Capt. Charles Henry Allyn

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Capt. Charles Henry Allyn. Now, picture this.

A man born in New York in 1842, who wore a Union captain's uniform through the Civil War, looks out one day and decides his future is pointing south. Way south. He came to Texas in 1868, and if that sounds like a bold move for a Yankee officer in the years right after the war, well, friend, you are not wrong.

By 1871, Capt. Charles Henry Allyn and his wife Angela, born an Aldrich, had set their boots down in Corsicana, and they were not leaving. Now here is where the story gets interesting, because Allyn did not just pass through this town.

He got his hands into the machinery of it. He helped organize the First National Bank. He had a hand in local savings and loan companies.

And the cotton mill. One man, multiple institutions, and a town that was still finding its legs. He took a seat on the city council first, learning the shape of the place from the inside.

Then, from 1888 to 1890, Corsicana handed him the mayor's office for a two-year term. And when he was not running the business of the city, he was still showing up, still active in civic life, in education, in church. Charles Henry Allyn, New York born, Union captain, Texas made, died in 1918.

Some men pass through a place. Some places would not look the same without them.

What the marker says

New York native Charles Henry Allyn (1842-1918) came to Texas in 1868, after having served as a captain in the Union army during the Civil War. Capt. Allyn arrived in Corsicana with his wife, Angela (Aldrich), in 1871. As a Corsicana businessman, he assisted in the organization of the First National Bank, local savings and loan companies, and the cotton mill. Allyn served as a member of the city council before holding a two-year term as Corsicana's mayor from 1888 to 1890. Capt. Allyn was also active in civic, educational, and church activities. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986