Biography
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Born
1 April 1883
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Died
10 July 1945 (aged 62)
Jules Verne Allen (April 1, 1883, Waxahachie, Texas - July 10, 1945) was the "The Original Singing Cowboy".
Based on the biographical sketch that was included in the book he wrote "Cowboy Lore", he lived the words he wrote about. He started working with cattle when he was just ten years old in Jack County, Texas.
In the 1890s, he was a horse wrangler, crossing the plains five times. He worked cattle from the Rio Grande border to the Montana line. He was a "rough string rider" and "bronco buster" fourteen years.
While not in the ranches and prairies, he also grew up with a guitar and music.
He recorded for the RCA Victor label.
It was said that "despite the claims of contemporaries he is "The Original Singing Cowboy" and this title is fully copyrighted by RCA Victor and Southern Music Publishing Company.
He worked in law enforcement for many years - as a peace officer at different times in his career; deputy sheriff of el Paso County; member of the El Paso police force; deputy sheriff of Bernillo County, New Mexico; mounted inspector for the U. S. Immigration authorities; and, Texas Ranger during Governor Sterling's administration.
He volunteered to serve his country, was accepted on April 5, 1917 for duty in World War I. He was a member of both the Disabled American Veterans and American Legion.
The sketch indicates that his programs displayed his versatility, but it always came down to those "…frontier ballads that have made him famous from coast to coast."
He wrote the book "Cowboy Lore" to hand down to the glamor and glory of the southwest to history for others to learn what life was like in those years.
The New York Times reviewed Mr. Allen's book in June of 1933. The article notes that Mr. Allen had told them the way of the cowboy was still going strong, alluding to one Texas ranch that had nearly 800 of them. It notes he started his cowboy training when he was just ten years old.
When the book was published, it seems that Jules Verne Allen was doing more entertaining as a Singing Cowboy over the radio airwaves along with personal appearances at rodeos and recordings. than he was as a cowboy.
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