George McKendree Steele

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George McKendree Steele
Born(1823-04-13)April 13, 1823
Strafford, Vermont
DiedJanuary 14, 1902(1902-01-14) (aged 78)
Kenilworth, Illinois
EducationWesleyan University
Occupation(s)Educator, clergyman, politician
Political partyGreenback
Spouse
(m. 1852; died 1895)

The Rev. Dr. George McKendree Steele, D.D., LL.D. (April 13, 1823 – January 14, 1902) was an American educator and Methodist minister, president of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1865 to 1879.[1] He was the author of the 1876 pamphlet The Currency Question – regarded as a major statement of the philosophy of the Greenback movement – and was a Greenback Party nominee for Congress and other public office.[2]

Biography[edit]

Steele was born in Strafford, Vermont on April 13, 1823,[1] one of seven children of Joel Steele (a Methodist minister) and Jerusha (Higgins) Steele.[3] He spent his youth on a farm in his native town, with little formal schooling; but was able to attend Newbury Seminary, after which he taught briefly and then entered the Wesleyan University, from which he graduated in 1850.[1]

He spent three years thereafter (1850–1853) as a teacher of Latin and mathematics at Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and married Susan J. Swift on July 1, 1852.[1]

In 1892, Steele and his wife moved to Auburndale, Massachusetts, when he accepted a professorship at Lasell Seminary (now Lasell University).[4]

He died in Kenilworth, Illinois in 1902.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Death of Dr. G. M. Steele". The Post Crescent. Appleton, WI. January 15, 1902. p. 3. Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Usher, Ellis B. The Greenback Movement of 1875–1884, and Wisconsin's Part in It, Milwaukee: Ellis B. Usher, Press of the Meisenheimer Company, 1911; pp. 4, 38–39, 41
  3. ^ Palmer, Albert B. A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wellfleet, Massachusetts Published By The Leaders And Stewards. Boston: Franklin Press: Rand, Avery, & Company, 1877; p. 14
  4. ^ "The Late Susan J. Steele". Appleton Weekly Post. October 24, 1895. p. 3. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon