Charles Steele (May 5, 1858 – August 5, 1939) was an American lawyer and philanthropist who was a member of
J.P. Morgan & Co. for 39 years.
Early life
He was a son of
Isaac Nevett Steele (1809–1891) and Rosa Londonia (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Nelson) Steele (1825–1894). Among his siblings was the Rev. James Nevett Steele of
Trinity Church (his wife as a daughter of
Herman D. Aldrich),
Mary Steele, John Nelson Steele, Rosa Nelson Steele, Kate Steele, Henry Maynadier Steele.
His father was a "distinguished lawyer" who was "universally recognized for years as the leader of the Maryland Bar" and served as the
Chargé d'Affaires, Venezuela under three U.S. Presidents, serving from 1850 to 1853.
He was the nephew of Rep.
John Nevett Steele
John Nevett Steele (February 22, 1796 – August 13, 1853) was an American politician.
Early life
Steele was born on February 22, 1796, in Weston, Maryland. He was the son of James Steele (1760–1816) and Mary Nevett (1769–1836). His m ...
,
and Mary Nevett Steele, who married John Campbell Henry (the eldest son and heir of
Gov. John Henry).
His maternal grandfather was
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
,
U.S. Ambassador to Italy
Since 1840, the United States has had diplomatic representation in the Italian Republic and its predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Italy, with a break in relations from 1941 to 1944 while Italy and the U.S. were at war during World War II. The U. ...
and
U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
John Nelson and his great-grandfather was Revolutionary War
Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
and U.S. Rep.
Roger Nelson Roger Nelson may refer to:
*Roger Nelson (politician) (1759–1815), represented Maryland in the United States House of Representatives
*Roger Nelson (skydiver) (1955–2003), founder of Skydive Chicago
*Roger Nelson (Canadian football) (1932–199 ...
.
Steele attended the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, receiving a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in 1878. He later graduated from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
in 1880.
Career
After his graduation from Columbia, he was admitted to the bar in New York on motion of
Theodore William Dwight
Theodore William Dwight (1822–1892) was an American jurist and educator, cousin of Theodore Dwight Woolsey and of Timothy Dwight V.
Biography
Theodore William Dwight was born in Catskill, New York on July 18, 1822. His father was Benjamin Wo ...
. He first practiced alone, then in 1880, joined with
Field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
,
Dorsheimer,
Bacon
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...
& Deyo, later renamed Dorsheimer, Bacon & Steele.
He later became a partner of James A. Buchanan, the former head of the law department of the
New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...
, in the firm of Buchanan & Steele, with Steele becoming general counsel of the Erie.
Seward, Guthrie & Steele on February 1, 1892.
In the 1890s, Morgan partner Charles H. Coster retained Steele to assist with reorganizing certain railroad interest,
including the reorganization of the
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...
.
In 1900, Coster died and
J. Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
invited Steele, during Coster's funeral,
to become a partner in J.P. Morgan & Co. Steele then "played an important but unpublicized part in the affairs of the firm until 1934, when, because of his age, he gave up active participation. He remained a partner, however, until his death, although he gave up his many corporate directorships at his retirement."
At the time of his admission, a single partnership agreement governed both the American and French houses of Morgan, therefore, Steele was admitted as a partner in the New York firm, the Philadelphia firm (
Drexel, Morgan & Co.) and the Paris firm (
Morgan, Harjes & Co.).
Steele, who became a close friend of Morgan,
served on the corporate boards of the
International Mercantile Marine Co.
The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade.
IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...
, the
U.S. Steel Corporation
United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...
, the
Southern Railroad Company, the
International Harvester Company
The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...
,
Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru, located at the top of the Andean mountains. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. At elevation, it is one of the highest cities in the world, and the highest or the sec ...
, and the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
.
Personal life
In 1885, Steele was married to
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
-born Ann "Nannie" Gordon French (1866–1932).
She was the daughter of Ellen Mercer (née Herndon) French, a descendant of Revolutionary War general
Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer (16 January 1726 – 12 January 1777) was a Scottish-born American military officer and physician who participated in the Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War. Born in Pitsligo, Scotland, he studied medicine in his home country ...
, and
Seth Barton French, a former
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
soldier who became a
cotton broker
In the Antebellum South, antebellum and Reconstruction era Southern United States, South, most cotton Planter (American South), planters relied on cotton factors (also known as cotton brokers) to sell their crops for them.
Description
The cotton ...
after the
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and later an associate at J.P. Morgan.
