Frances Marion Allen Collection

Tarrant County Archives > Holdings > Named Collections > A > Allen, Frances Marion

Full length studio portrait shows a man and woman holding medical bags.

Dr. James Walter Allen and Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen holding medical bags,

mounted photograph, 1905

 

Biographical Note

 

Frances Marion Allen (Frances Allen, 1908-1997) was a longtime resident of Fort Worth and the daughter of Dr. James Walter Allen and Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen.

Frances Allen’s great-grandfather, James Kenedy Allen II, is one of Tarrant County’s early settlers, migrating from Todd County, Kentucky in 1854. The family lived in a log cabin on 360 acres of land in White Settlement. William Terry Allen, the son of James Kenedy Allen II and great-uncle of Frances Allen, built a log cabin in White Settlement in around 1864. Frances Allen was active in the preservation and restoration of the William Terry Allen log cabin and helped earn it a Texas Historical Marker. The cabin still exists and is maintained by White Settlement Historical Society.

Frances Allen graduated from the University of Texas in 1929, obtained a Master of Social Work at Tulane University in 1948, and received an advanced social work certificate from Smith College in 1952. Frances Allen practiced social work in Fort Worth and was an active member of the Tarrant County Historical Society.

Frances Allen’s mother, Frances Daisy Emery (1876-1958), was born in Kaufman County, Texas.  She announced her plans to become a doctor at the age of four, an ambition that was heartily supported by her father. In 1894, she applied and was denied entrance to the charter class of the Medical Department of Fort Worth University due to her gender, but she was eventually admitted after pointing out the rules for admission did not specifically prohibit women. She graduated cum laude in 1897, becoming the first woman to receive a medical degree in the state of Texas. Dr. Frances Daisy Emery spent the next two years in Washington D.C. receiving post-doctorate training at a free clinic for women and children. She then returned to Texas and served as chair of Diseases of Children at The Dallas Medical College.

Dr. Frances Daisy Emery married her classmate, Dr. James Walter Allen, in 1903, and the two delivered medical care to rural communities in Oklahoma’s Greer County and Content, Goldsboro, and Newark, Texas until his death in December 1913. Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen then moved to Fort Worth with her two daughters, Frances and Sheila Emery (Sheila Allen), and taught at Fort Worth Medical College before entering private practice. She was Tarrant County’s first female doctor, practicing from 1913 until retiring in 1950.

In 1988, Frances and Sheila Allen donated 36.3 acres of conservation easement to the city of Fort Worth which became the James K. Allen Nature Sanctuary. A few months later, they deeded the property to the YMCA, and it became part of Camp Carter. The Preserve is owned by YMCA, Camp Carter, and Texas Land Conservancy holds an easement.

The Frances Marion Allen Collection also contains records about violinist, composer, and conductor Carl Venth (1860-1938), who, with his wife, Cathinka Finch Myhr Venth (Cathinka Venth), was a close friend and mentor to Sheila Allen. Venth was born in Cologne, Germany and performed with symphony orchestras in Brussels, Paris, and the Netherlands before immigrating to the United States in 1880. In New York City, Carl Venth performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, eventually organizing the Venth Quartet and opening the Venth Violin School in Brooklyn. In 1899 in Brooklyn, he married Cathinaka Finch Myhr (Cathinka Venth), who was born in Oslo, Norway.

The Venths moved to Texas in 1908, where Carl served as the director of the violin department of Kidd-Key College in Sherman for three years before becoming dean of fine arts at Texas Woman’s College (now Texas Wesleyan University) in Fort Worth, a position he held from 1914-1931. Carl Venth became well-known and respected among the musical community in Dallas and Fort Worth and served as musical director of Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. From 1931 until his death, Venth lead the music department of Westmoorland College, which was renamed University of San Antonio during his tenure and later absorbed by Trinity University.

A musician herself, Cathinka Venth was heavily involved in his musical ventures and taught piano lessons from their home. Sheila Allen began studying under Cathinka Venth in Fort Worth at the age of eight years old and later attended Westmoorland College, where she studied music with the Venths.

Carl Venth was a highly prolific composer throughout his life, and the Frances Marion Allen Collection contains over 30 of his published and unpublished compositions.

