Background
David Oliver Allen was born on September 14, 1799 in Barre, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of Moses and Mehitable (Oliver) Allen and brother of Nathan Allen.
(The writer, on returning to this country after his long r...)
The writer, on returning to this country after his long residence in the East, observed in the frequent inquiries made concerning I ndia, much desire for information, and a great want of accurate knowledge concerning that country and its inhabitants. And when asked what work he could recommend as containing the information which so many were desirous to obtain, he was constrained to reply that he knew of no such work suited to the people of the United States. Many works on India have been published in England, where the political relation of the two countries naturally creates a strong and general desire for information. But some of these works contain only the History of British I ndia, and others contain only one period of history, or describe only one part of the country; all perhaps well suited to the class of people fox whom they were designed in England, but not adapted for general reading in the United States; while no one work contains such a summary of general and particular information as to make it suitable for importation in any considerable number, or for republication in this country. The English Journals, reprinted in the United States, contain many well written articles upon I ndia, but they were designed for England, and though well suited to the knowledge which the people there generally have concerning India and its inhabitants, they are not so well suited to the limited views of that country which people generally have in the United States. (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology. Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve th
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David Oliver Allen was born on September 14, 1799 in Barre, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of Moses and Mehitable (Oliver) Allen and brother of Nathan Allen.
Allen was educated in the academies of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, and New Salem, Massachussets, in Williams, Union, and Amherst Colleges, and in Andover Theological Seminary. He graduated from Amherst in 1823 and from Andover in 1827.
Allen was ordained at Westminster, Massachussets, to the Congregational ministry and foreign missionary service. He sailed from Boston on June 5, 1827, and on November 27 arrived at Bombay, where Allen was destined to serve conspicuously for a quarter-century. His first years in India were devoted of necessity to a study of language. In the use of Marathi he acquired considerable skill. He took upon himself at once such mission duties as he could perform and early showed marked capacity for leadership.
His most significant work was done in the city of Bombay. From 1827 to 1832 he was secretary of the Bombay Tract and Book Society. The following twenty years he was identified with the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society, serving for twelve years as secretary of its Bombay branch. He took an interest in the work of the Seaman's Friend Society, the Bombay Education Society, the Bombay District Benevolent Society, and for a brief period edited the Temperance Advocate.
For the Mission itself he served for ten years as superintendent of its press and gave much time to the translation, revision, and publication of Scripture. He himself translated the books of Samuel and aided in the revision of previous versions of the New Testament. By March 1, 1847, all of the books of the Bible had been rendered into Marathi. Thereafter, as "principal editor" on behalf of the Bible Society, Allen was chiefly engaged in the bringing out of the Marathi Bible in one volume in uniform type and improved version. After the actual printing of this edition (finished in 1855) had proceeded through II Samuel, he was forced to retire from active service because of broken health.
On February 12, 1853 he took final leave of India. His last three years were spent in Lowell, Massachussets, where his death occurred in his sixty-fourth year.
In addition to his work as translator and editor, Allen was the author of several Marathi tracts, including a revision (1832) of Gordon Hall's On the Worship of God, a Summary of the Holy Scriptures (1833) after an original by Samuel Newell, and other works.
(The writer, on returning to this country after his long r...)
Allen was a member of the Royal Society and of the American Oriental Society.
Allen was married four times. First he married Myra Wood of Westminster who died on February 5, 1831, leaving their small son Myron in the care of friends. Seven years after the death of his first wife, he married, February 22, 1838, Orpah Graves who died June 5, 1842; on December 12, 1843, he married Azuba Condit who died June 11, 1844; and on May 3, 1858 he married Mrs. Mary S. Barnes who survived him.
