Autobiography of Frank G. Allen

Frank G. Allen was a preacher in the Restoration Movement tradition in the late 1800s, and the autobiography he wrote toward the end of his life is a useful primary document for anyone studying that branch of American Protestant history. The book covers his upbringing, conversion, ministry across several states, and the various theological controversies he was involved in.

The writing is plain and earnest, in the manner of preacher autobiographies of the period. There are long sections on doctrinal positions Allen held strongly. There are also more personal sections about family, hardship, and the slow work of building churches in small towns.

For general readers, the book is dated. For students of the Stone-Campbell Movement, the Disciples of Christ, or American Protestant history more broadly, it’s a primary source worth reading. The footnotes in some modern editions help orient readers to the people and disputes Allen mentions.