 

 

 

Monochromatic photograph of an older man from the chest up. He is wearing a dark suit and tie with a white shirt and round metal glasses.

Portrait of Carl Venth, mounted photograph, 1920-1930s; undated

 

Monochromatic mounted photograph with diamond orientation shows a young woman from the lower chest up. She is wearing her hair in a topknot, glasses, and a light colored blouse with leg of mutton sleeves. There are multiple blue ink stains on the image and mount.

Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen, 22 years old, mounted photograph, September 5, 1898

 

Monochromatic tintype photograph mounted in a tan paper frame with decorative red border. Full length image shows Annie, left, and Frances, right sitting on a bench in front of a painted backdrop. Both women are wearing high collared blouses tied with bows and holding hats in their hands.

Sisters Annie Belle Emery Bright and Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen at Coney Island, souvenir tintype portrait in paper frame, 1900

 

Full length monochromatic image with overall light brown tone shows two women standing on a sidewalk in front of a brick building.

Annie Belle Emery Bright and Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen standing in front of Highland Pharmacy, snapshot, June 1919

 

 

Monochromatic image shows an elderly man and woman standing in front of a Spanish style home. The man, left, is wearing a striped robe and holding a cigarette up to his mouth.

Carl and Cathinka Venth in front of house at 2170 West Summit Avenue, San Antonio, TX negative, 1930s

Scope and Contents

In Winter 2021-2022 Archives staff began processing the final four boxes of the Frances Marion Allen Collection, which primarily consisted of images and photographs. The original plan was to catalog the new materials and add them to the end of the Photographs or Addendum Series. However, the Addendum Series contained a large mixture of photographs, correspondence, documents, postcards, ephemera, artifacts, and oversize materials. Archives staff decided to interfile the Addendum Series and final four boxes of new materials into the appropriate series, merging boxes where possible, and remove the Addendum Series entirely. The images and photographs from the final four boxes of materials identified locations, persons, and dates for many of the previously processed materials from the Photographs Series, Carl Venth Photographs Subseries, and items in the Addendum Series. Due to the number of previously processed materials, and the fact that the original finding aid had been available for several years, Archives staff decided not to re-process the collection, but interfiled new items where possible and created new records, edited pre-existing records, and merged records where possible. The result includes 1,102 records from the Photographs Series and Carl Venth Photographs Subseries with more accurate descriptions, named persons, subject identifications, creator identifications, locations, and dates.

The Archives applied for and was awarded an FY22 grant from the Tarrant County Historical Society, with the goal to digitize as many of the items from the final four boxes as possible. Thanks to their generosity, the Archives was able to digitize and publicly share (148) items and (7) scrapbooks/albums through the University of North Texas’ Portal to Texas History. Click here to see the Frances Marion Allen Collection images on the Portal to Texas History.

The collection materials are arranged in the eight series listed below. View a PDF of the Frances Marion Allen Collection finding aid for a detailed list of materials in each series.

 

Series I: Allen Family and Fort Worth History, 1785-1990

The Allen Family and Fort Worth History series consists of three subseries: Genealogical Research, Allen Log Cabin, and Fort Worth History.

The Genealogical Research subseries traces 200 years of the Allen family, beginning with James Kenedy Allen, who immigrated to the United States from Ireland.

The Allen Log Cabin subseries documents the restoration and relocation of the cabin built in White Settlement by William Terry Allen, who moved with his family to Tarrant County as a child in 1854. The cabin was moved to Fort Worth in 1953, and the White Settlement Historical Society, of which Frances Allen was president, dismantled, rebuilt, and restored the cabin to its original size in White Settlement. The series contains records of the White Settlement Historical Society’s fundraising efforts, construction bills, project reports, and historical research about the cabin.

The Fort Worth History subseries contains research conducted by Frances Allen about a variety of topics related to local history. The topics include people, historic sites, and early county history. Some of her research on individual neighborhoods, cemeteries, and buildings contributed to the Tarrant County Historic Resources Survey published in the 1980s.

Series II: Family Documents, 1849-1994

The Family Documents series contains documents relating to the lives of members of the Emery and Allen families, including education records, career records, personal documents, and newspaper clippings. The series also includes one folder of records about the Sparks family. Files are arranged by person and subject. 

