 Allen was born May 5, 1888 in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, the son of Frank West Allen, a jewelry maker, and Esther Belcher Allen.Named after his grandfather, Frederick Deane Allen, he was fifth of six children and was expected to go into the family business.However, he was an enterprising young man and worked in the jewelry sweatshops in the summers, learning various techniques that he used later in modeling and casting sculpture instead of making jewelry.