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Colonel John Allan of Revolutionary fame, and who was
especially prominent during that period in Eastern Maine, deserves much greater mention and consideration than historians have ever bestowed upon him.
This seeming neglect of one who is entitled to much honor is easily accounted for. His position under General Washington as Superintendent of the Indians of Eastern Maine did not bring him into the lime light of those times, although his duties were arduous and required skill, executive ability, keen foresight and sagacity, which attributes lie possessed to a marked degree. In executing this important mission he was not with any of the
memorable battles of the Revolution and hence his name is not prominently inscribed upon the roll of the famous men of that great struggle. His services for the cause of the American Colonies again brings into prominence Passamaquoddy Bay and the historic town of
Machias, that being his headquarters. John Allan was the eldest son of William Allan, one of the earliest settlers of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was born in
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, Jan. 3, 1746. His father, William Allan, was born about the year 1720; was a Scottish gentleman of means and an officer in the British Army. He married July 9, 1744,
Isabella Maxwell, the daughter of Sir Eustace Maxwell a gentleman of Scotland, and at the time of the birth of his son, in Jan., 1746, he was temporarily residing in Edinburgh Castle where he and his family had sought refuge during the troubles of the Rebellion. From 1748 to I750 there was quite a large emigration from England to the Nova Scotia coast, and it was about this time that William Allan settled at Halifax where he remained for a short time and then moved to Fort Lawrence where he resided until about 1759. It is supposed that he was a British officer at this tune. This was when the French Acadians were deported by the English government.
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