Series III: Correspondence, 1834-1993

The Correspondence series consists of personal and professional correspondence of the Emery and Allen families. Many letters in this series are among members of the Emery family, particularly Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen’s siblings; these letters are arranged chronologically. Frequent or significant correspondence is organized by person. There is additional correspondence from Frances Allen about the Jonathan Hamilton Baker diary. Baker was a prominent Texas politician and businessman who kept a diary of his personal and professional life from 1858 to 1918.       

Series IV: Arts, Music, and Theater, 1900-1985

The Arts, Music, and Theater series documents the art scene of the 20th Century, especially in Dallas and Fort Worth. The series contains programs, publications, and newspaper clippings collected by the Allen family and Sheila Allen in particular.

Series V: Clubs and Organizations, 1918-1995

The Clubs and Organizations series contains programs, rosters, minutes, yearbooks, and publications from local and national organizations. The series mostly documents groups Frances and Sheila Allen were members of, including churches, professional organizations, and historical societies.

Series VI: Photographs, 1850-1995

The Photographs series contains photographs of the Allen and Emery families, their relatives, and friends. Many of the photos were taken in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Maine. Several other photographs document the family’s trips to visit relatives in other states and their vacations to various destinations throughout the world. Within the series is a collection of postcards, some of which have been mailed between Emery and Allen family members and friends. Many postcards are addressed to Annie Belle Emery Bright and James W. Bright. 

Series VII: Books and Mementos, 1883-1995        

The Books and Mementos series is made of up artifacts in a variety of formats, books, notebooks, business ledgers, scrapbooks, yearbooks, wallets, framed photographs, name plates, ribbons, and oversize material.

Series VIII: Carl Venth, circa 1880-1974

The Carl Venth series contains documents and photographs collected by Sheila Allen, who was a student of the Venths in Fort Worth and San Antonio. The series is divided into three subseries: Documents, Scrapbooks, and Photographs.

The Documents subseries consists of 27 published compositions as well as correspondence, programs, and newspaper clippings.

The Scrapbooks subseries documents Carl Venth’s career with scrapbooks, unfinished musical compositions, and his posthumously published autobiography.

The Photographs subseries contains professional portraits and personal snapshots of Carl and Cathinka Venth and their friends, contemporaries, and students.

 

PROVENANCE

Items in the collection were gathered by Frances and Sheila Allen and donated by Frances Allen in 1988-1994 and thereafter by the estate of Frances Allen.

 

SUBJECT TERMS

The following Subject Terms lists represent the majority, but not the entirety, of the topics within the Frances Marion Allen Collection. Please view and search the Frances Marion Allen finding aid PDF for more topics.

 

Businesses and Organizations

 
  • American Guild of Organists
  • Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
  • Bryant Studio
  • Central High School
  • Civic Museum Association
  • Colonial Hill Public School
  • Cumberland Hill School
  • Dallas Civic Opera
  • Dallas Public School
  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra
  • Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
  • D. H. Swartz and Brothers Cottage Gallery
  • Electric Post Card Studio
  • E. M. Daggett Junior High School
  • Euterpean Club of Fort Worth
  • First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
  • Fort Worth Art Museum
  • Fort Worth Community Theater
  • Fort Worth High School
  • Fort Worth Music Teachers Association
  • Fort Worth Opera
  • Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
  • Fort Worth University College of Medicine
 
  • Fox Photo Company
  • Freemasons
  • Gentry (Hall's Gentry Studio)
  • Greer's Art Studio
  • Harmony Club
  • Highland Pharmacy
  • International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons (IOKDS)
  • J. E. Daniel 
  • Jernigan Photo Service (Jernigan Studio)
  • Junior Historians of Texas
  • Kiwanis International
  • Lee Angle Photography, Inc.
  • Leffler
  • Madame d'Ora
  • Music Teachers National Association
  • North Texas State Teachers College
  • Oakhurst Elementary School
  • Peery (Peery's Studio)
  • People's Gallery
  • Price's Studio
  • R. Vickery Elementary School
  • Sid Richardson Foundation
  • Sigma Alpha Iota
  • Skeet Richardson Photos
  • Sparks' Grocery
  • State Fair Park Theater
 
