Lester, Muriel, 1883-1968

Author, editor, journalist and lecturer; advocate of internationalist pacifism; influential member of the Socialist Party in the 1930s; genealogist; recorder of Rhode Island history and lore; named Harold Devere Allen.

Muriel Lester and her sister Doris created Kingsley Hall, in 1914 as a community center for the area residents. For 20 years, Muriel made Kingsley Hall the center of her work. In 1934 she became Ambassador-At-Large and later Traveling Secretary for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation [IFOR].

John Nevin Sayre was a pacifist who spent over 40 years at the helm of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

The United Peace Chest of Philadelphia coordinated and integrated Philadelphia organizations interested in promoting international peace. The name was often shortened to "United Peace Chest." The UPC was founded in 1938, though it was conceptualized in 1936 at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.