Alfred Gaither Allen was born on July 23, 1867, on a farm near Wilmington, Ohio. His father, Isaac B. Allen, came to Ohio from New York state, had been a prominent lawyer, and fought in the Civil War. Allen attended the local public schools, graduating from Wilmington High School in 1886. He graduated from University of Cincinnati law school in 1890, and after admittance to the bar, he began practicing law in Cincinnati, eventually becoming a partner in the law firm Harper, Allen, and Curts.

Allen gained recognition in the city of Cincinnati by serving as United States commissioner from 1896-1900. He was a member of the city council in Cincinnati from 1906-1908, and was a member of the board of the sinking-fund trustees of Cincinnati from 1908-1910. In all these positions, he was known for business skill and being careful to make decisions which would benefit the city.

Allen began to focus his career more politically by serving as a delegate to the Democratic State conventions at Columbus in 1901 and again in 1908. Allen then ran for Congress in 1910 on the Democratic ticket. The 1910 was among the most intense for southern Ohio since the Civil War. Republicans had held the 2nd District seat for over twenty-five years, but dissatisfaction was spreading and people started to want a change.

Allen was elected to the 62nd Congress, defeating Republican incumbent Herman Goebel. This was the first time a Democrat won the seat since Isaac Jordan had held it. Allen won re-election two more times, serving in both the 63rd and 64th Congresses. Allen served in Congress during the first part of World War I and just before the United States entered the war. His time in Congress ended March 3, 1917, as he declined the Democratic nomination in 1916.

After leaving Congress, Allen returned to practicing law in Cincinnati. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at San Francisco in 1920, but for the most part he remained committed to the legal field more than the political one. He was president of the Cincinnati Bar Association in 1925 and 1926.

Allen's contemporaries considered him a man of integrity and high principles who was not afraid to stand for what he thought was right. He was respected in his community and very socially active. Allen was president of a musical organization called the Orpheus Club, a member of Phi Delta Phi Fraternity, was on the board of directors of the Cuvier-Press club, and was a member of the Business Men's Club, the Elberon Country Club, the Cincinnati Democratic Club, and the Price Hill Methodist Episcopal Church.

On December 10, 1901, Allen married Clara Forbes and they had two children. Alfred Allen died in Cincinnati on December 9, 1932, and was buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, Ohio.

Sources:
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Hamilton County Biographies-Cincinnati, The Queen City, Vol. 3, pg. 54-56; published 1912

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