John Hardy Steele (January 4, 1789 – July 3, 1865) served as the 19th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering ...

from 1844 to 1846.

Early life

John H. Steele was born in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

, on January 4, 1789. His mother, Elizabeth Taylor, was unmarried. His father, John Steele was married to another woman, and was the father of several children with his wife. As a result of the circumstances of his parentage and the early death of his mother, John Hardy Steele was raised primarily by his maternal grandfather, Absalom Taylor. Steele was educated in Salisbury, and at age 14 was apprenticed as a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

and chair maker. At age 22 Steele settled in Fayetteville, where he worked at his trade for Nathaniel Morrison, a native of

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) an ...

. Morrison was impressed with Steele's mechanical aptitude, and asked Steele to accompany him to New Hampshire to establish a

textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

business. Steele designed and constructed the spinning mules and

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but t ...

s for Morrison's mills, one of which was the first to weave cotton cloth by waterpower.

Later career

In 1824 Steele joined several partners to establish the Union Manufacturing Company, a cloth production factory which operated successfully with Steele as manager. A Democrat in a town that was predominantly Whig in its politics, Steele was popular enough personally to win election to the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

in 1829. He declined reelection, and also declined an 1831 nomination for a seat in the New Hampshire State Senate. From 1830 to 1838 Steele served as Peterborough's

Town Meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

Moderator. Steele was also active in the New Hampshire Militia, and attained the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

as aide-de-camp to Governor

Matthew Harvey Matthew Harvey (June 21, 1781 – April 7, 1866) was a United States representative from New Hampshire, the 13th governor of New Hampshire and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. ...

. In 1840 Steele won election to the

Executive Council of New Hampshire The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly known as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the govern ...

, and he was reelected in 1841.

Governor

Steele was elected Governor in 1844, and reelected in 1845. His term was marked by the creation of a state railroad commission. In addition, Steele provided letters of introduction to

James Knox Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

and members of Polk's cabinet for his friend Jesse Carter Little, a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

who sought government assistance to enable the Mormons to begin settling in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Post-governorship

After leaving office Steele retired to a farm, where he conducted experiments in animal husbandry and other scientific agriculture techniques. He was an organizer and President of the Peterborough Savings Bank. He served as a Selectman in 1846, and in 1850 he was a delegate to New Hampshire's constitutional convention.

Death and burial

Steele died in Peterborough on July 3, 1865, and was buried in the Village Cemetery.

External links

biography at New Hampshire Historical Resources
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a
''National Governors Association''
1789 births 1865 deaths Democratic Party governors of New Hampshire People from Salisbury, North Carolina People from Peterborough, New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire 19th-century American businesspeople American bank presidents American militia officers Burials in New Hampshire 19th-century American politicians People from Fayetteville, North Carolina {{NewHampshire-politician-stub