James M. (James Martin) Allerton

James M. Allerton, identified in library and public-domain records as James Martin Allerton, is the author of Hawk’s Nest; or, The Last of the Cahoonshees, a historical romance first published in 1892 in Port Jervis, New York. The novel is the main work currently associated with him in major public-domain and catalog records.

What can be confirmed from the available sources is fairly limited, but the surviving book gives a good sense of his interests: regional history, early settlement in the Delaware Valley, and adventure-driven fiction with a strong sense of place. A local history source also refers to a Deerpark resident and attorney named James Martin Allerton, which may be the same person, though that connection is not fully confirmed here.

Because biographical information on Allerton is scarce, he remains one of those authors known mostly through a single preserved title rather than a well-documented life. That makes Hawk’s Nest especially interesting for listeners who enjoy rediscovered historical fiction and overlooked American writers.