Allen Washington Dodge was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on April 9, 1804. A graduate of Harvard College, he studied law and opened an office in New York City where he practiced for four years (1830-1835). He was one of the founders of The Knickerbocker Magazine and contributed articles to that literary publication. On November 28, 1832, he married Eliza Green Tileston (1811-1834) in Haverhill, Massachusetts. They had three children who died in infancy. In October 1834, Eliza Tileston Dodge died and Allen Dodge, who had been a Unitarian, renounced his religion and converted to Congregationalism. He decided to leave the law profession and become a preacher. He then attended the Andover Theological Seminary, but never preached. He returned to his native Hamilton, Massachusetts and spent the remainder of his life there on his uncle Francis' farm. He was elected Treasurer of Essex County, Massachusetts an office which he held for 26 years until his death. In 1840, he married Eunice Brown Whittredge and they had five children: Francis, Lewis Allen, Caroline W., Mary, and Alice W. He served for years in both the House and State Senate and was prominent in founding the Agricultural College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He died on May 17, 1878.