Fred John Allen was born in Alfred, Maine on July 27, 1865 and received his early education in the public schools of Alfred before preparing himself for college at the Nichols Latin School in Lewiston.
A graduate of Bowdoin College with the class of 1890, he studied law with Samuel M. Came of Alfred before being admitted to the bar in 1893. In August of that same year he moved to Sanford where he continued to practice law for the remainder of his life.
In 1901 Allen was elected to the Maine House of Representatives and reelected again in 1903. From 1905 until 1908 he served as a member of the Maine Senate, being President of that body during his second term.
A successful and influential man he served as President of the Maine Bar Association in 1915, Superintendent of Schools in Sanford, a director of the Sanford National Bank and of the Fidelity Trust Company of Portland. As a member of the Maine Legislature in 1901 he was influential in drafting the State Tax Bill of that year.
He died in 1917 of a heart attack following along bout with Brights Disease (a chronic inflammation of the kidneys).
A member of Pattangall’s "Hall of Fame," Allen was paid grudging tribute as the consummate politician. According to Pattangall, Fred John gumshoed through the halls of the State House, making no noise and leaving no tracks as he created Governors and protected his interests, always silently and always with a smile.
According to Pattangall: "If he sees anything he wants he takes it if he can reach it and he has boardinghouse arms. He does not seek office. He is satisfied to let the people elect their own officials. All he asks is that he may be permitted to do the nominating."
Fred John Allen had no time to pursue the office of Governor, said Pattangall, it was too small an office for him. He was too busy selecting his own candidates.