Tools Made: Edge Tools, hammers, axes and chisels
Working Dates: C1827-75. Born 15 Mar. 1806, died 28 Feb. 1875. Buried at the East Cemetery, Cromwell, CT.
J(ohn) Dean Allison. Born 1833, Died 9 Feb. 1903. Buried at the East Cemetery, Cromwell, CT.
He had an ad in the newspaper (ref. 9), The Sentinel and Witness for making and repairing axes.
"Axes, made and repaired in a superior manner by the subscriber, at his shop, one mile south of the
Pameacha Bridge, on the turnpike".
The turnpike is now rte. 17, the road to Durham. Map Q & R.
Ref 15 lists William P. Allison of Haddam marrying Emily Miller (born 23 Dec. 1804, died 9 Sep. 1871.) of Middletown, Dec 30, 1832, married by Rev Fitch Reed.
William P. Allison moved to the Nooks area of the upper houses in 1845. The upper houses became the town of Cromwell in 1851. He was in a partnership with Isaac H. and Martin R. Warner in 1846-49 manufacturing hammers (ref.47).
He had two sons in the business, J. Dean Allison, Col. Civil war hero and Frank. Frank was listed in the 1870 census, age 23, as a manufacturer. William and J. Dean both had houses on Main Street Cromwell, in the 1870s. J. Dean Allison ran the business after William died in 1875. I don't have an end date but it lasted to 1896 when J. Dean was severely injured.
He made hammers with the brand names of Allison, Browns, S.F Claw, Warner and Cast Steel. Ref. 14 has a section for both Middletown and Cromwell. The information on Allison is close but there are a few discrepancies.
1850 CT Federal Census
William Alison age 44 blacksmith born CT
1860 Federal Census CT
Wm. P. Allison age 53 hammer manufactor born CT
1870 Federal Census CT
Allison, William . age 63 hammer manufactor born CT
Allison, Frank H. age 23 manufactor born CT
See The Warner Family and W. M. Noble.
For more genealogical and census information see:
<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~whosefamilyisit/anthonyames.htm>
Mark 1
Mark Claw Hammer
W. P. ALLISON
WARRANTED
Mark 2
Mark
Wm. P. ALLISONWARRANTED
Mark 3
Mark Cobbler’s Hammer
Wm. P. ALLISON
CAST STEEL
WARRANTED
The "1" refers to the size (weight) of the hammer.
Mark
4
J.D. ALLISON
WARRANTED
Col. J. Dean Allison
The hammer factory of Col. Allison, in Cromwell, has long been noted for the excellence of its productions. The late William P. Allison, father of the present proprietor, was the founder of the industry and all of these years it has been at its present location, near the North Cromwell depot.
Colonel Dean Allison, the proprietor, was lieutenant-colonel of the twenty-fourth Connecticut regiment in the Civil War.
He was wounded at Port Hudson, but not dangerously, and more recently a severe accident received at his factory in Cromwell nearly cost him his life. From this, too, he has happily recovered, but expressions of sympathy and earnest solicitude for his recovery, which were so universally given in the weeks which followed the mishap, and are evidences of his widespread popularity and of the esteem in which Col. Allison is held. Last year he was nominated as a candidate for selectman by the Democrats of Cromwell, and in October he was elected selectman of the town.
The family plot is in the Old Center cemetery in Cromwell.