  • Stauts Studio
  • Stephen F. Austin Elementary School
  • Studer Photo
  • Swartz Art Parlor
  • Swartz View Company
  • Symphony Society of San Antonio
  • Tarrant County Historical Commission
  • Tarrant County Medical Society
  • Texas Christian University (TCU)
  • Texas Federation of Music
  • Texas Foundation for Women's Resources
  • Texas Historical Commission
  • Texas Historical Foundation
  • Texas Wesleyan College
  • Texas Woman's College
  • University of Arkansas
  • University of Texas
  • Van Cliburn Foundation, Inc.
  • Village Creek School
  • Washington Heights School
  • W. D. Smith Commercial Photograph
  • Westmoorland College
  • White's Chapel United Methodist Church
  • White Settlement Historical Society
  • White Settlement Public School
  • Woman's Club of Fort Worth
  • W. R. Works

 

Persons

 
  • Allen, Frances Daisy Emery (Dr., 1876-1958)
  • Allen, Frances Marion (1908-1997)
  • Allen, James Kenedy II (1814-1883)
  • Allen, James Kenedy III (1848-1929)
  • Allen, James Walter (Dr., 1875-1913)
  • Allen, Sheila Emery (1911-1992)
  • Baker, Jonathan Hamilton (1832-1918)
  • Berg, Etheline
  • Berg, Lillian
  • Berg, Melvin
  • Berg, Susie Varnell
  • Berg, William
  • Brewer Family
  • Bright, Albert Sidney (1871-1952)
  • Bright, Annie Belle Emery (1878-1964)
  • Bright, James Weaver (1881-1948)
  • Brown, Cassie
  • Brown, Effie Wren
  • Brown, Harper
  • Brown, Harper, Jr.
  • Brown, Hugh
  • Brown, Sybil
  • Byers, Thomas J.
  • Chancellor, Maurine
  • Cranz, Lynn
  • Cummings, Clayton C.
  • de Mille, Agnes
  • de Monel, A. A.
  • Emery, Arthur McArthur (1870-1937)
  • Emery, Charles Keith (Dr., 1917-1997)
  • Emery, Cid (1865-1939)
  • Emery, Edgar Allen (1901-1954)
  • Emery, Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1907-1910)
  • Emery, Eva Sandel (1881-1974)
  • Emery, Frances "Fannie" Ewing Brewer (1868-1918)
  • Emery, James Wallace (1829-1902)
  • Emery, Paul Brewer (1893-1972)
  • Emery, Sue Lottie (1874-1949)
  • Emery, Virginia Lee (1921-2013)
  • Epstein, Richard
 
  • Epstein-Strauss, Miss
  • Farmer Family
  • Freer, Mrs.
  • Garrett, Julia Kathryn (1897-1988)
  • Green, Warren
  • Hale, Cassie
  • Hale, Howell
  • Hale, Maggie
  • Harmon, Ernest Emery (Captain, 1893-1933)
  • Harmon, Frank H. (1897-1956)
  • Harmon, Harriette Faris Alexander (1895-1969)
  • Harmon, Robert "Bobby" Brooks (1920-1965)
  • Harmon, Sybil Emery (1869-1936)
  • Hill, Helen Lois Harmon (1902-1985)
  • Houghton, Arthur
  • Houghton, Eve Brown
  • Houghton, Freddie
  • Ingram, John J.
  • Isbell, Rufus
  • Jeritza, Maria
  • Jones, Margo
  • King, Mary Ann "Mollie" Allen
  • Leslie, Dora
  • Long, Elizabeth
  • Mallory, Ruth Dale
  • Marsh, William John
  • Maruches, Alix Young
  • Maxwell, F. W. (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • Nat, Yves
  • Neely, Mabel Helmcamp
  • Nikisch, Arthur
  • Nissen, Erika Lie
  • Olitzka, Rosa
  • O'Donnell, Pearl Foster
  • Preuitt,  Arthur Charles (1893-1948)
  • Preuitt, Bertha Effie (1889-1955)
  • Preuitt, Claudia Beatrice (1896-1955)
  • Preuitt, Effie Pearl (1880-1906)
  • Preuitt, Frances Emery (1887-1972)
 
