The tune is named for Northumbrian musician Jamie Allen (1734-1810), who was a famous smallpipes player. He was son of a gypsy woman, made improvements to the design of the pipes, was often a fugutive from justice, and died in prison seven years into a life sentence for horse-stealing. The prison, under Elvet Bridge in Durham UK, was a night club in 2008 and 2009.
This tune may have been written by or named for Daniel Belknap (1771–1815) from Framingham, Massachusetts. He started a singing school when he was 18 years old and may have served as a fifer in the War of 1812. A tune called Belknap's March is found in a a secular “songster” published by Belknap; Belkap also published a number of other tune books, many of his own compositions. Whether this was the same tune is unknown. The tune given here was published in a 1983 book by Bill Wellington named "Belknap's March and Other Dance Melodies: Including Jigs, Reels, Waltzes, and a Hornpipe" subtitled "Thirteen original tunes by Wellington, transcribed for violin and piano."
