Gideon Allen was a resident of Johnston County, North Carolina. He came to the local court in 1779 so Tom, an African American man that Allen had enslaved, could testify regarding a possible poisoning. As an owner of enslaved people, Allen also served as a member of the local freeholders' court during the same session, in which the court heard cases regarding three other enslaved people charged with similar crimes of poisoning and witchcraft. He died sometime after 1779.