Augustus Chapman Allen

Augustus Chapman Allen (July 4, 1806 – January 11, 1864), along with his younger brother, John Kirby Allen, founded the City of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. He was born on July 4, 1806, in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present day hamlet of Sullivan in the Town of Sullivan, New York), to Sarah (Chapman) and Roland Allen.

Not long after turning 17, Augustus graduated from the Polytechnic Institute at Chittenango, New York, and started teaching mathematics there. In 1827, he changed careers and resigned his professorship. He then went to work as bookkeeper for the H. and H. Canfield Company, New York. After two years, he and his brother John bought an interest in the business. In the summer of 1832, the Allen brothers left Canfield to move to Texas, where they settled in San Augustine. By June 1833, the brothers had moved to Nacogdoches.

The Allen brothers arrived first in Galveston, Texas, and then moved to the small town of Saint Augustine. In 1833, Allen and his brother associated with a group of entrepreneurs in Nacogdoches and started operating as land speculators.

Instead of joining the army when the Texas War of Independence started, Augustus and his brother engaged in the business of keeping supply channels open. At their own expense, they outfitted a ship, the Brutus, for the purpose of protecting the Texas coast and assisting troops and supplies from the United States to arrive safely in Texas.

Nevertheless, some members of the Texas provisional government objected to the Allen brothers' activities, and rumors indicated they were engaged in privateering. In January 1836, they sold the Brutus to the Texas Navy, and it became only the second ship in the fledgling naval force. Augustus and John Allen continued to raise money and operate as receivers and dispensers of supplies and funds for the war effort without charge. In spite of the brothers' services, gossip and censure were aimed at the Allens because they were not in the armed services.

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