George McKendree Steele

George McKendree Steele
Born	(1823-04-13)April 13, 1823 Strafford, Vermont
Died	January 14, 1902(1902-01-14) (aged 78) Kenilworth, Illinois
Education	Wesleyan University
Occupation(s)	Educator, clergyman, politician
Political party	Greenback
Spouse	Susan J. Swift ​ ​ (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

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

1. "Death of Dr. G. M. Steele". The Post Crescent. Appleton, WI. January 15, 1902. p. 3. Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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.