Scope and Contents

The Allen Family home at 1900 Heaton Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas

Series I: Allen Family and Fort Worth History, 1777-1987

The Allen Family and Fort Worth History series consists of three subseries: Genealogical Research, Allen Log Cabin, and Fort Worth History.

The Genealogical Research subseries traces 200 years of the Allen family, beginning with James Kenedy Allen, who immigrated to the United States from Ireland.

The Allen Log Cabin subseries documents the restoration and relocation of the cabin built in White Settlement by William Terry Allen, who moved with his family to Tarrant County as a child in 1854. The cabin was moved to Fort Worth in 1953, and the White Settlement Historical Society, of which Frances Allen was president, dismantled, rebuilt and restored the cabin to its original size in White Settlement. The series contains records of the White Settlement Historical Society’s fundraising efforts, construction bills, project reports and historical research about the cabin.

The Fort Worth History subseries contains research conducted by Frances Allen about a variety of topics relating to local history.

Series II: Family Documents, 1849-1986

The Family Documents series contains documents relating to the lives of members of the Emery and Allen families, including education records, career records, personal documents and newspaper clippings. The series also includes one folder of records about the Sparks family. Files are arranged by person and subject.         

Series III: Correspondence, 1834-1986

The Correspondence series consists of personal and professional correspondence of the Emery and Allen families. Many letters in this series are among members of the Emery family, particularly Dr. Daisy Emery Allen’s siblings. These letters are arranged chronologically. Frequent or significant correspondence is organized by person. There is additional correspondence from Frances Allen, located in the Biographic file for Jonathan Hamilton Baker, in reference to her research on the Baker Diary.                       

Series IV: Arts, Music and Theater, 1900-1982

The Arts, Music and Theater series documents the art scene of the 20^th century, especially in Dallas and Fort Worth. The series contains programs, publications and newspaper clippings collected by the Allen family and Sheila Allen in particular.

Series V: Clubs and Organizations, 1918-1990

The Clubs and Organizations series contains programs, rosters, minutes, yearbooks and publications from local and national organizations. The series mostly documents groups Frances and Sheila Allen were members of, including churches, professional organizations and historical societies.

Series VI, Photographs, [1850]-1977

The Photographs series contains photos of the Allen and Emery families, their relatives and friends. A majority of the photos were taken in Dallas, Fort Worth and Maine. Within the series is a collection of postcards, some of which have been mailed between Emery and Allen family members and friends. Many postcards are addressed to Annie Belle Emery Bright. View the Frances Allen image gallery of photographs.

Series VII: Books and Mementos, 1883-1992                                                      

The Books and Mementos series is made of up a number of artifacts in a variety of formats, including books, notebooks, business ledgers, scrapbooks, yearbooks, wallets, framed photographs, name plates, ribbons and oversize material.

Series VIII: Carl Venth, [1880]-1974

Documents in the Carl Venth series were collected by Sheila Allen, who was a student of Mr. & Mrs. Venth in Fort Worth and San Antonio. The series is divided into three subseries: Documents, Scrapbooks, and Photographs.

The Documents subseries consists of 27 published compositions as well as correspondence, programs and newspaper clippings.

The Scrapbooks subseries documents Carl Venth’s career with a number of scrapbooks, unfinished musical compositions and his posthumously published autobiography. Follow this link to view fully scanned Frances Allen Collection Scrapbooks page.

The Photographs subseries contains professional portraits and personal snapshots of Carl and Cathinka Venth and their friends, contemporaries, and students.

Series IX: Addendum, [1880s]-1977

The Addendum series consists of photographs, correspondence, personal documents, artifacts and oversize material found after completion of original finding aid. Some items from this group were added to other series where possible.

Accessibility Notice: Due to the complexity of the preceding documents, which contain scanned images, if you require assistance in accessing the information, please contact the Archives at 817-884-3272 or archives@tarrantcountytx.gov.