unscathed -- unaffected by the explosion and the shrapnel.  Julian Allen of Pelham Manor and John Newlin, however, were not so lucky.  Shrapnel flew into and pierced one of Julian Allen's knees.  Newlin likewise was hit by shrapnel, in his back.

At first Allen's wound did not seem dangerous.  In contrast, there never was any question that Newlin's injury was life threatening.  Allen and Newlin were rushed to the hospital at Fleury.  

At noon on August 5th, Julian Allen was evacuated to a Paris hospital.  According to one account:

"Newlin's condition was critical.  He was so weak that he could not be operated upon until the evening of the 4th.  The operation was apparently successful and he showed signs of such great improvement that the French Commander of the Section, Lieutenant Latruffe, with four of the fellows, called on him on the afternoon of August 5 to present him with his Croix de Guerre and the Division citation."

The optimism over Newlin's condition was misplaced.  By late that night, "poor Jack was dead."

Julian Allen recuperated and returned.  Indeed, twice he was decorated with the Croix de Guerre, once for heroism in 1916 (see below) and the second time for his bravery at the time of his wounding on August 3, 1917.  Created in 1915, the Croix de Guerre was awarded both to individuals and units who distinguished themselves "by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy."  Frequently, the medal was awarded to those who were "'mentioned in dispatches,' meaning a heroic deed or deeds were performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit."  See "Croix de Guerre" in Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 22, 2017).  

The Allen Family of The Priory was one of the most celebrated families of Pelham Manor during the first three decades of the early 20th century.  In future articles to commemorate the centennial of World War I and Pelham's role, the Allen family repeatedly will be a focus. 

Julian Allen was born April 8, 1900 in The Priory at Pelham Manor.  Soon he grew into the body of a strong, fit, strapping, athletic, and well-built teenager.  At the age of fifteen, Julian Allen joined Section 29 of the American Ambulance Corps in France.  According to a member of that Corps and to Allen's obituary, Julian "was only fifteen when he joined us.  In applying he stretched his age to seventeen, and, as he looked at least twenty, he was readily accepted."  In reality, the nation of France was struggling for its existence which, at the time, was in doubt.  France accepted all comers.  

Looking for heroes, propaganda, and successes early in the War, the national print media soon found Julian Allen of Pelham Manor (guided, it seems most certain, by Julian's successful father, Frederick Hobbes Allen).  Only a few months after Julian Allen became an ambulance driver at the front, he was cited for bravery and received, thereafter, his first Croix de Guerre.  Julian Allen received his first citation in 1916:

"for having volunteered to transport wounded requiring urgent care from relief posts to hospitals over a route, in sight of the enemy, frequently shelled and swept by machine-gun fire -- a fine example of bravery and endurance."

Julian Allen of the Village of Pelham Manor became famous.  He was touted by newspapers, magazines, and others as "The Kid."  Headlines told of the war exploits of The Kid.  Magazines wrote of his exploits.   

At the time he left to join the ambulance corps in France in 1915, Julian Allen was attending St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.  After he was badly wounded in the knee, He joined the British army in 1917 and was commissioned a lieutenant in Coldstream Guards. 

After World War I, Julian Allen finished his education and joined the Bankers Trust Company in Paris.  In 1933 Julian joined Morgan et Cie, a Paris firm associated with the New York banking house of J.P. Morgan & Co.  (When the Paris firm was incorporated in 1945 he was named a Vice President and became Executive VP in 1952 and President in 1955, retiring in 1965.)  He then became president [sic; actually, vice-president] and European representative of the securities firm of Clark Dodge & Co., Inc.

From 1942 to 1943, Julian Allen re-entered the armed services and served in the U.S. Air Force as a colonel.  He made his home at Chateau de Quetteville in Normandy and at Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor, NY.  Mr. Allen was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Order of the British Empire, the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre (twice decorated for World War I service). He was a vestryman of the American Cathedral in Paris and a member of the board of governors of the American Hospital.

Julian Allen's personal life seemingly was often in turmoil.  On October 7, 1924, Allen married a newly-divorced actress named Eileen Kearney Dillingham.  She was the second wife of New York theatre producer Charles Dillingham. The Dillinghams divorced in July, 1924.  Two months later, she married Julian Allen.  One year later, Julian and Eileen Kearney Allen divorced, only to remarry again.  

