George A. Steel

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George A. Steel

George A. Steel (born April 22, 1846 in Stafford , Ohio , † June 20, 1918 ) was an American businessman and politician ( Republican Party ).

Early years

George A. Steel, son of Elizabeth Lawrie and William Steel, was born in Monroe County three days before the outbreak of the Mexican-American War . Nothing is known about his youth. During the Civil War he sailed to the Isthmus of Panama in 1862 and then traveled from there to Portland ( Oregon ) on a ship under the command of JD Merryman . There he began to work as a clerk (office worker) in a commission house before he took up a job in the same position in the post office in Portland in 1865. He then worked for the Oregon Iron Company Furnace followed by Ladd & Tilton Bank, where he was an accountant for four years. On February 18, 1869 he married Eva Pope, daughter of Charles Pope.

Steel partnered with Joseph K. Gill in 1870 for the Gill & Steel bookstore , the predecessor of the JK Gill Company . The following year, 1871, they acquired part of Harris & Holman and later Bancroft & Morse, with Bancroft as a partner. Steel later bought out its partners but later went bankrupt and sold the assets. The rest of Steel's family, including his brother William Gladstone Steel , moved to Oregon in 1872. Steel continued to work with Gill until 1878. In 1881 he became postmaster in Portland.

In the meantime he worked from 1877 to 1879 as a special investigator for the United States Post Office Department (predecessor of the United States Postmaster General ) and from 1879 to 1880 as a deputy collector for the customs office in the port of Portland. He served as postmaster until 1885 and again from 1889 to 1894. While serving as postmaster, he began selling fire insurance with his brother James for GA Steel & Company . After the end of his tenure, he continued this activity and was later involved with his brother in founding the Metropolitan Railway Company . This was an electric railroad line that opened in January 1890 and originally ran from Portland to Fulton Park. Later named Eastside Electric Railway , the line expanded to Oregon City but went bankrupt in 1898.

Political career

In the 1870 election, he won his candidacy for his first public office as Treasurer of Multnomah County - a post he held for two years. In 1876 he was elected chairman of the State Central Committee in the Republican Party of Oregon. Steel held the post as chairman until 1878. At that point he became Secretary of the Committee.

Steel was elected to the Oregon Senate in 1886 , where he represented the 20th District in Multnomah County. He served a four-year term in the legislature that spanned two legislative sessions. In 1894 he resumed the post as chairman of the State Central Committee , which he held until 1896. From 1900 he was active in the Republican National Committee . He then sat on the committee again in 1902 and 1904. He was elected Treasurer of State of Oregon in the 1906 election. He held the post for a four-year term from January 15, 1907 to January 3, 1911.

Late Years and Legacy

Steel and his wife had two children and were members of the First Congregational Church in Portland. George A. Steel died on June 20, 1918 at the age of 72. The last years of his life were overshadowed by the First World War .

The parish of Stafford, south of Portland, was named by Steel after his hometown, as was Stafford Road in the same area.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Howard M. Corning: Dictionary of Oregon History, Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989, p. 234.
  2. ↑ a b c d J. J. Galvin, Frank E. Hodgkin: Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon . Farmer and Dairyman Publishing House, 1882, pp. 139f.
  3. ^ A b Julian Hawthorne: The Story of Oregon: A History, with Portraits and Biographies , Volume 2, American Historical Publishing Company, 1892, pp. 244-249.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Harvey Whitefield Scott: History of Portland, Oregon with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers . D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, NY 1890, pp. 621f.
  5. ^ Failure in Portland, Ore .; George A. Steel and the George A. Steel Company File Petitions in Bankruptcy . In: The New York Times. October 31, 1898, p. 8.
  6. ^ State Central Committee: Republican League Register, a Record of the Republican Party in the State of Oregon . Register Publishing Co., 1896, pp. 19f, 369.
  7. ^ Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1887 Regular Session (14th) , Oregon State Archives
  8. ^ Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1889 Regular Session (15th) , Oregon State Archives
  9. ^ Charles Mitchell Harvey: Official proceedings of the ... Republican National Convention , Igf. Hate pub. and Engraving Company, 1900, p. 14.
  10. ^ Francis Curtis: The Republican Party: a History of its Fifty Years' Existence and a Record of its Measures and Leaders, 1854-1904 , Volume 2, GP Putnam's Sons, 1904, p. 540.
  11. ^ Republican National Committee: The Republican Campaign Textbook , Republican Congressional Committee, 1902, p. 4.
  12. ^ Treasurers of Oregon . Oregon Blue Book.
  13. ^ Andy Parker: Road's name, running a county worth a word. In: The Oregonian. February 1, 2007, Metro South Neighbors, p. 3.
personal data
SURNAME Steel, George A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman and politician (Republican Party)
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH Stafford , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH June 20, 1918