| Steeles Family English - Canadian |
| The British Government acted towards their officers in a most unjust manner, punishing the Captain, the Admiral, and in fact, all the officers, when war broke out. The Lieutenants were put on half pay and only restored by the influence brought to bear on the government through the Secretary of State for War. During his service, Captain Steele navigated his ship up the St. Lawrence late in the season as far as Quebec, after the buoys had been taken away for the winter. The ship got on a reef and he ordered the crew aft, started the music and the sailor's hornpipes, with the desired result that the ship, owing to the oscillation, slipped of the rock safely, and they proceeded on their way. Glommen, sloop, Captain Charles Wolcome; Menelaus, 38 Captain Robert Mends; Horatio, 38, Captain Charles Pritchard and Belfluer, 98, Captain Sir Edward Berry Arethusia, 38, Captain Robert Mendis. On the 20th March, 1809, a party of seamen under the orders of Lieutenant Steele, who was then servin g on the Arthusia, destroyed the guns of Bagnio, a place on the coast of France, and captured a vessel then laden with merion wool; while Lieutenant Fennel, of the Royal Mariens accompanied by Mr. Elliott, the purser, and the boat's crew ascended the mountains and destroyed the signal posts. He (Lt Steel,) accepted his present rank 25th April, 1838. He is also a Colonel of the sedentary militia of the County of Simcoe. "Steele was in action off Ushant with the French line-of-battleship Les Droits Des Hommes, which was taken. The Atlas on which he served was built before the American Revolution, and it was stated that the "world" on the back of the Atlas figurehead would not let the bowsprit into it's place without the portion occupied by the United States of America being cut off. this by the superstitious sailors was regarded as the cause of the loss of the colonies. "It will be observed that the ships on which Captain Steele served during the war were amongst the most famous of the service, in fact, were constatnly employed against the enemy. In 1805, for instance, in a squadron under Sir Richard Strachan, the ships decoyed Villeneuve out of Trafalgar Bay but did not, owing to the contrary winds, return to take part in the battle. They, however, captured the remnant of the fleet which were escaping, and in 1809, Steele, then a Lieutenant, took part in Basque Roads, under Cochrane, and escorted Sir John Moore's army to England after the battle of Corunna. He also served in Lord St. Vincent's fleet for a time, and had many amusing stories to tell of that distinguished sailor. Captain Steele married when twenty-eight years of age, Elizabeth Seeley Cowcher, daughter of Mr. John Cowcher, of Bath. hey had six children, one of whom - Mr. John Cowcher Steele - attained his 92nd year. Captain Steele and Mrs. Steele went to France after Waterloo and remained there until 1803; several of their children were born there. The family left France owing to the revolution, Captain Steele being then in England, as a freeman of Gloucester, at elections, and Mrs. Steele, much alarmed at the remarkable events occurring around her, left France with her children and joined her husband. In 1832, grants of land were offered in upper Canada to British officers, soldiers and sailors so that a strong support and backing should be given to the settlers already there, and Captain Steele, with his son, John, proceeded to Canada by the ship Blanches. . She was caught in the ice, threatened destruction by an iceberg; the master lost his head; Captain Steele took command, saved the ship, and was presented with an address by the grateful passengers. He then, accompanied by John, went up the St. Lawrence, part of the way walking on the banks, the batteau being towed by oxen; they took the coach from Cornwall to Prescott and there embarked for York (Toronto) on the only steamer plying the Great Lakes, landed at York and after necessary arrangements were made, were going to settle in Adelaid, Middlesex County, but at Hamilton met a gentleman name Durand, who persuaded the Captain to go to Medonte, which he did. He was joined the next year by Mrs. Steele and the rest of the family, who came via New York and the Erie Canal to Rochester, where they took the only railroad then in America to Charlotte, embarked there for York, and were met by Captain Steele. He escorted them to Medonte, crossing Lake Simcoe on a sailing sloop to the Narrows, as Orillia was then named, which was only an Indian village at that time. "After this, Captain Steele took a great interest in the affairs of the country and as a magistrate, assisted to administer the district, aided by a number of naval and military officers. A lot of his work, such as recommending the Trent Valley Canal in 1839, the restoration of their pensions to the Army and Navy veterans who had commuted them to made a start in Canada, the construction of the road to Orillia from Toronto via the east shore of Lake Simcoe, the Narrows traffic bridge and many other public works, were due to his energy, supported by the veteran officers who were settled in the country. In the early forties, responsible government was granted to Canada, and the people prepared to take advantage of it. Reform was considered necessary and gentlement who held opposite opinions on British politics united as Reformers under Mr. Robert Baldwin, and they became the Simcoe district, which was much larger