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Tabitha Hess was born February 1828, in Independence County, Arkansas, the daughter of Samuel Hess and Sarah (last name unknown).
Tabitha appears on the 1830 Independence County census as a female under the age of 5 years. The 1840 Izard County, Arkansas, census shows her as a female age 10-15 years, listed with her widowed mother.
Tabitha married Jesse H. Allen about 1843. Jesse Allen was born about 1826, in Arkansas, the eldest son of Eleazer "Eli" Allen and Elizabeth "Bettie" Henson. (Note: Information provided by Twylla Teer states that Eli Allen, born about 1802, in North Carolina, died about 1889, was the son of Squire Allen, who was the son of Gershom Allen. Eli Allen is buried in an unmarked grave in the Sunny Side Cemetery at Center Ridge, Conway County, Arkansas, beside his son, William Allen. Bettie Henson was born about 1823, the daughter of Charles Henson.)
Tabitha and Jesse settled near his father in Giles Township of Van Buren County, Arkansas, where they appear on the 1850 census. The census shows Jessie Allen, 24; Tebitha, 22; Louisa, 5; Wm R., 3; and Sary E., 10 months old.. Jesse was a farmer.
The 1860 Van Buren County census shows the family in Valley Township. The census shows Jesse Allen, 35, a farmer, real property valued at $600, personal property valued at $400; Tabitha, 30; Eliza, 16; Lewis, 15, a laborer; Susan, 13; at least three lines left empty except for the sign " under the Allen surname; and Tabitha's brother, Joseph Hess, 34, a laborer. We do not know why the census taken failed to record the first name of the younger children.
Daniel Hoffman posted the following on Ancestry: Jesse Allen's home was near the old "Need More" school house on the Little Red River, about eight miles west of Heber Springs, Arkansas. At the time it was part of Van Buren County (now Cleburne County). The area is now covered by Greer's Ferry Lake. Jesse Allen owned a great deal of land in the Little Red River bottoms. He raised cattle and hogs and did some crop farming as well. Jesse Allen was one of the leaders in establishment of the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in 1864. He and his brother, Thomas, were deacons in the church. At the time the church's name was "Flat Woods."
Jesse served in the Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War.
The 1870 Van Buren Co, AR census, Valley Township, shows Jesse Allen, 46, farmer, $450 real property, $750 personal property; Tabbitha, 43; Sarah E., 20; Margaret, 18; Lewis, 16; Calvin, 14; James, 12; Mahala, 8; Jesse, 5 and Eli, one month old, born in April.
Jesse died in 1877, in Arkansas, and is buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery at Heber Springs, in Cleburne County, Arkansas.
The 1880 Van Buren County, Arkansas census, Valley Township, shows Tabitha Allen, 59; Louis, son, 24; Calvin, son, 22; James, son, 21; Mahala, daughter, 19; Jesse, son, 14; and Samuel, son, 9 years old.
The 1900 census shows Tabitha, a widow, living with her son Samuel and his family. Census indicates Tabitha had 11 children, but only 10 were living at the time. Census also indicates that both her parents were born in Illinois.
In 1901, Tabitha applied for a widow's pension for Jesse's military service during the Civil War. She was living in Cleburne County (formerly Van Buren County), Arkansas at the time.
Tabitha died in 1907.
(Note: The list of children shown below was provided by Twylla Teer.)
Children of Jesse Allen and Tabitha Hess
1. Louisa Eliza Allen, b. Mar 8, 1844, Van Buren Co, AR; d. 1919, Cleburne Co, AR; m. Ezekiel Hartwick on Apr 15, 1865, in Van Buren Co. Ezekiel Hartwick, b. Feb 10, 1844, in TN; d. 1910, Cleburne Co, AR, was the son of Matthew Hartwick and Malinda Cothran. Louisa and Ezekiel are bur. in Oak Grove Cem, at Wolf Bayou, in Cleburne Co. Ezekiel was in the Confederate Cavalry in the Civil War. Louisa and Ezekiel had 4 children, but two of them died as infants. Surviving children: (1) James Jackson Hartwick, b. Jan 4, 1870, Van Buren Co, AR; (2) Mary E. Hartwick, b. July 1874, Van Buren Co, AR; m. Thomas J. Coffman on May 31, 1894, in Van Buren Co, then m. Bluford F. Atchley on Jan 5, 1908, in Cleburne Co
2. William R. Allen, b. 1847, Van Buren Co, AR
3. Sarah E. Allen, b. Apr 1849, Van Buren Co, AR
4. Margaret Allen, b. Mar 1851, Van Buren Co, AR; m. Ulysses Samuel Ridgeway on Dec 17, 1873, in AR. Ulysses Ridgeway was b. Apr 1850, in Van Buren Co, and d. abt 1909, in Lonoke Co, AR. Children included: (1) Sara Elizabeth Ridgeway, b. Mar 7, 1875, Cleburne Co, AR; m. Jerome R. Cook on July 11, 1900, in Lonoke Co, AR; (2) Samuel W. Ridgeway, b. Oct 18, 1877, AR; m. Annie Grimes on Dec 24, 1892, Cleburne Co, AR, then Nancy W. Robbins (Utly) on Aug 18, 1912, Pulaski Co, AR and (3) Yunice Minnie Ridgeway, b. Nov 1887, AR; m. J. C. Reynolds on July 10, 1904, Lonoke Co, AR
5. Louis Allen, b. Oct 3, 1854, Van Buren Co, AR
6. Calvin Allen, b. Mar 7, 1857, Van Buren Co, AR; m. Liddie Ann Scarber
7. James Henry Allen, b. Mar 7, 1859, Van Buren Co, AR; m. Olive Odum on Dec 9, 1887, at Heber Springs, in Cleburne Co, AR
8. Mahala Allen, b. 1862, Van Buren Co, AR
9. Jesse Allen, b. 1865, Van Buren Co, AR
10. Samuel Eli B. Allen, b. June 1870, Van Buren Co, AR