"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Chapman 
Publishing Company, 1903. p. 866.
 
SAMUEL NENIAN STEELE

     Occupying a position of influence and prominence among the foremost
citizens of Albany, Samuel N. Steele is held in high regard as a man of
integrity and ability, and is well known throughout this section of the county
as an extensive and successful dealer in real estate. Coming here in 1889, he
has since identified himself with the best interests of the community, and has
always been the encourager and supporter of everything calculated to advance the
intellectual, moral and social welfare of the people. A son of the late Samuel
Steele, he was born and bred in Montgomery county, Ind., coming from sound old
Revolutionary stock, both of his great grandfathers, Andrew Evans and Col.
Samuel Newell, having fought in the Revolutionary war, both being in the
thickest of the fight at King's Mountain. His paternal grandfather, James A.
Steele, was a Kentuckian by birth, but settled as a farmer in Indiana, where all
of his children were born.
     Samuel Steele, a life-long resident of Indiana, was engaged in agricultural
pursuits, including stock-raising, until his death, which occurred in August,
1861. He was for forty-seven years a member of the Odd Fellows order, in which
he took an active interest. He married Harriet Evans, a native of Indiana. Her
father, Jesse Evans, who removed from Kentucky to Indiana at an early day, was a
soldier in the war of 1812. She was born in March, 1823, and lived in Indiana
several years after the death of her husband. Removing, in 1868, to Iola, Allen
county, Kans., she resided there until 1891, when she came to Albany to make her
home with her son, Samuel N. Steele, with whom she now resides. She is a member
of the Presbyterian Church, with which she has been identified for many years.
Of her family of five sons and three daughters, five children are still living,
namely : Theodore C., a talented artist, now residing in Indianapolis, Ind.,
pursued his art studies in Munich, Germany, for five years ; Charles A., of
Wichita, Kans., is a successful farmer and merchant ; William J. is a resident
of Jefferson, Ore. ; Alice Howe is engaged in mining in Jacksonville, Ore., and
Samuel N.
     Removing from his Indiana home to Iola, Kans., with his mother, in 1868,
Samuel N. Steele there completed his early education, graduating from the Iola
High School. He subsequently assisted in the management of the farm for awhile,
and then went to Junction City, Kans., where he learned the trade of a
harnessmaker, which he afterwards followed in Moran, Allen county, until 1886.
Locating then in Burlington, Kans., he was there engaged in the abstract
business three years. Coming then to Oregon, Mr. Steele was associated with the
Jarvis Conklin Mortgage Trust Company, in Portland, for a year. Establishing
himself in the real estate business at Albany in the spring of 1890, he has
since resided here, and as head of the enterprising firm of S. N. Steele & Co.,
has been one of the largest real estate operators in this section of the state.
He is the owner of farming and city property, including a fine orchard about
four miles northeast of the city.
     While living in Moran, Kans., Mr. Steele married Abbie M. Southard, who was
born in West Salem, Wis., of New England ancestry, and of Revolutionary stock,
her great-grandfather Southworth, as it was then spelled, having served in the
Revolution. Her grandfather, Jonathan Southard, a native of New England, changed
the family name from Southworth, as it was originally spelled, to its present
form of Southard. Mrs. Steele's father, Newell Southard; was born and reared in
Fairfax, Vt. Becoming a pioneer settler of Wisconsin, he engaged in business as
a miller at La Crosse, then at West Salem, after which he lived for awhile in
Logansport, Ind., where he was superintendent of a railway company. Returning to
La Crosse, he resided there until 1890, then settled in Allen county, Kans.,
coming from there to Albany, where his death occurred, at the age of
seventy-nine years. He married Wealthy Pierce, who was born in Vermont, the
daughter of Helkiah Pierce, of that state, and the granddaughter of a soldier of
the Continental army. She died in Indiana, leaving four children, namely : Mrs.
W. A. Ross, of Pasadena, Cal.; Mrs. D. C. Wadsworth, of Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs.
Frank G. Norton, of Massachusetts, and Mrs. Samuel N. Steele.
     Mr. and Mrs. Steele are the parents of three children, namely : Horace
Newell, Medora Wealthy, and Leighton Howe. In politics Mr. Steele is a sound
Republican, and though not an office-seeker, takes a genuine interest in local
and national affairs. He belongs to various fraternal and social organizations,
including the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and the Alco Club. He is also a member of the Real
Estate Exchange. For many years he was chorister in the Presbyterian Church, of
which he is now ruling elder, and at the present time is serving his second term
as one of the board of trustees of Albany College.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in July 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has
no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.