Allen, Dudley
(born: 1845 - died: 1911)Dudley Allen, an enslaved person born in Lexington, KY, was held by either Walter or John Dunn. Allen became a noted thoroughbred owner and trainer. He owned a stock farm in Lexington, where he trained his own young horses and sold others to wealthy horsemen. Allen had purchased the farm after serving in the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry Regiment.
Allen was the first African American to own a Kentucky Derby winner, in 1891; he was part-owner of Kingman, ridden by Isaac Murphy. Allen was one of two leading trainers at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.
The following was submitted by University of Kentucky Anthropology Researcher Nancy O'Malley:
Dudley died at his residence at 416 Kinkead Street in Lexington. He and his wife Margaret Crittenden Allen (d. 1919) had lived in the home since around 1871, when Margaret purchased the lot from George B. Kinkead. The couple was married by Reverend George Downing in Lexington in 1866, after Dudley had served in the Army with Company M of the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry, 1864-1866, as a Quartermaster Sergeant.
The 5th Colored Cavalry fought October 2, 1864 in Saltville, VA; "many of the soldiers had not been adequately trained and were not properly equipped, and a disastrous defeat followed." The 5th Colored Cavalry also fought in Lexington on October 19 and in Harrodsburg on October 21, returning to Virginia in December when the Saltville works were destroyed.
For more see Dudley Allen in the Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States, by G. B. Kirsch, et al; and "The Allen House Lot," chapter XI in Kinkeadtown: Archaeological Investigation of an African-American Neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky, by N. O'Malley.
Quotation from Nancy O'Malley's submission.
Nancy O'Malley, former Assistant Director
William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology and
Kentucky Office of State Archaeology
1020A Export Street
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40506
Ph. 859-257-1944
FAX: 859-323-1968