Histories

The material for this report is from notes provided by Jeanne Thiele, great granddaughter of Chauncey Booth and his first wife, Margaret Allender, who was the daughter of Edward's oldest son, George, and his first wife, Margaret Crawford. The Thiele contributions are too numerous to be documented, but cover almost all the uncited facts, and provide added support to the facts for which citations are given. Jeanne's generosity in sharing her family's history, including pictures, and other images, is greatly appreciated by the Allender families and their researchers.
The parents of Edward Allender are not known nor is his date or exact place of birth known. Three of his children are listed in the 1880 U.S. Census and all give their father's place of birth as Maryland. The 1880 Census is the first Census that has information on birthplace of parents. On the 1830 Census for Westmoreland County, Edward's age falls within the range of 50-60 years, which means he would have to have been born between 1770 and 1780.
According to naming rules in practice at that time, we would expect Edward's oldest son to be named after Edward's father and his second son to have his mother's surname as his middle name. Since Edward chose to name his first son after his father-in-law and benefactor, George Crawford, it might be expected that he would then catch up on following the rules in the naming of his second and third son. Hence we would expect his father's name to be John and his mother's name might possibly start with T., from the middle initial of Edward's name, and might also explain the origin of the name for John's second son, Thompson.
Edward was part of the circle of the prominent and well-to-do families who built up the Mill towns of Western Pennsylvania. Among these families are those who bear the name Crawford and Thompson. His father-in-law, George Crawford, was one of the " lions" referred to in a scholarly examination of the elites of the era: The Industrialization of Duquesne and the Circulation of the Elites, 1891-1933, by Karen Cowles in the Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, v. 62, no.1 (Jan. 1979). He is also subject of an article by the Westmoreland County Historical Society called the Lions of Westmoreland County. Other articles are easily found that afford an opportunity to read more on the background of Edward and what he must have experienced in building up an estate for his children.