In 1936, the couple divorced a second time in Palm Beach.  One month later, Allen married Alice Harding Pell.  Before and after Allen's service during World War II, he and Alice Harding Pell Allen lived in Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor and Sugar Hill Farm, Vermont, and in Paris where he was affiliated with Morgan et Cie, becoming president of the Paris bureau in 1955.  The couple had two children:  Mary Elizabeth (who became the Countess de Lurot) and Frederick H.S. Allen.  Julian Allen died in Paris on October 22, 1967.

The World War I service of Pelham Manor's leading family of the day, the Allens, was exemplary.  In addition to Julian Allen's service, his father, Frederick Hobbes Allen, received a lieutenant's commission in the United States Naval Reserve, aviation section, and served in France.  Julian Allen's brother, Frederick S. Allen served in the United States Navy.  Julian Allen's mother and two of his sisters (Barbara and Dorothy) were active in war work in France and even drove ambulances during the war.  The family's efforts on behalf of France during World War I is a story in itself, and will be the subject of a future article. 

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Below is the text of a number of items regarding Julian Broome Livingston Allen and his service during World War I.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"This Sixteen-Year-Old Wins Honor in France

Julian Allen, Son of New York Lawyer, Had Early Training of Hero Making Sort

FRANCE has cited for bravery a New York boy of 16, who has been driving an ambulance at the front.  He is Julian Broome Livingston Allen, son of Frederick H. Allen, a lawyer of this city, who brought him up on a Spartan plan.

'Learn to do things for yourself,' was the principle which ruled the family of two boys and three girls.  Julian Allen learned to act and think for himself when he was a little boy.  A picture reproduced here shows him at the age of 5 riding his pony up at Pelham Manor, where is situated the country home of the Allens, Bolton Priory.  He was inured early to the athletic life. It was not unusual for Mr. Allen and his five children to be up at dawn for a canter over the roads.  The boys were proficient in all kinds of sports before they were in their teens.

When Julian was 12 he was sent out to visit an aunt at Colorado Springs.  He went all by himself and without even being commended to the good offices of the conductor.  When he arrived he had the air of an experienced traveller.

Another influence for efficiency in the bringing up of the young ambulance driver was St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H.  It was out of a military encampment intended originally for students of St. Paul's that there developed the junior training camps which were held at Plum Island last summer under the direction of officers of the United States army.

Julian was too young to carry a rifle when the European war began but from the first he would have liked to enlist.  His older brother, Frederick S. Allen, who has since returned to Harvard University, joined the ambulance service.  At the age of 14 Julian had become a capable chauffeur.  He had a small runabout which he could take apart and put together.

He finally managed to get into the French ambulance service, although he was then barely 15.  He has now been wounded at the front for more than a year.  His fellow ambulance drivers call him 'The Kid.'  The sobriquet fits his age, but not his appearance, for he is 5 feet 9 inches in height and weighs 135 pounds.  He is as hard as nails and as supple as wire and has the nerve of a grenadier.

His letters home are filled with the stir and action of the great events in which he is living.  He speaks French fluently and his letters bristle with soldier slang and with the terse speech of his native land.

'We have been very busy,' he begins one of his letters.  'I have had one night's sleep out of the last four and to-night I must work again.  This is poste de secours work, and all that we have seen before is child's play compared to this.

'The roads here are awful.  Shell holes make them nearly impassable.  Fortunately we have the moon to give us some light.  We go through the villages, which are continually shelled, and it is not very pleasant.  French batteries are right beside the road, and last night during a tir de barrage it was awful.  The air was red with shells and the air filled with their whistle and roar.

'The boches, thank heavens, were to busy shelling the trenches to pay any attention to the roads.  However, they sent a few gas shells into B----.  The smell was awful.  However, we got through without having to use our masks.  Two big 150 shells fell about fifteen yards from us, but they fell on soft ground in a field and did no harm.'

Here are some glimpses of the life the boy has been leading as given in another letter:

'I am de piquet for twenty-four hours in this God forsaken village.  The dust is covering the roads.  For five days now it has not rained and the mud turned to dust.  From time to time a shell comes whistling and roaring into homes, already damaged, that line the main road.  Flies are everywhere, a black, buzzing mass that sets you crazy, now lighting on your hands and now on your face.  The car is covered with them.  They are maddening!

