Allen Marchel Jordan

Allen Marchel Jordan was born on September 23, 1842 in the County of Henderson, State of Texas. He was the son of John and Eliza Jane Jordan. Allen spent his very young life with his parents in the small town of Jordan Saline, giving them as much help as he could, helping his parents in the manufacturing of salt.

At the age of  eight years, he moved to California in 1850 with his parents, in a caravan of covered wagons, taking the southern route, which was not more than a trail. It was a very hot route crossing the desert and they landed in San Diego, on August 8, 1850. The wagon train broke up there and each family took their own way which was mostly to gold mining fields. The Jordans stayed for awhile in San Diego, and then Captain John Jordan moved his family on up the coast of California and settled down near the Mission of San Juan Bautista, Monterey County. He built a hotel and a store and ran cattle out on the open range of the rolling hills. The women folk took care of the hotel and store while Captain John and his boys looked after the cattle. Allen was doing all he could to help, as he was still young yet, and he did attend some schooling at times.

Captain John Jordan moved his family to Tulare County near the town of Visalia, or ten miles east, near the Kaweah River. Allen was fifteen years old, and now he made a good hand in helping his father in building their new home. Allen was twenty years of age when his father was drowned in the Kern River on May 22, 1862. Allen then helped his mother, Eliza Jane, on their farm to eke out a living which was mostly off the farm. It was very bad and rough, after losing the head of the family, for the wife and children to manage and to make a go of it out here in this new land. The years following, Allen went to the gold mines and kept busy helping his mother.

In 1880, Eliza Jane Jordan sent Allen, and his brother John Jordan, back to the state of Texas to settle the estate of Captain John Jordan. Allen was the spokesman. It took him and John better than a year to settle the estate, and then they sold the property. On their way back to California, Allen and John stopped at a large cattle ranch where they engaged in helping with the fall round up, marking and branding. Allen was a very good roper and one day roped a large wild steer from off his horse. The saddle rigging gave way and off the saddle Allen went. Allen hit the ground very hard and the steer ran off with his saddle and rope. This hard fall hurt Allen very bad internally from which he never recovered. Allen made his way home very sick in the late 80's. He died from this accident in1888. Alien never married so he did not have a family