William H. Steele (New York politician)
William Henry Steele (November 1, 1838 – September 21, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Life
[edit]Steele was born on November 1, 1838, in Windham, New York, the son of Col. Stephen Steele and Lucy Buel. His grandfather was assemblyman Perez Steele.[1]
Steele attended a private academy in Roxbury, Connecticut, from 1848 to 1849, the Delaware Literary Institute in Franklin, New York, from 1849 to 1854, and Yale College from 1854 to 1858.[1] One of his Yale classmates was Chauncey Depew.[2] He then worked as a private tutor in New York City and as a teacher in Camden and Williamstown, New York for a few years. In 1862, he began studying law under John Olney at Windham. He was admitted to the bar in 1863. In 1865, he became a member of the law firm Cowles & Steele in Roxbury. He practiced law for a short while in Valley Falls and Hart's Falls, followed by two years in Camden as a member of the law firm Cromwell & Steele. In 1869, he moved to Williamstown. In 1871, the firm became Cromwell, Steele & Conlan. He then gave most of his law practice to his partners and focused on insurance. After the firm was dissolved in 1873, he formed a banking partnership with J. F. Morse called W. H. Steele & Co. The firm was renamed Steele & Morse in 1874. In 1876, he resumed his law practice, practicing on his own.[3]
In 1878, Steele was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican, representing the Oswego County 3rd District. He served in the Assembly in 1879,[4] 1880,[5] and 1881.[6] In 1882, he ended his insurance business and took over the hardware business E. Dixon & Co., renaming the business W. H. Steele & Co. In 1887, he moved to Pulaski. In 1889, he settled in Oswego. He bought a store and farm in Altmar in 1897, although he continued to live in Oswego. He was a delegate and Second Vice President of the 1894 New York State Constitutional Convention. He worked on the revising and indexing the Convention's records, a task that occupied him until 1899 and produced five printed volumes with a total of six thousand pages. In 1896 and 1897, he assisted Commissioner Lyman organize the state's new Excise Department.[3]
Steele was active in the Freemasons, organizing a lodge for them in Schagticoke. He also organized the first Order of the Eastern Star lodge outside of New York City. He was a Congregationalist. In 1866, he married Augusta Burnhans of Delhi. They had three children, although only one survived them, their daughter Mrs. W. F. Ballou.[2]
Steele died in his room at the Altmar House in Altmar on September 21, 1911. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Oswego.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b The Convention Manual of Procedure, Forms and Rules for the Regulation of Business in the Sixth New York State Constitutional Convention, 1894: Delegates Manual and Introduction. Albany, N.Y.: The Argus Company. 1894. pp. X – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Hon. Wm. H. Steele". The Pulaski Democrat. Vol. LXI, no. 5. Pulaski, N.Y. 27 September 1911 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
- ^ a b Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased from June, 1910 to July, 1915. New Haven, C.T. 1915. pp. 199–200 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ McBride, Alexander, ed. (1879). The Evening Journal Almanac, 1879. Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsons & Co. p. 137 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ The Evening Journal Almanac, 1880. 1880. p. 128 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ McBride, Alexander, ed. (1881). The Evening Journal Almanac, 1881. Albany, N.Y.: Weed, Parsons & Co. p. 139 – via Internet Archive.
External links
[edit]- 1838 births
- 1911 deaths
- People from Greene County, New York
- Yale College alumni
- People from Roxbury, New York
- People from Camden, New York
- People from Williamstown, New York
- People from Pulaski, New York
- Politicians from Oswego, New York
- 19th-century American lawyers
- 20th-century American lawyers
- New York (state) lawyers
- 19th-century American legislators
- Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
- American Freemasons
- American Congregationalists
- 19th-century New York (state) politicians