'My hands are disgusting.  There is no water to be had.  Gasolene is more cleansing.  I spent the other night in the depths of an abri [dugout or shelter] that smelt of all the disgusting things one could imagine.  Beside me a man was snoring loudly; on a bench a malade was coughing steadily.  In a corner a blesse was lying on a stretcher, groaning in his tortures.  From time to time a brancardier tried to comfort him.

'Outside the steady rumble of passing wagons was heard, then the roar and crash of a shell, the frightened gallop of the horses, the cries of the drivers and cracking of whips!  Then all was quiet but for the coughs and the moans and the snores and I fell asleep.'

Here is the light hearted way in which he speaks of the narrow escape he had from death:

'Monday night we went to Marre.  On the road up we were fired upon by mitraileuses.  Friday night I went up to Marre again.  They put several shrapnel shells into the village.  One landing just across the street, an eclat, hit my helmet and shrapnel balls fell about us.'

'New birds are beginning to come in,' he writes again.  'Sunday night I went up the hill [Le Mort Homme] about midnight.  Four of us were outside the abri when suddenly a shell roared in and fell twenty yards distant.  Naturally we ducked and fortunately we did.  Even so we were struck by falling stones and dirt.  I was hit in the neck -- just scratched.  For two hours the boches shelled the poste and you may be sure we were in the abri.'

He describes in detail the dressing or relief station to which he and his comrades were bringing the wounded.  He traversed shell torn highways and forded streams in his car.  

'When I finally did reach the posts,' he goes on, 'I was greeted by four shells landing on all sides of me, none more than fifty yards away and one within ten yards.  It was impossible to return on the same road with my blesse.  I found that there was a mule path through the fields.  I could use that and did.  I did it without too much trouble and no bad shakes to my blesse.  It was the first time since the French had dropped back to their present lines that any vehicle but a two wheeled mule cart had gone to the poste.'

'Life is getting more exciting,' he writes of an experience during the summer.  'We work nearly every night.  The boces shell the roads a good deal.  The other night a shell fell fifteen feet behind the car.'

'The road had been shelled terribly,' he wrote a few days later, 'and we were just able to get by and up to the poste.  The boches were trying all afternoon to get a battery just beside the road and the road was in awful shape when we went through at midnight.

'We started back, but several revitaillement wagons had fallen into the holes and our road was blocked.  We telephoned to have other cars come up to the Calvaire, which was five hundred yards away.

'Two of our cars ran back and forward from the posts and we had to carry our men five hundred yards to the other cars.  I can assure you that it was no fun to carry a stretcher over a shell torn road and in mud several inches deep.  I thought that my arms would fall off when finally all the blesses were transported.

'We hid our cars as best we could behind a hill where the road had been cleared we went back.'

Writing under date of September 26 young Allen tells of the coming of the autumn rains.

'It poured down in torrents,' he says, 'and the roads were rivers of mud and water.  In places at our posts especially we had to walk in mud above our knees.  For the last five days a thick mud has covered both me and my car.'

Throughout the letters appears the ardor of youth.  There is a total absence of thought for self as he goes on his errands of mercy along the shell torn roads and the battlefields.

In the official army order in which he is cited Julian Allen is praised for 'having volunteered to transport wounded requiring urgent care from relief posts to hospitals over a route in sight of the enemy, frequently shelled and swept by machine gun fire, a fine example of bravery and endurance.'

In view of what the lad has done his father thinks it is time that he returned to his own country.  Julian was in the fourth form at St. Paul's when he went abroad.  His family want him to come back now and begin work under a tutor so that he will be able to enter Harvard next fall.  So application has been duly made for his discharge, and they hope to see him back by Christmas Day.

His sisters made their debut at a dance at Sherry's given on the night of the day on which the newspapers printed the cable dispatch telling of the honor which had come to their brother at the front."

Source:  This Sixteen-Year-Old Wins Honor in France -- Julian Allen, Son of New York Lawyer, Had Early Training of Hero Making Sort, The Sun [NY, NY], Dec. 10, 1916, Section 5 Special Feature Supplement, p. 6, cols. 6-8. 

"Julian Allen with his ambulance at the front."

Source:  This Sixteen-Year-Old Wins Honor in France --

Julian Allen, Son of New York Lawyer, Had Early Training of

Hero Making Sort, The Sun [NY, NY], Dec. 10, 1916, Section

5 Special Feature Supplement, p. 6, cols. 6-8.  NOTE:  Click

on Image to Enlarge.

