I'm looking for information on my great-great-grandfather, John L. Allen. Family lore states that his parents died and he was adopted by a family named Allen (his original name was not passed down). He was supposed to have been born August 1846 according to the earliest information I have been able to find, his enlistment papers for the Union Army in August of 1862. He enlisted in Macon County, Illinois, (with a residence of Friendship Creek, DeWitt County) but does not appear in any census in Illinois before 1862. The 1900 federal census for Iowa shows a birth year of 1845 and both parents from Pennsylvania, but I have no idea if this is the birth parents or adoptive parents.

Thanks in advance for your time and effort. I see from earlier posts that you have been helpful to more than a few people.