  • Preuitt, Franklin Pierce (1852-1920)
  • Preuitt, Fred
  • Preuitt, Gladys Marcia (1904-1969)
  • Preuitt, Lucille Lillian (1896-1931)
  • Preuitt, Mary Effie Emery (1861-1918)
  • Preuitt, Ollie (1880-?)
  • Redford, Josie
  • Redford, R. J.
  • Richey Family
  • Rowland, Thomas J.
  • Ryan, John C.
  • Scammon Family
  • Seidl, Anton
  • Sinding, Christian August
  • Smith, Eva Stirman (1880-1968)
  • Smith, John Peter (1831-1901)
  • Sparks, Dorothy "Dot" Helen
  • Sparks, Rachel
  • Steel, Lawrence
  • Stirman, Fred R.
  • Stirman, Margaret "Dollie" Neil (1854-1919)
  • Stirman, Marvin
  • Stirman, Rollin Ridge (1856-1929)
  • Storey, Beatrice
  • Swartz, David H. (Photographer)
  • Swartz, John (Photographer)
  • Taylor, Bernard U., Jr.
  • Thompson, Henry J. (Captain)
  • Tinsley Family
  • Underwood, Robert and Family
  • van Dresser, Marcia
  • Venth, Carl (1860-1938)
  • Venth, Cathinka Finch Myhr (1868-1958)
  • Ventioner, James
  • von Mickwitz, Harold
  • Waleatt, Lorena
  • Wiesman, Carl
  • Wilson, Lois Emery (1867-1942)

 

Places

 
  • Arkansas
  • Austin, Texas
  • Brooklyn, New York
  • California
  • Camp Bowie (Military camp)
  • Caribbean
  • Charleston, South Carolina
  • Colorado
  • Comanche County, Texas
  • Content, Texas
  • Crater Lake National Park
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Doan's Crossing, Vernon, Texas
  • Elizabeth Boulevard Historic District
  • Europe
  • Fairmount-Southside Historic District
  • Fort Worth, Texas
  • Galveston, Texas
  • Goldsboro, Texas
  • Grand Canyon National Park
  • Granite, Oklahoma
 
  • Grunhild Weber House
  • Heritage Park Plaza, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Houston, Texas
  • Illinois
  • India
  • Kaufman, Texas
  • Log Cabin Village
  • Lovell, Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Mediterranean region
  • Meteor Crater Natural Landmark
  • Mexico
  • Mineral Wells, Texas
  • Nacogdoches County, Texas
  • New England
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Newark, Texas
  • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Petrified Forest National Park
  • Portland, Maine
  • Reed, Oklahoma
 
  • Reno, Oklahoma
  • Rio Grande River
  • River Oaks, Texas
  • Rogue River, Oregon
  • Runnels County, Texas
  • Ryan Place, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Saco, Maine
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • Sequoia National Park
  • Sherman, Texas
  • South America
  • State Medical Association of Texas
  • St. Augustine, Florida
  • St. Paul, Missouri
  • Tannahill Homestead
  • Terrell, Texas
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Westworth Village, Texas
  • White Settlement, Texas
  • Wyoming
  • Yosemite National Park

 

Subjects

 
  • Arts
  • Autobiographies
  • Aviation
  • Biographies
  • Cemeteries
  • Charitable organizations
  • Choirs
  • Clubs
  • Drug stores
  • Education
  • Family trees (Genealogical tables)
 
  • Fort Worth Centennial
  • Fraternal organizations
  • Fundraising
  • Genealogy
  • Grocery stores
  • Historic preservation
  • Historical markers
  • Historical societies
  • Land surveys
  • Local history
  • Medicine
 
  • Music
  • Needlework
  • Oral histories
  • Pharmacies
  • Professional organizations
  • Schools
  • State Fair of Texas
  • Theater
  • Travel
  • William Terry Allen Log Cabin
  • World War I (WWI, 1914-1918)

 

Monochromatic image shows a very small, elderly woman reclining in a sun lounger in a garden or yard. She is wearing glasses and both of her hands are resting on the arms of the chair.

Dr. Frances Daisy Emery Allen lounging in garden, snapshot, 1950s; undated