On March 22nd, the McAllister House Museum presented a talk by Executive Director Eric Metzger on Hicksite Quakerism and the relationship between it and Colorado Springs. This talk was significant because it introduced topics that the Museum has begun to interpret. Research by the McAllister House Museum has revealed that the McAllisters had close relationships with some of the most important Hicksite Quaker individuals and active Hicksite Meeting Houses in the country.
Quakers like Elias Hicks (pictured above) were the fundamental advocates for the abolition of slavery in our country. When the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered to congress and the Civil War ended, Hicksite Quaker activists like Lucretia Mott shifted their focus from slavery to women’s suffrage.
Henry McAllister reacted to the issue of abolitionism by volunteering for duty in the war. He joined the 15th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry in 1862 and was mustered out in 1865. McAllister had a very successful military career earning the rank of Major and being appointed to General Palmer’s staff as an Acting Assistant Adjutant General near the end of the war.