William Allen: Who Was He?

What is known of  William Allen?

Wm Allen applied for a license marry on December 24, 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He wanted to marry a Miss Laura Washington. George Fermon signed his name as a witness to William Allen's signature. Wm made his mark on the application.

On March, 1889, Wm Allen and Miss Laura Washington were married in St. Joseph, Missouri. They were married by The  Rev Alexander C Terrell. He was the pastor at the Methodist Church on  311 Antonie in St. Joseph, MO.

About nine months later, on December 21, 1889, William and Anna Laura Allen were blessed with a daughter.  Her name was  Mary Anna Allen.

 Birth record of Mary Anna Allen Lankfard   

 On the 1890 St. Joseph, Missouri city directory, William Allen was listed as a labor residing at Mulberry NE Cor 18th. This was the same address of William and Susan Washington. They were the parents of Anna Laura Allen.

There isn't much more known about William Allen. The only source of his existence are the application for marriage and the marriage license, the birth record of his daughter, Mary and the 1890 City directory in St. Joseph, MO.

There are questions that remind.

Who were Williams' parents?
What about his upbringing?
Could William have another name?
Could William have been mulatto?

Can't locate William Allen on the 1870 and 1880 censuses.
There's a black William Allen listed on the 1880 census in St. Joseph, MO.
This William was born oi n 1858 in MO.

Could Wm and Anna divorced?
There's no record of Anna Allen or Laura Allen being the widow of Wm Allen.
There's no record of Anna Allen or Laura Allen in the City directories.
Anna Laura was listed as the widow of Thornton Walters in 1898.

 What happened to William?
When and where did he passed?

Who Was William Allen?
He was my mother's Grandfather.

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley