Thomas J. Steele

Thomas Jefferson Steele (born March 19, 1853 in Rushville , Rush County , Indiana , †  March 20, 1920 in Sioux City , Iowa ) was an American politician . Between 1915 and 1917 he represented the state of Iowa in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Thomas Steele attended his home public schools and Axline Seminary in Fairfax, Iowa. He then worked as a teacher in western Iowa. He also studied law in Sheldon . But he didn't work as a lawyer. Instead, he took part in the hardware store and the banking business in Wayne ( Nebraska ). Between 1884 and 1886 he was employed by the Wayne County Government in Nebraska. In 1897 he moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he worked as a cattle dealer.

Politically, Steele was a member of the Democratic Party . In the 1914 congressional election, he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the eleventh constituency of Iowa . There he took over on March 4, 1915, succeeding Republican George Cromwell Scott , whom he had defeated in the election. In its 50 years of existence, Steele remained the only Democrat to represent the eleventh constituency in Congress . Otherwise this district was ruled by the Republicans.

In the following elections in 1916 Steele lost again to Scott. He filed an objection to the election result without success. So he had to resign his mandate to Scott on March 4, 1917. In 1918 another candidacy for his return to Congress failed. After the end of his political activities Scott worked again as a cattle dealer in Sioux City. He died there in March 1920.

Web links

• Thomas J. Steele in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Thomas J. Steele in the database of Find a Grave (English)