that it is now, selected Mr. James Dallas, of Orillia, a Scotch gentleman of ability, to reppresent them in Parliament, and his supporters and personal friends proceeded to canvass the constituency. Captain Steele accompanied mr. Dallas in person and at Newmarket, then in the riding they obtained a hail and put up for the night at the house of Captain Steel's son-in-law, Mr. James Henderson. When the time came for the nomination meeting, Mr. Dallas proceeded to the hall, Captain Steele went later and met Mr. Dallas who was in a high state of excitement, and showed signs of having been roughly handled. He stated that Mr. Wm. B. Robinson, the government candidate, witha large number of supporters, had taken possessiion of the hall, and handled him roughly and had driven him forth; he said he was treated shamefully and would not run for member. Captain Steele tried to persuade him to return to the scene of the trouble, but he point blank refused to do so, so Captian Steele proceeded there, elbowed his way to the platform. Mr. robinson was in possession and speaking. Captain Steele protested, insisted on Mr. Robinson giving place, addressed the meeting, stated that Mr. Dallas had refused to continue the contest after being treated so shamefully, and as there was no time to call a meeting to select another, he announced himself as a reform candidate, and carried the meeting. He got enormous support and was returned to parliament. One of the many strange incidents of the election was the arrival over the ice from Thorah, at the polling place in Barrie, of a large number of Highland Scotch settlers, many of them old soldiers, with major Cameron, a retired officer of the 19th Cameron Highlanders, and his brother, Mr. Cameron, later a lieutenant in that regiment. Each sleigh had in front an axe with a rock elm handle, signiifying Elmes Steele. The election being over and Captain Steele elected, he was drivin at once to Toronto by Mr. J. A. Irving, an ex-officer of the 13th Light Dragoons, who had served at the Battle of Waterloo and settled near Newmarket. Mr. Irving was afterwards the first warden for the district of Simcoe and later an M. L. C. The object for which Captain Steele was elected having been attained, he resigned his seat and afterwards resided on his estate at medonte, exercising his office as a J. P., and doing his best to promote the welfare of the people. Mrs. Steele died in the forties and in 1847, Captain Steele married Anne, the second daughter of Neil Mac Ian Macdonald, a grandson of Captain Godfrey MacNeil, chief of the MacNeils of Barra, and the nephew of Colonel Donald MacNeil, who commanded a Highland regiment during the Napoleonic wars. There were six children by this marriage. Captain Steele died on the 6th of August, 1865, aged 84 years. |
| The Steele Family by Mrs. M. E. Wilson, Orillia (Paper read before the Ontario Historical Society at the annual meeting in Orillia in 1940.) Among the many pioneer families whose names are written in the annals of Ontairo's early days in the Steele family. It's in Coleford, England, and comes down to the present day, not only in the Old land, but in Canada, south Africa, and other parts of the British Empire. Samuel Steele, founder of the Canadian branch of the family, lived (1708 - 1799) in Coleford. He had two sons - Elmes, a surgeon and Samuel, a British army officer, who was later at the capture of Quebec. Elmes married Mary Benfield and had ten children. six were sons, all of whom became surgeons or officers in the British army or navy. with one, Elmes Yelverton - later Captain elmes Steele, R. N. - this story is particularly concerned. Particulars of the life and service of Captain Elmes as an officer in the Royal Navy have already been dealt with in the society's publication. My purpose is to tell in a simple way of his life as a pioneer of Simcoe County, stressing those qualties by which he will always be remembered in that locality. In 1832 he migrated to Canada, at the age of 51, after thirty-seven years of continuous and effective service to his king and country. With him came his second son, John Cowcher, then fifteen. The voyage of 2 1/2 months in a sailing vessel, The Branches, was long and tedious. At one time the vessel was caught in ice and threatened with destruction. The Master having lost his head, Captain Steele took command and saved the ship and received an address of gratitude from the passengers. After his arrival in York, Captain Steele proceeded to Medonte town-ship, in Simcoe county, and settled on his 1,000 acre wooded estate - one of the grants of land allotted at that time to British officers, sailors, and soldiers in the upper Canada. Father and son set to work immediately to prepare a home for the arrival of the rest of the family the following year. Let's get a glimpse of him. He was a handsome well proportioned man, 5 ft. 10 in height, weighing 180 pounds in his prime. His eyes were a keen blue, and his clean-shaven face was bronzed by the winds and sun of many seasons. In disposition he was generous and kind, but at times, he could show a fiery temper. He was a man of strong character and sterling qualtities. The task of building a house was a slow and arduous one. the trees had to be felled, the logs hhewn, and the shingles made by hand. the plan of the Steele house was unique. there was a centre part 30 feet square, with a wing at each end 25 feet long. On the sough side of each wing ran a wide