William Henry Steeves (May 20, 1814 – December 9, 1873) was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation.

Life and career

Born and raised in

Hillsborough, New Brunswick Hillsborough is a village in Albert County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The village is situated on a hill overlooking the Petitcodiac River near the intersection of Route 910 and Route 114. Hillsborough is the largest settlemen ...

, William Henry Steeves was a descendant of Heinrich Stief, founder of the Steeves family in North America, and Regina Stahlecker. Steeves was educated in public school and began his career running a small store before becoming a partner in Steeves Brothers, a family mercantile and lumber exporting business. Steeves moved to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

in order to further the business and became a leader in the city's financial community. There he married his second cousin, Mary. The date of the wedding is unknown. Steeves was elected to New Brunswick's colonial

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

in 1846 and was an advocate of governmental reform and the election of all members of the Legislative Council. He was appointed to the Legislative Council (the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

) in 1851. In 1854, the

compact government Compact governments or compacts were the conservative colonial cliques that ruled colonies, particularly in British North America prior to the granting of responsible government. They were usually Tory in orientation and representative of the local ...

that had ruled the colony was finally defeated by a reform administration and Steeves became Surveyor General in the new government. He resigned the appointment later that year due to opposition to an unelected person from the Legislative Council being appointed rather than an elected member of the House of Assembly. In 1855, Steeves became the first chairman of the Department of

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

. He left government in 1856 when the reform administration of

Samuel Leonard Tilley Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as a ...

was defeated over

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, but he returned to office with Tilley in 1857 and remained commissioner of public works until 1861. He continued in Tilley's government as

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

until 1865 when the government fell due to its support for

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

. Steeves was a supporter of Confederation and was one of New Brunswick's delegates to the

Charlottetown Conference The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thro ...

and the

Quebec Conference of 1864 The Quebec Conference was held from October 10 to 24, 1864, to discuss a proposed Canadian confederation. It was in response to the shift in political ground when the United Kingdom and the United States had come very close to engaging in war w ...

. He was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, when the chamber was created in 1867. In that body, he acted as an advocate for the better care of the

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. The circumstances of his death are not known, but he served in the Senate until his death in 1873. He is interred in the Fernhill Cemetery in

. Steeves was a maternal great-grand-uncle of the late Leader of the Opposition and

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

leader

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

and is the maternal great-great-grand uncle of Toronto City Councillor

Mike Layton Michael Layton (born November 26, 1980) is a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council from 2010 until 2022. Layton most recently represented Ward 11 University—Rosedale. He was first elected in the 2010 municipal election in W ...

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*
Steeves Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steeves, William 1814 births 1873 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Canadian senators from New Brunswick Fathers of Confederation Liberal Party of Canada senators People from Albert County, New Brunswick Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian people of German descent

William Steeves William Henry Steeves (May 20, 1814 – December 9, 1873) was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation. Life and career Born and raised in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, William Henry Steeves was a descendant of Heinr ...

Colony of New Brunswick people