Troy Woman's 1853 Bridal Gown Still Remembered 

By Judy Deeter

On July 7, 1903, Pamela Hale Coleman Allen put on her bridal gown and prepared for events scheduled for that day. The day wasn’t her wedding day, but rather the 50th anniversary of the day she had wed Henry Ware Allen: July 7, 1853. Today, her long-ago bridal gown is considered an artifact of Troy history.

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   Pamela Hale Coleman was the daughter of Troy pioneer Dr. Asa Coleman and his wife Mary (Keifer). A handwritten note at the Troy Local History & Genealogy Center says that Pamela Coleman and Henry Allen were wed at Dr. Asa Coleman’s Sweet Spring Farm north of Troy.

 

   Both Henry Allen and Dr. Coleman had come to Troy from Massachusetts. Henry, the son of a well-known Massachusetts Unitarian pastor named Rev. Morrill Allen, came to Troy when he was 26 years old in the fall of 1848. Soon after his arrival, he invested in a Troy grist mill and saw mill, which was the start of his long and prosperous business career in Troy. In fact, he was involved in the flour mill business much of his life. For years, he was the co-owner of the local Allen & Wheeler flour mill. He was also an organizer and served as President of the First National Bank of Troy. It should also be noted that in January 1851 he married Mrs. Mary D. Hastings Smith. She died in July that same year.

 

   Though Pamela Allen had given birth to seven children and had just celebrated her 76th birthday, she was still able to fit into her 1853 bridal gown. A story in the Piqua Daily Call newspaper of July 9, 1903 describes the gown:

“The bride of fifty years wore her wedding gown of white brocade satin made in the style of long ago. The dress was short, gathered full in the back with gored front, the trimming was of costly lace, the waist was low and an elegance point lace collar was worn close to the neck. The gown with its old-time elegance was very beautiful in its quaintness…”

 

   For the 1903 anniversary celebration, she wore a cluster pin brooch containing seven diamonds; one diamond for each of her children. The brooch can be seen in a 1903 photograph of her in her bridal gown.
(NOTE: After Pamela Allen’s death in 1915, the diamond stones were removed from the brooch and one was given to each of her children. The brooch itself was given to her oldest daughter Florence. Also, an old newspaper story says that Henry and Pamela Allen had ten children. Some children may have died young.)

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   The 50th anniversary party was considered quite a social event. The 1903 Piqua Daily Call article said it was the “…society event of the summer in Troy.” Rooms throughout the Allens’ Troy South Market Street home were beautifully decorated with flowers and ribbons. A large American flag was draped above the punch bowl. Numbers with the years 1853 and 1854 hung over the fireplace mantel. Historical records indicate that between 200 and 400 people attended the anniversary party.