veranda. the centre part opened onto each veranda by French windows, thus making a covered stretch of 80 feet which the Captain was pleased to call his quarter-deck. the walls of the house were built of hand-hewn cedar logs, dove-tailed at the corners. The ceilings were flattened logs. Many of the inside walls were beautifully paneled. the floors were of wide pine boards. heat was supplied by four huge fireplaces. Two large French windows facing the south flooded the centre part of the house with sunlight. fine old Pine and cedar trees at the rear and a rippling stream at the front made a lovely setting for the home which the Captain named Purbrook after the English birthplace of his wife. (see info from wife's file ) Some amusing stories of the time have been handed down. One is of Granny Jamieson. Granny lived near what is now Price's Corners, and one of her daily duties was to carry water from a 'bonnie burn' in the woods. this day she filled her 'joog' then, attracted by the wild flowers, she stepped from the beaten path into a dense woods. Soon, she was lost. After walking and walking carrying her 'joog' she came at last upon a stranger reading in the door of a tent by a stream. 'Hoots, Mon', she cried, quite startled, 'I thocht ye were Elijah sitting in the door of his tent'. the stranger was Captain Steele who often occupied a tent while his house was buildingl. He took the old lady in, kept her until morning, and then sent her back in charge of one of his men. One of Captain Steele's first actions was to donate 100 acres of land as an endowment for a parish church and iehgt acres on which to erect the church and layout a cemetery. meantime he arranged for services to be held in his home by a travelling missionary, Rev. a. elliott. Every week for years Mrs. Steele gathered stray children of the settlers and taught them in Sunday School. the influence of the quiet, cultured Christian lady was felt for many miles. Captain Steele took a keen interest in the affairs of the country. As magistrate he administered the district, aided by a number of military and naval officers. He recommended the building of the Trent Valley Canal in 1839, and was instrumental in restoring pensions to army and navy veterans who had commuted them to get a start in Canada. He advocated the construction of the road from Orillia to Toronto on the east side of Lake Simcoe and had the Narrows traffic bridge built. In the early 40's he was elected to Parliament. It was open voting then, lasting days, and open house was kept by the candidates. this election cost Captain Steele thousands of dlooars but he was the winner, and did much for his riding during his single term. In connection with the election one of his admirers -- Fitzgerald, an Irishman -- composed a ditty, of which the following lines were remembered" 'His goodnes and his kindness to every distressed crathur Is written in the Book of Life by our Celestial Maker.' The ending ran: 'We'll send him off to parliament all in his carriage rowlin.' In the meantime the young members of the family were grwoing up and finding their places in the world. The two older daughters, Millicent and Ellen married and settled in Toronto, becoming Mrs. James henderson and Mrs. Alexander Murray respectively. (see John Coucher for info ) In 1846 Mrs. Steele died. She was buried in the little cemetery on the hill which her husband had donated years before to the parish. Some years later Captain Steele married again, his second wife being Anne, daughter of Neil MacIan Macdonald, of Islay, Scotland. by her he had six children, four sons and two daughters, all born at Purbrook. In 1859, when the oldest of the second family was only eleven, the mother died. This eleven-year boy was Samuel Benfield Steele, who was very worthily to uphold the military traditions of his family. "S.B." as he was familiarly called in his home district, was commissioned ensign in the 35th Simcoe Foresters at the age of fifteen, climbed the military ladder rung by rung, and gave valuable and brilliant service in the Canadian west, in south Africa, and finally at Shorncliff, England, during the Great War. He became Major-General Sir Sam Steele in 1914. "Forty Years in Canada,' written by him and published in 1915 gives a vivd account of his military career. He had planned to buy back the old homestead at Purbrook but was prevented by his death in January, 1919, at the age of seventy. He was buried in St. John's Cemetery, Winnipeg, Canada. In 1890 Sir Sam Steele had married Marie Elizabeth, daughter of Robert William de Lotbiniere harwood, M.C. there were three children in this family -- two daughters -- M. C. Flora Macdonald, now of Montreal, to whom I am greatly indebted for much information contained in this paper; and Gertrude, later the wife of Stewart Dudley, M.C.; and one son, Harwood Elmes. Harwood Elmes continued the brilliant family record. He is now "Lt. Col. Harwood Elmes Steele, M.C., and hold the appointment in York of Deputy Assistant Adjustant General of the Northern Command, a position he assumed after Christmas, 1939. |
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| Capt Elmes Steele, R.N. & son, Maj. General Sir Sam B. Steele |
| Kith n Kin has Elmes Steele family history listed |
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| Letters from Sam Steele |
| Top picture is Sam Steele as North West Mounted Police. The bottom picture is of a placque on a building honoring Sam Steele. |