THE THREE TAILORS

Last updated: 26 Jan 2022

Tools of the tailor’s trade.1Image used under Pixabay license.

Tailors were much in demand in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For those in the middle- and lower-income brackets, a good tailor could repair, update, or resize clothing that might otherwise have to be replaced.2“Fashion Makers,” Fashioning Philadelphia, (Philadelphia, PA: The Library Company of Philadelphia, 2018). https://librarycompany.org/fashioning/section4.html : accessed 17 Oct 2021. Still, how did Durham end up with three tailors, all named J. Allen, all working in the nineteen-teens? Two of them (James H. and James A.) were business partners in Allen & Allen, yet despite the obvious similarity of their names, we have no hard evidence of the blood relations between them.

John Hubert Allen (1876–1923)

John Hubert Allen, the oldest of the three, was born in 1876 to James Y. Allen (b. 1844) and Candis Curtis (b. 1846) in Warren County.3See John Hubert Allen’s life story for citations for this and other information in this section. James Y.’s parents were James and Millie Hall; Candis’s parents were William Curtis and the former Mary Christmas.4“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99VH-MSZT?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-67C%3A1588773179%2C1588773691 : 19 July 2016), Warren > Marriage licenses, 1861-1870 > image 65 of 605; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. Here are life stories for Candis and for John Hubert.

The John Hubert Allen family tree.

The first record we have of John Hubert is from 1903 and shows him living in Durham and working as a porter for W. A. Slater clothiers.5Durham, N.C. Directory 1903-1904 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1903-1904) p. 30, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25135 : accessed 11 Jul 2021). He married Nannie O’Daniel Foushee, the widow of his close friend William Foushee, in 1906.6“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHV-3G76?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. By that point he’d had a tailor shop for at least a year (probably at 212 W. Parrish—we know this was the address in 1907). With help from Nannie, he kept the business going until 1922 or so, when he hired Leslie Samuel as a second tailor for the shop.7Durham, N.C. Directory 1922 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1922) p.325, Leslie surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25156 : accessed 11 Oct 2021). John Hubert Allen died on 3 Jul 1923.8“North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6M4S-GVJ?cc=1609799&wc=MJWY-T38%3A1042604001 : 3 May 2019), 004216203 > image 417 of 3224; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.

James Hubert Allen (1894–1964)

James Hubert’s mother, Frances “Nannie” Allen, was the daughter of Richard Allen (b. 1846) and Adeline Latta.9“United States Census, 1870,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-66P2?cc=1438024&wc=KL3Y-T38%3A518653801%2C519061801%2C519063901 : 14 June 2019), North Carolina > Granville > Dutchville > image 27 of 44; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). The Latta family is one link between the three tailors; see “The Latta Connection” below.) We don’t know the identity of James’s father. Here’s Nannie’s life story.

The James Hubert Allen family tree.

In 1910, James was living as “Hubert Farrow” with his mother and his step-father, Robert Farrow, who was only nine years older than James.10“United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVY-F27?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-DPR%3A133642301%2C137874101%2C137298001%2C1589089524 : 24 June 2017), North Carolina > Durham > Parrish > ED 36 > image 31 of 34; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). By 1913, James had taken back his mother’s last name and, as J. Hubert Allen, was partners with James Albert Allen in the Allen & Allen tailoring business.11Durham, N.C. Directory 1913-1914 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1913-1914) p. 42, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25165 : accessed 24 Sep 2021). The 1915 City Directory shows him also running a grocery business.12Durham, N.C. Directory 1915-1916 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1915-1916) p. 91, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25122 : accessed 24 Sep 2021). He registered for the draft in 1917 and was inducted in March, 1918, serving in France from June of 1918 to February of 1919.13 Draft registration: The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 233.https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005152113_00692?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=16191604 : accessed 26 Oct 2021.

Dates of service: “North Carolina, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99KW-JWNN?cc=2568864&wc=Q6HB-4HZ%3A1590122304%2C1590122401 : accessed 12 September 2021), Army and Marine Corps > Aaron, Douglas to Anderson, Charlie > image 868 of 1309; citing The North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh. After the war, he continued as a tailor and entrepreneur, investing in a fish market with Alfred L. Johnson and partnering with Johnson H. Ray in the Ray & Allen funeral home.14Fish business: Durham, N.C. Directory 1917 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1917) p. 268, Johnson surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25155 : accessed 5 May 2021).

Funeral home: Hill Directory Co.’s (Incorporated) Durham, N.C. City Directory 1925 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1925) p.425, Ray surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25116 : accessed 5 May 2021). His name features in 19 different property transactions between 1916 and 1960. Between 1920 and 1922 he married Elizabeth Jackson (1900–1959), daughter of George Jackson and Fannie Evans.15James Hubert appears to be single in a deed from 1920 (book 60, page 45), and his wife is mentioned in a deed from 1922 (book 63, page 252). If they had any children, we found no record of them. James Hubert Allen died on 15 Mar 1964 due to complications from a stroke and was buried in Beechwood Cemetery.16James Hubert Allen death certificate: “North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PL-9916-W?cc=1584959 : 2 September 2014), > image 1 of 1; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.

He seems to be the most aggressive businessman of three, and also the most creative: he styled himself “J. Hubert Allen” and made a point that their dry cleaning was “French.” As Allen & Allen increasingly focused on dry cleaning, he started his own separate tailoring business, which even had a telephone.17Durham, N.C. City Directory 1921 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1921) p. 44 and 110; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25153 : accessed dd Mon yyyy). Allen & Allen at times employed seven or more cleaners and pressers, plus James Allen’s wife Nellie as bookkeeper.18Seven pressers: Hill’s Durham (North Carolina) City Directory 1928 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1928) search for “Allen & Allen”; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25143 : accessed 7 Nov 2021).