"Left to Right -- Frederick H. Allen, the Misses Dorothy, Barbara

and Joan, Frederick S. Allen and Julian Allen when he was five

years old.  Source:  This Sixteen-Year-Old Wins Honor in France

-- Julian Allen, Son of New York Lawyer, Had Early Training of

Hero Making Sort, The Sun [NY, NY], Dec. 10, 1916, Section 5

Special Feature Supplement, p. 6, cols. 6-8.  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

"CITES NEW YORK BOY FOR DEED OF BRAVERY
-----
French Army Orders Praise Julian Allen, Aged 16 for Succoring Wounded Under Fire.
-----

PARIS, Nov. 30. -- Julian Allen of New York City, a former student at St. Paul's School, is cited in army orders 'for having volunteered to transport wounded requiring urgent care from relief posts to hospitals over a route, in sight of the enemy, frequently shelled and swept by machine-gun fire -- a fine example of bravery and endurance.'
-----

Julian Broome Livingston Allen, who is 16 years old, is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick H. Allen of Pelham Manor.  His father is a member of the firm of Allen & Cammann, lawyers, formerly Secretary and Charge d'Affaires of the Hawaiian Legation, and a member of the permanent American Commission that studied agricultural finance, production, distribution, and rural life abroad.  

His father said last night that he had received a cablegram telling of his son being decorated.  He said that Julian entered the American Ambulance Corps. when 15 years old and had served at the front sixteen months.  The boy is exceptionally large and strong for his age, and will have to study two years more before completing his course at St. Paul's School.  He has been conspicuous for some time for his work under dangerous circumstances and was styled 'The Kid' in a recent magazine article telling of the work of the corps.  This article spoke of him as one of the most daring of the ambulance drivers."

Source:  CITES NEW YORK BOY FOR DEED OF BRAVERY -- French Army Orders Praise Julian Allen, Aged 16 for Succoring Wounded Under Fire, N.Y. Times, Dec. 1, 1916.  

"NEWLIN KILLED -- ALLEN WOUNDED

ALL went well until the night of August 3, [1917] when a '77' fell only a few feet from the entrance to our abri at Montzeville, a piece of eclat striking Julian Allen in the knee and wounding him painfully, though not seriously, while another piece hit Newlin 1 [Footnote 1 reads "1  John Verplanck Newlin, of Whitford, Pennsylvania; Princeton, '19; joined the Field Service in May, 1917; served with Section Twenty-Nine; died of wounds, received while on duty at Montzeville, on August 5, 1917."] in the back, hurting him dangerously.  Newlin's and Ball's cars were smashed almost beyond recognition, and Martin and Hughes narrowly escaped being hurt.  Allen and Newlin were rushed to the hospital at Fleury.  The wound of the former, though more serious than we thought at first, proved to be not dangerous.  At noon on August 5 he was evacuated to Paris.  But Newlin's condition was critical.  He was so weak that he could not be operated upon until the evening of the 4th.  The operation was apparently successful and he showed signs of such great improvement that the French Commander of the Section, Lieutenant Latruffe, with four of the fellows, called on him on the afternoon of August 5 to present him with his Croix de Guerre and the Division citation.  But at midnight we received word from the hospital that poor Jack was dead.  It was a great shock to all of us, for he was a wonderfully brave and nervy lade and we had all grown very fond of him.

It was a blow to the Section to lose our Chef, Allen, and one of our men, after such a short time out at the front, and we had to go on as best we could without any authorized leader, though Paxton and Walker, who had been left in charge, succeeded, by dividing the work and the responsibility, in bringing us creditably through a long spell of hard, gruelling work.  Later, on September 10, Fletcher, from Section Fourteen, came over to take Allen's place as Chef until the latter returned from the hospital."

Source:  "Section Twenty-Nine -- THE STORY TOLD BY I.  JOHN TEMPEST WALKER, JR. II.  RICHARD O. BATTLES" in History of the American Field Service in France -- "Friends of France" 1914-1917 Told By Its Members With Illustrations, Vol. II, pp. 321, 324-25 (Boston and New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company - The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1920).

