REMEMBERING THE LADIES: Elizabeth McAllister #PrairieRosePublications #Women'sHistory

"Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors." Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March - 5 April 1776.

In a similar vein, the Uppity Women Series by Vicki Leon, Remembers the Ladies. For those who haven't read any of her work, she digs up women from history, giving us a glimpse of  who they were and the world they lived in.

Abigail Adams and Vicki Leon both encourage us to Remember the Ladies. Over the next few posts, I hope to remember the ladies who helped settle the Pikes Peak Region. Some are known, such as Helen (Hunt) Jackson and Queen Palmer. Others, such as Ann (Annie) France, Cara Bell and Mother Maggard have not had much press. With luck, that will be remedied. In this post, I will focus on Elizabeth McAllister.

Who was Elizabeth McAllister? Elizabeth was the wife of Major Henry McAllister. Major McAllister had served in the Civil War with and was a friend of the named founder of Colorado Springs, General William Jackson Palmer. Major McAllister and Elizabeth were also Quakers, like Palmer. Henry brought Elizabeth and their young son to the area in the spring of 1873 when the town was barely two years old.

McAllister House Museum Mrs. Elizabeth McAllister approx. age 60

According to the McAllister Family Bible, Elizabeth was born January 23, 1836 in Haverford, PA. to Townsend and Mary Cooper. She married Henry in 1866. Their ceremony was performed by the mayor of Philadelphia in his office.

A son Henry was born in Pennsylvania, but died early. Another son followed who was also named Henry (whom they called Harry). After arriving in Colorado there were two more children, Mary and Matilda, the last born in 1876 when Elizabeth was around forty years of age. One reference stated her stature was so tiny a modern ten year old would barely be able to button the silk basque she wore. (A basque, for those who wonder, is a close fitting bodice or jacket that extended past the waist to or over the hips.)

The family rented rooms in the Colorado Springs Hotel, moving to one of the nearby portable houses that had been shipped in from Chicago, until their home on Cascade Ave. was built.Because of the winds in Colorado Springs, which can topple narrow gage trains, McAllister had his walls built about twenty inches thick and attached the roof  to the masonry with numerous two inch rods. He wanted his wife and family to be safe if he were not there.  It was purchase in the 1960s by the Society of Colonial Dames in order to preserve its history. It is now considered the first house of substance that was built in Colorado Springs and is on the National Register of Historic Places one hundred years after is was built.

McAllister House today, Photo (c) by Doris McCraw

What is written about Elizabeth is her kindness. She often gifted bread to the covered wagon pioneers traveling through the city. She also did the same for the passing Indians. Remember that the settlers and Indians were not always on good terms during the early days of the city.

One incident that Major McAllister wrote of concerned the Indians and Governor of the Colorado Territory, A. C. Hunt in 1874. McAllister had invited the Governor into his home, and while there approximately  thirty Indians, who were camped north of town, surrounded the house. They peered through the windows at the people inside. While it made the inhabitants uncomfortable, they merely wished to meet and speak with the Governor. He went out, spoke with them, and they returned to their camp.

While not much is written in the newspapers, we do know in March of 1881, Elizabeth transferred property with an estate value of $2,000 to a Q.A. Gillmore. This was not as uncommon as most might believe. There are numerous reports of property transfers that involved women in the city.

Elizabeth McAllister- Evergreen Cemetery, Photo (c) by Doris McCraw

Elizabeth passed away in May of 1912, at the age of 76.

As you wander through the pages of history, Remember the Ladies, for without them history would be incomplete.

Bibliography: Henry McAllister, Colorado Pioneer by Polly King Ruhtenberg & Dorothy E. Smith
                       Colorado Springs Gazette
                       History of McAllister House

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Member of National League of American Pen Women,

Women Writing the West,

Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here