Nellie bookkeeping: Hill Directory Co.’s (Incorporated) Durham, N.C. City Directory 1924 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1924) p. 142, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25137 : accessed 7 Nov 2021). Was his ambition a way of making up for the uncertainty as to the identity of his birth father?

James Albert Allen (1889–1966)

Frances “Fannie” Latta was James Albert Allen’s mother. We know nothing so far about his father except his name: William Allen.

The James Albert Allen family tree.

The first record we’ve found shows James A. in Durham in 1911, aged 22, where he started in the tailoring business as the partner of John R. Hickson in Hickson & Allen, located at 108 1/2 S. Corcoran. His home address was 111 N. Roxboro.19Durham, N.C. Directory 1911-1912 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1911-1912) p. 41, Allen surname; p.158 Hickson surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25154 : accessed 7 Nov 2021). By 1913 he had partnered with James Hubert Allen.20Durham, N.C. Directory 1913-1914 p. 42. Note that the directory (incorrectly?) identifies John H. rather than James H. as James A.’s partner. On Christmas Day of 1913, he married Nellie L. Jones; on the marriage license, the space for the name of James’s father has been struck through.21“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHV-39N2-8?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

James, who went by “Jim,” and Nellie had no children of their own, but must have had a strong desire for family. The 1930 census shows them with five adopted children: Leon (later Leo, b. 1918), Vida (later Violet, b. 1919), Clarence (b. 1921), Andra (b. 1921), and Dannie (aka Daniel, b. 1922). All five children are listed as being born in New York.22“United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRCV-9RG?cc=1810731&wc=QZF7-NDZ%3A648806301%2C649918501%2C648842301%2C1589282391 : 8 December 2015), North Carolina > Durham > Durham > ED 6 > image 75 of 112; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002). In the 1940 census, Andra is no longer listed, and the remaining four children are described as niece and nephews.23“United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-T68S?cc=2000219&wc=QZXT-28C%3A790104901%2C793863901%2C793900601%2C793908201 : accessed 7 April 2021), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Township, Durham, Ward 2 > 32-12 Durham Township, Durham City Ward 2 (Area A – part) > image 57 of 60; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012. We assume they had a common set of birth parents, belonging to a branch of the Allen or Latta family living in the Northeast. Jim’s mother Frances Latta Allen also lived with him and Nellie throughout the 1930s.24Various Durham City Directories for the period. Since this was the period of the Great Depression, and Jim’s business seemed to be doing well, he may have felt even more inclined to generosity.

The Fourth Tailor

The youngest of Jim Allen’s adopted children, Daniel R. Allen, was born in 1922 (or maybe 1924).25First date is from the 1930 U. S. Census; second date is from the 1940 U. S. Census. By 1947 he had joined Allen & Allen as a tailor, and remained there for the life of the business.26Various Durham City Directories for the period. Sometime between 1940 and 1947, he married a woman named Vera.27Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory 1947 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1947) p. 30, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25132 : accessed 7 Nov 2021). In the 1962 Durham city directory, both Daniel and James A. were listed as employees of Allen & Allen at 120 Morgan St.28Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory 1962 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1962) p. 10,11, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25159 : accessed 7 Nov 2021). By the next year, the last year for which a city directory of Durham was published, Allen & Allen was history. Daniel was shown working for the “One Stop Martin Shop” at 518 Larchwood, possibly an attempt to capitalize on the fame of the “One-Hour Martinizing” dry-cleaning chain. J. Hubert was listed with no profession specified, and James A. was not listed at all.29Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory 1963 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1963) p. 10, 11, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25163 : accessed 7 Nov 2021). James Hubert died a year later, in 1964, and James Albert followed him in 1966.30James Hubert Allen death certificate.

James A. Allen death cerrtificate: “North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PL-MWWF-B?cc=1584959 : 2 September 2014), > image 1 of 1; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.

The Latta Connection

James Hubert’s grandfather, Richard, was married to Adeline Latta.31Nannie Allen death certificate: “North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PL-C9VH-W?cc=1584959 : 2 September 2014), > image 1 of 1; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. In the 1910 Census, Richard is living at 111 W. Geer, next door to the Lattas at 109 W. Geer: Agnes 22, Mamie 20, Albert 17, Ora 16.32“United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVY-NSX?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-DR2%3A133642301%2C137874101%2C137936801%2C1589089437 : 24 June 2017), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Ward 1 > ED 35 > image 22 of 28; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). James Albert Allen’s mother was Frances “Fannie” Latta.33“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHV-39N2-8?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. We believe that Adeline Latta was Frances Latta’s sister, but can’t prove it at this time, so the following family tree is only guesswork:

Hypothetical sisterhood of Frances and Adeline Latta.

Lucy Latta (1848–1911, buried in Geer Cemetery), holds at least one piece of the puzzle. Here’s her life story. Her son Ernest Latta (b. 1887 or 1890) went to work as a porter for J. H. Allen in 1907.34Durham, N.C. Directory 1907-1908 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1907-1908) p. 172, Lattie surname (note misspelling); digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25126 : accessed 9 Nov 2021). This would have to be John Hubert, as he was the only J. H. Allen in business at the time.

John R. Hickson, Jim Allen’s first business partner, was married to Ida Fuller, daughter of Fidelia Latta and her first husband, Bob Fuller.35“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-ZW95-9Y?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-DWK%3A1588772876%2C1588772875 : 22 December 2016), Durham > Marriage registers, 1881-1928, vol 1-4 > image 155 of 552; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

Questions

Were James Albert and James Hubert in fact cousins? How well did they know John Hubert? Where did they learn the tailoring business? Did John Hickson teach James A. who taught James H.? Or did John Hubert teach them all?

Watch this space for updates.

Notes