"The French soldier became shell-wise to a remarkable degree, learning to gauge to a nicety the timbre and intensity of the screech of the approaching missile.  The air might be full of such screeches -- not unlike tom-cats in the backyard.  The poilu remained indifferent, apparently inattentive; then at a certain note in the fracas, a certain stridency, a certain crescendo -- down he flopped flat, whatever he might be doing or carrying.  It was a more difficult art than you might think.  Above all, I believe, it was his delightful lack of self-consciousness that saved many a poilu's life.  English and Americans as a rule were instinctively afraid of appearing ridiculous.  A striking illustration was the case of three ambulance-boys.  They were standing in a group outside an abri.  They ought not to have been outside, but Julian Allen, who was only nineteen and chef [i.e., chief] of his section, believed he ought to give an example of fearlessness, and his friend Newlins [sic] did what Allen did.  I have forgotten who the third boy was.  There came the warning screech.  The third boy had the wisdom and humility to drop.  Allen and Newlins scorned to.  The third boy was untouched; Allen was badly wounded; Newlins was instantly killed."

Source:  Fletcher, Jefferson B., "In the Ambulance Service," in The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, Vol. XXVIII, No. CIX, pp. 25, 30-31 (Sep. 1919).  

"American Field Service Bulletin No 6. 
------------- 
August 8, 1917. 

This week is the turn of Section 29 to suffer in the long list of mishaps which have occurred in the American Field Service.  On the night of August 3rd. Julian Allen, Cdt. Adj. of Section 29 was at the relay post of their poste de secours.  Having just received word from there that another car was immediately needed, he left the abri to give the necessary order to John V. Newlin who was waiting with his ambulance.  At that moment a shell exploded smashing the car to pieces and wounding both Allen and Newlin.  Allen's injuries we are glad to report are but slight and he will be evacuated to Paris in a few days.  Newlin, however, sustained more serious injuries and died from their effects in a hospital at the, front on Sunday night, Aug. 5th.  He came from Whitford, Pa., was a student at Princeton University, and was 19 years of age."

Source:  American Field Service Bulletin No. 6, Aug. 8, 1917, p. 1.  

"JULIAN ALLEN WOUNDED.

John V. Newlin, Another American Ambulance Driver, Killed.

Special to The New York Times.

NEWPORT, R. I., Aug. 7. -- Mr. and Mrs. Frederick H. Allen of New York, who are visiting here, received word today that their son, Julian Allen, had been wounded by a German shell while driving an ambulance in France.  He was recently decorated by the French Government for bravery.

A news dispatch also reports that John V. Newlin of Whiteford, Penn., has been killed.  Both men were members of Section 29 of the American Ambulance Corps.  Allen's wounds are not serious."

Source:  JULIAN ALLEN WOUNDED -- John V. Newlin, Another American Ambulance Driver, Killed, N.Y. Times, Aug, 8, 1917.  

"PELHAM MANOR 
-----
Julian Allen Reported Wounded.

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick H. Allen, of the Bolton Priory this village, who are now at Newport, R. I., have received word that their son, Julian Allen bas been wounded by a German shell while driving an automobile ambulance in France.  Julian Allen recently was decorated for his bravery."

Source:  PELHAM MANOR -- Julian Allen Reported Wounded, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 10, 1917, p. 6, col. 2.
"Col. Julian Allen (1900-1967) joined the American Field Service in World War I and was wounded while driving an ambulance in France.  In 1917 he joined the British Coldstream Guards.  In the interwar period, he was a banker in Paris, joining in 1933 the French firm associated with the New York banking house of J. P. Morgan.  In 1942 he entered the AAF and then served on the staff of General Spaatz in both the European and Pacific theaters.  After the war he continued as a successful banker in Paris."

Source:  Kohn, Richard H. & Harahan, Joseph P., eds., USAF WARRIOR STUDIES:  ULTRA and the Army Air Forces in World War II -- An Interview with Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Edited with an Introduction and Essay by Diane T. Putney, p. 29, n.49 (Washington, D.C.:  Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, 1987).  

"The Service has included doctors and lawyers, architects and painters -- especially such as had been in France in their student days -- brokers and business men, even a few clergymen, and several poets and writers of distinction, such as Henry Sydnor Harrison and Emery Pottle.  They have varied in age as much as in profession.  The youngest volunteer we have had is Julian Allen, of New York, who was only fifteen when he joined us.  In applying he stretched his age to seventeen, and, as he looked at least twenty, he was readily accepted.  We have had, however, at least half a dozen who were over forty-five.  In the matter of the availability for service age does not seem to count; the young men are the most eager and the most active, but also they are the most restless in periods of slack work.  The influence of the older men is particularly helpful in maintaining discipline in such periods."

