Before Esther Saville was ten years old, she made her first public effort in a poem, which was published.

At the age of 12 years, she wrote for Morris and Willis a poem which they published in the "Home Journal."

"[1] Allen became a teacher in the public schools of western New York and continued to write for eastern papers, assuming her proper name, "Etta Saville."

After her marriage to Samuel R. Allen, a lawyer in Erie, Illinois, all her literary works were published under the name of "Mrs. S. R.

Devoted to charity, organized and practical, her writings in that cause promoted the institution and development of useful work, or revived and reinvigorated it.