John B. Steele

For other people of the same name, see John Steele (disambiguation).

John Benedict Steele, Congressman from New York

John Benedict Steele (March 28, 1814 – September 24, 1866) was a U.S. Representative from New York in the American Civil War.

Biography

Born in Delhi, New York, Steele attended Delaware Academy at Delhi and attended Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, but left before graduating to study law in Delhi with Amasa Parker and Amasa J. Parker.

He completed his studied with Abraham Becker of Worcester, New York, was admitted to the bar of Otsego County in 1839 and commenced practice in Oneonta, New York.

He served as district attorney of Otsego County from 1841 until he moved to Kingston in 1847. In Kingston, he formed a partnership with General George H. Sharpe.

Steele was elected special judge of Ulster County in 1850 and in 1860 as a Democrat. He was then reelected to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses serving from (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865). He served on committees on the District of Columbia, Revolutionary Pensions and the Pacific Railroad. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress.

He was again a candidate for the nomination in 1866, but died on the eve of the primary, when he died in an accident in Rondout, near Kingston, New York, on September 24, 1866. While descending Hone Street, his horse was startled, crashing his carriage against an awning post, against which Steele was thrown before falling to the ground. He suffered a cracked skull, broken ribs and other internal injuries and died later that day. He was interred in Wiltwyck Cemetery, Kingston, New York.

References

• John B. Steele at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2009-5-12

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William S. Kenyon	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th congressional district 1861–1863	Succeeded by Charles H. Winfield
Preceded by Abram B. Olin	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 13th congressional district 1863–1865	Succeeded by Edwin N. Hubbell

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.