Allen Palmer was born on April 20, 1891, in the Ellisburg section of Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill), New Jersey, to John and Ida Palmer. By 1900, the family had moved to 26 North 21st Street in East Camden. Along with Allen, the family included his siblings William, Howard, George, and Leroy Palmer. An uncle, Allen I. Palmer, and his wife Mary also lived in East Camden, at 429 North 29th Street. Allen I. Palmer worked as a Camden Police officer from 1906 until his death in 1917, caused by being thrown from his horse while on duty. By the next Census, the John and Ida Palmer family resided at 39 Marlton Avenue. The Scott family lived nearby at 29 Marlton Avenue; their son, Edward Y. Scott, would go on to have a long career with the Camden firefighters.
Shortly after the 1910 Census enumeration, Allen Palmer married Margaret. The 1914 Camden City Directory shows them living at 2263 Mickle Street, where Allen worked as a soapmaker. By June 1917, when Allen registered for the draft, they were living at 2321 Howell Street in East Camden with their three children, ages 7, 3, and 18 months. At that time, Allen worked as an automobile driver for a firm in Philadelphia. He was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on March 6, 1918. Less than three weeks later, there was a small fire at his home at 2205 Sewell Street.
By 1927, Allen and his family had moved to 1027 Lois Avenue in Cramer Hill, but by 1929, it seems they had separated. Allen lived with his brother Howard at 32 Morse Street in East Camden. Fire Department records from 1931 show Allen living at 1206 North 24th Street in Cramer Hill, staying with fellow firefighter James Young. During the 1930s, he moved to 2796 Stevens Street.
Allen Palmer’s final post after 23 years with the Fire Department was as an engineer at Engine Company 9, located at North Twenty-seventh and Federal streets, near his home on Stevens Street.
When Allen Palmer retired from the Fire Department on August 1, 1941, he planned to move to Florida. He was living in St. Petersburg by spring 1942 when he registered for the draft. He later returned to New Jersey and lived in Audubon before moving to 7510 Park Avenue in Pennsauken. Allen Palmer passed away at home on August 31, 1964, and was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
Allen Palmer’s nephew, Ralph H. Palmer Sr., served in the Camden Fire Department from 1951 to 1981. Ralph H. Palmer Sr.’s son, Leroy G. Palmer, served over 23 years with the Camden Police Department before being wounded and paralyzed in a shootout in East Camden in February 1998.
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Allen Palmer
Allen Palmer was born on April 20, 1891, in the Ellisburg section of Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill), New Jersey, to John and Ida Palmer. By 1900, the family had moved to 26 North 21st Street in East Camden. Along with Allen, the family included his siblings William, Howard, George, and Leroy Palmer. An uncle,…
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Allen Palmer Goes on Fireman’s Pension
Camden Courier-Post – August 1, 1941 Allen Palmer, member of the Camden Fire Department for 23 years, retired on pension today. Palmer, who is 50 and lives at 2796 Stevens Street was appointed to the department by old city council on March 6, 1918. He now is an engineer at Engine Company No. 9, Twenty-seventh…
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