The Family of John Steel

In the second edition of Daniel Steele Durrie, A Genealogical History of John and George Steele (Settlers of Hartford, Conn., 1635-36) and Their Descendants, with an appendix, containing genealogical information respecting other families of the same name who settled in different parts of the United States, enlarged edition (Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell, 1862), the compiler included information on other Steele families not related to that of the Hartford pioneers. On page 157 of this edition, Durrie printed information on our family, supplied by David Steele. This information, despite minor inaccuracies, is given below as printed, only formatted for easier comprehension. Note the use of the spelling "Steele" throughout.

For yet another account of this family, see the account published in the History of Passaic and its Environs.

Steeles of Donegal, Ireland

This family may be related to James Steele, on page 118. The following has been sent to the compiler of this volume, by Rev. David Steele of Hill Prairie, Ill.:

John Steele had 7 sons and 1 daughter. Five of the sons emigrated to America. Children:

  1. John b. in Donegal county; d. young.
  2. George b. ____; was a pioneer merchant in the settlement of the Scioto valley, near Chillicothe, O.
  3. William b. ____; was a merchant at the county seat of Huntingdon county, Penn.
  4. Samuel b. ____; merchant in connection with his brother William.
  5. Alexander b. ____; was a farmer at Warrior Ridge in Huntingdon county, Penn; all lived to old age, and left numerous posterity in the north western states.
  6. David b. at Fanuet [Fannet], Donegal county; m. Sarah, daughter of Andrew Gailey; he d. at Altghadery, Feb. 1806; she d. about 1838, and had children:
    1. Andrew b. at Crevaugh, 1792;
    2. Samuel b. 1794; d. at Blairville, Penn., 1841;
    3. James, b. Aug. 4, 1798; lives at Altghadery, on the homestead, and has 2 sons:
      1. David, grad. of Oxford University [i.e. Miami University, Oxford, Ohio], now pastor of the 6th Reformed Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia;
      2. John;
    4. Stewart b. Aug. 4, 1800; removed to U.S. in 1818; attorney, &c.; lived at Edensburg, Penn., where he m. 1st, Mary, daughter of Judge Murray, by whom he had children:
      1. John A.; carriage maker in Va.;
      2. David; d. in California, by accidental discharge of a pistol;
      3. Samuel.
      He m. 2d,... Mrs. Bishop, dau. of John Sterrett, near Chambersburg, Penn., by whom he had children:
      1. William Alexander b. ____; lawyer; lives in St. Louis, Mo.; m. Louisa Sanger of Joliet, Ill.;
      2. Stewart b. ____; in the Bank of Haskell & Co., St. Louis; he m. Mary E. Higgins of Lexington, Mo.;
      3. James b. ____; dentist in Altooma, Penn; m. Miss Groyne;
      4. Sarah Myrtilla b. ____; lives with her mother in Blairsville, Indiana county, Penn.
    5. David b. Nov. 2, 1803, at Crevaugh; m. May 4, 1831, Eliza, daughter of Robert H. Johnston of Chillicothe, O.; educated at Londonderry; in 1824, aged 21, sailed for Philadelphia; in 1825 took charge of first academy at Edensburg, Penn; 1826 entered Western University of Pa.; grad. 1827; licensed April, 1830, by Pittsburg Presbytery of Reformed Presbyterian Church, or Covenanters; ordained to pastoral charge, June, 1831, at Tranquility, Adams county, O.; continued till June, 1858, and now resides at Hill Prairie, Randolph county, Ill.; no issue.

The family have a tradition, that during the persecution by the bloody house of Stuart, three brothers were forced to flee from Scotland and settled in Ireland. This family descended from one of them.

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