John Mills Allen

Democrat Representative of Mississippi's 1st district

  • Representative

    Mississippi, district 1

    December 4, 1899 - March 3, 1901

8

Congresses Served

8

House Terms

July 8, 1846 (71 years old)

Birthday

October 30, 1917

Death

  • Known as “Private John” Allen
  • Served as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War
  • Graduated from the law department of the University of Mississippi in 1870
  • Practiced law in Tupelo, Mississippi
  • Served as district attorney for the first judicial district of Mississippi (1875-1879) and as county prosecuting attorney (1880)
  • Elected to the United States House of Representatives for eight consecutive terms (1885-1901)
  • Gained his nickname “Private John” Allen during a campaign, emphasizing his status as a private in the Civil War
  • Served as chairman of the Committee of Expenditures in the Department of Justice and the Committee on Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River
  • Declined to run for reelection in 1900 and was appointed as United States commissioner to the St. Louis Exposition of 1904
  • Resumed law practice after his commission and died in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1917
  • Interred in Glenwood Cemetery