My father, Louis Clark Allen, was born in Vernon County, Missouri, August 25, 1872,
  one of five children of Thomas and Louisa Allen. He emigrated with his parents to 
  Barber County and the Oklahoma territory before the turn of the century.
     As a young man, Dad worked on the Bud Hall ranch northwest of Hardtner, feeding
  cattle and breaking sod for farm crops. He also carried mail from Hardtner to Aetna,
  Kansas via horseback.
     At the opening of the Cherokee Strip, he made the run, staking a claim four miles
  south and one mile west of Hardtner.
     My mother, Louise Frei Allen, was born in Kingman County, Kansas, and came to 
  Barber County with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Frei, where she met my father.
  They were married October 8, 1903, at Alva, Oklahoma, and set up housekeeping in a 
  dugout on the claim.
     Looking for greener pastures. Dad sold the claim, and by covered wagon moved to
  Chetopa, Kansas, where he bought a farm. After a few years, he moved his family back
  to Hardtner and built a new home. The materials were purchased from W.D. Mackey, an 
  early day lumberman of Kiowa, at a total cost of $250.oo. To support his family, he
  worked for the Benton and Ives Hardware setting up Deering binders, a relatively new
  farm tool at that time.
     My parents later purchased land in Woods County, Oklahoma, a few miles southeast
  of Hardtner and became full time farmers for the rest of their lives. Mother passed
  away in 1948, and Dad later moved to Kiowa where he lived until his death in 1965.
     Like most early day pioneers, they managed to raise a relatively large family on
  the barest of necessities of life. All told, they had seven children: Opal (Mrs. Carl
  Botkin) of Harper, Kansas. Joe of Hardtner. Wilbur (deceased). Gertrude, Pasadena, 
  Texas. Philip of Hardtner, Dorsey of Wichita, and Betty Lou who died in infancy.
     One of the most satisfying moments of my parents life was to see their four boys,
  all of whom served their country during World War II, return safely from the battle-
  fields. We were always a close knit family, and the hardships that our parents endured 
  in the early day settlement of this great country is a most rewarding memory for each
  of us.
               
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 84 
     Submitted by: Phillip W. Allen