She was an older half-sister of Dr. John Herndon French, who also lived in New York, from her father's second marriage to Mary Walker Fearn (a daughter of
U.S. Minister to Greece Walker Fearn
John Williams Walker Fearn (January 13, 1832 – April 7, 1899) was an American diplomat.
Early life
Fearn, born in Huntsville, Alabama, was an 1851 graduate of Yale University. He was the nephew of LeRoy Pope Walker, the first Secretary of War ...
).
The Steele's maintained residences in New York City (a
Beaux-Arts mansion at 11
East 62nd Street), in
Old Westbury
Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census.
The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury i ...
,
and a large cottage in
Southampton, New York
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
.
Together, Charles and Nannie were the parents of three daughters:
* Eleanor Herndon Steele (1893–1977), who married Count Jean de la Greze of Paris in 1910.
They divorced in 1920,
and she married Dr. Louis Debonnesset in 1920.
They also divorced and she married H. Hall Clovis in 1930.
They too divorced and she remarried for the fourth and final time to Emmet P. Reese (d. 1982)
in 1941.
* Nancy Gordon Steele (1894–1955),
who married
Devereux Milburn
Devereux Milburn (September 19, 1881 – August 15, 1942) was an American champion polo player in the early to mid twentieth century. He was one of a group of Americans known as the Big Four in international polo, winning the Westchester Cup six ...
(1881–1942) in 1913.
* Kathryne Nevitt Steele (1896–1981), who married
Francis Skiddy von Stade Sr. (1884–1967)
in 1915.
Kathryn Steele was a grandmother of the opera singer
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...
.
A devoted director of the
Metropolitan Opera Association
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
for the
Metropolitan Opera House, he was also a member of the
Racquet and Tennis Club
The Racquet and Tennis Club, familiarly known as the R&T, is a private social and athletic club at 370 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
History
The Racquet Court Club opened in 1876 at 55 We ...
, the
Metropolitan Club
The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...
, the
Piping Rock Club
Piping Rock Club is a country club in Matinecock, New York. It falls within the ZIP Code boundaries of Locust Valley, New York.
History
The Piping Rock clubhouse was designed by American designer Guy Lowell and built in 1911. Lowell based his ...
, the
Meadow Brook Club, the
National Golf Links of America
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and the
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a Links (golf), links-style golf club located in an Shinnecock Hills, New York, unincorporated area of the Southampton (town), New York, Town of Southampton on Long Island, New York (state), New York, situated betwee ...
.
Steele died at his home in Westbury on August 5, 1939.
After a funeral at
St. Thomas' Church at
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
and
53rd Street
53rd Street is a Midtown Manhattan, midtown cross street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, that runs adjacent to buildings such as the Citigroup Center, Citigroup building. It is 1.83 miles (2.94 km) ...
, where 100 seats were reserved for employees of J.P. Morgan (including
Junius S. Morgan and
Thomas W. Lamont
Thomas William Lamont Jr. (September 30, 1870 – February 2, 1948) was an American banker.
Early life
Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. His parents were Thomas Lamont, a Methodist minister, and Caroline Deuel Jayne. Since his father was ...
), he was buried at the Locust Valley Cemetery on Long Island.
After his death, his estate was valued at $29,498,373 (equivalent to $ today), including a $23,122,904 interest in J.P. Morgan.
Each of his daughters received $1,500,000 (equivalent to $ today) and an interest in the remainder of the estate.
Philanthropy
Steele was noted for his generous philanthropy both during his lifetime, and after his death which totaled $5,000,000 (equivalent to $ today).
A lover of music and former pupil of Dr.
T. Tertius Noble
Thomas Tertius Noble (May 5, 1867 – May 4, 1953) was an English-born organist and composer, who lived in the United States for the latter part of his career.
He served as organist and choirmaster at a number of churches including Ely Cath ...
, he gave $100,000 (equivalent to $ today) in 1922 to
St. Thomas' Church for the purchase of buildings for a permanent choir school, today known as the
Saint Thomas Choir School
Saint Thomas Choir School is a church-affiliated boarding choir school in Manhattan, New York, founded in 1919. The school is supported by the nearby Saint Thomas Church, an Episcopal church, continuing the Anglican tradition of all-male choral ...
, which was founded in 1919. He gave an additional $300,000 (equivalent to $ today) to endow the school in 1925,
and another $100,000 to the Church upon his death.
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
*
The Charles Steele Estatein Old Westbury (demolished ).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Charles
1858 births
1939 deaths
University of Virginia alumni
Columbia Law School alumni
Lawyers from New York City
House of Morgan
JPMorgan Chase employees
People from the Upper East Side
Burials at Locust Valley Cemetery