Allen, James (1)

Allen, James (1), a Congregational minister, was born at Roxbury, Mass., in 1692, and was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1710. His ordination took place Nov. 5, 1718, and he was the first minister of the Church in Brookline, Mass. His ministry continued twenty-eight years, being terminated by his death, which occurred Feb. 18, 1747. His published sermons were seven in number, one of them being The Election Sermon Preached before the Massachusetts Legislature in 1744. His parish shared largely in the revival which so generally pervaded New England in the middle of the century in which he lived. See Pierce, Centen. Discourse; Allen, Amer. Biog. Dict. s.v. (J. C. S.)