John Delbert Van Allen

Infobox Person
name = John Delbert Van Allen


image_size = 175 px
caption = Portrait of John D. Van Allen
birth_date = October 5, 1850
birth_place = Crystal Lake, Illinois
death_date = December 30, 1928
death_place = Clinton, Iowa
occupation = Retailer, Department Store Owner
spouse = Alice Jane Holmes
parents = Abram Van Allen & Olive Ransom
children = Frederick Holmes Van Allen & Bessie Dell Van Allen Morris

John Delbert Van Allen was a retail dry goods merchant and department store owner who came to Clinton, Iowa in 1892 and established a department store that was the last surviving traditional store of its type in the city. He is most noted nationally for having hired Louis Sullivan to design the Van Allen Building that is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Mr. Van Allen applied for membership in the Holland Society of New York on August 10, 1908 and was admitted on October 8, 1908. He was a direct lineal descendent of Laurens Van Allen who was a resident of New Amsterdam in 1658. (Application below)

Gallery

References

*The Clinton Herald January 2 1929