Source:  Andrew, A. Piatt, "For Love of France" in The Outlook, Dec. 27, 1916, pp. 923 &  926.

"'The Kid's' Dad Going Over
-----

'The Kid's' dad is going over to mix in the big fight himself.  If you chance to have missed one of the most interesting stories that has come over from France since the war began, you will not know that 'The Kid' is the affectionate title given young Julian E. L. Allen, a driver in the American Ambulance Corps.  He was wounded a few weeks ago, and has twice been decorated with the Croix de Guerre.

Frederick H. Allen, father of 'The Kid,' and who lives at 'The Priory,' Pelham Manor, and who is a practicing lawyer at 63 Wall street, has just received a lieutenant's commission in the United States Naval Reserve, aviation section, and will sail for France in a few days.  Mr. Allen has another son, Frederick S. Allen, who is an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve aviation section, at present at Camp Borden, Canada."

Source:  'The Kid's' Dad Going Over, New Rochelle Pioneer, Sep. 15, 1917, p. 3, col. 5.  

"Pelham Manor
-----
The engagement of Miss Joan Allen, daughter of Lieutenant Commander Frederick H. Allen, of the United States navy, and Mrs. Allen of the Priory, this village, to Lieutenant Goodhue Livingston, Jr., of 38 East 65th street, New York has been announced.  Miss Allen and her sisters, Miss Barbara and Miss Dorothy Allen, have been active in war work in France and have been staying in the Paris home at 19 Rue Reynouard, where their parents now are.  Their brother, Frederick S. Allen, is an ensign in the United States navy and Julian is a lieutenant in the United States army.  Lieutenant Livingston is attached to Battery F, Second Division Artillery.  He was wounded at Chateau Thierry. . . ."

Source:  Pelham Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 1, 1919, p. 8,  col. 3.

"[Obituary of Julian Broome Livingston Allen] 

Mr. Allen attended St. Paul's School in Concord, NH: left there in 1915 to enlist as a volunteer ambulance driver with the American Field Service in France in World War I and was wounded. He then joined the British army in 1917 and was commissioned a lieutenant in Coldstream Guards. After the war he joined the Bankers Trust Co. in Paris. In 1933 he joined Morgan et Cie, a Paris firm associated with the New York banking house of J.P. Morgan & Co.; when the Paris firm was incorporated in 1945 he was named a Vice President; he became Executive VP in 1952 and President in 1955, retiring in 1965. He then became president [sic; actually vice-president] and European representative of the securities firm of Clark Dodge & Co., Inc.

In 1936 he married Alice Harding Pell. They had two children, Mary Elizabeth (now the Countess de Lurot) and Frederick H.S. Allen. From 1942 to 1943, Mr. Julian Allen served in the U.S. Air Force as a colonel. He made his home at Chateau de Quetteville in Normandy and at Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor, NY. Mr. Allen held the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Order of the British Empire, the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre (twice decorated for World War I service). He was a vestryman of the American Cathedral in Paris and member of the board of governors of the American Hospital."

Source:  [Obituary of Julian Broome Livingston Allen], N.Y. Times, Oct. 23, 1967.

*          *           *          *          *

Below is a list of previous Historic Pelham articles that touch on Pelham history during World War I.  Each is followed by a citation to its source.  

Mon., Jan. 02, 2017:  Pelham Marches Into World War I in 1917.  

Mon., Nov. 14, 2016:  James Montgomery Flagg, Who Created the Iconic "I Want You" Uncle Sam, Was Born in Pelham.

Mon., May 30, 2016:  The Cannon That Roared: Pelham Sacrifices a Memorial for the Nation’s Sake.

Wed., Sep. 16, 2015:  Early History of The Pelham Comfort Society.

Fri., Jul. 17, 2015:  1918 Foreclosure Sale of 100 Lots On Bolton Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue in Pelham Manor.  
Wed., Jan. 03, 2007:  World War I Memorial Tree Plaques Honoring Pelham Citizens Who Died in World War I.  


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