George A. Steel (Oregon politician)

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American politician

George A. Steel (April 22, 1846 – June 20, 1918) was an American politician and businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he moved to Oregon in 1862 where he became postmaster of Portland and helped build a railroad line among other business ventures. A Republican, he served in the Oregon State Senate and as Oregon State Treasurer.

Early years[edit]

George Steel was born on April 22, 1846, to William and Elizabeth Lawrie Steel in the village of Stafford in the southeastern portion of Ohio.[1] In 1862, he sailed to the Isthmus of Panama and then traveled on a ship captained by J.D. Merryman to Portland, Oregon.[2][3] There he first worked at a commission house as a clerk before working in the same position for the post office in Portland in 1865.[4] He then worked for the Oregon Iron Works followed by the Ladd & Tilton bank for four years as an accountant.[4] On February 18, 1869, Steel married Eva Pope, daughter of Charles Pope.[4]

Steel formed a partnership in the book and stationery business with Joseph K. Gill to operate Gill & Steel, a predecessor to the J. K. Gill Company, in 1870.[1][4] The next year they bought part of the Harris & Holman business and later bought out Bancroft & Morse, with Bancroft joining the partnership.[2] Steel bought out his partners, but went bankrupt and sold off the assets.[2][3] The rest of Steel’s family, which included brother William Gladstone Steel, moved to Oregon in 1872.[1] Steel continued to work with Gill until 1878, and became the postmaster for Portland in 1881.[1]

In the meantime he was a special agent for the United States Post Office Department (predecessor to the United States Postal Service) from 1877 to 1879, and from that year to 1880 as a deputy collector at for Customs at the city’s harbor.[4] He served as postmaster until 1885, and was again postmaster from 1889 to 1894.[1] While still postmaster he went into business with his brother James to form G. A. Steel & Company to sell fire insurance.[4] Steel continued with this venture after leaving the post office and later incorporated the Metropolitan Railway Company with his brother.[4] The railroad was an electric line that opened in January 1890 and initially ran from Portland to Fulton Park.[4] Later named the Eastside Electric Railway, the line extended to Oregon City, but went bankrupt in 1898.[5]

Political career[edit]

In 1870, he won election to his first public office, Treasurer of Multnomah County, serving two years.[2] He then was elected as chairman of the Oregon Republican Party’s state central committee in 1876.[6] Steel remained chairman until 1878 when he became the secretary for the committee.[6]

Steel was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1886 to represent District 20 in Multnomah County.[7] He served one, four-year term in the legislature spanning two legislative sessions.[8] He returned to the post of chairman for the state central committee in 1894, serving until 1896,[6] and then began service on the Republican National Committee in 1900.[9] He remained on that committee in 1902 and 1904.[10][11] In 1906, he was elected as the Oregon State Treasurer and served a single four-year term in office from January 15, 1907, to January 3, 1911.[12]

Later years and legacy[edit]

Steel and his wife had two children and were members of the First Congregational Church in Portland.[1][4] George A. Steel died on June 20, 1918, at the age of 72.[1] Steel named an area south of Portland as Stafford after his hometown, which also lends its name to Stafford Road in that same area.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 234.
  2. ^ a b c d Hodgkin, F. E., & Galvin, J. J. (1882). Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon. Portland, Or: Farmer and dairyman Pub. House, pp. 139-140.
  3. ^ a b Hawthorne, Julian. (1892). The Story of Oregon A History, with Portraits and Biographies. American Historical Publishing Co., pp. 244-249.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co., pp. 621-622.
  5. ^ “Failure in Portland, Ore.; George A. Steel and the George A. Steel Company File Petitions in Bankruptcy”, The New York Times, October 31, 1898, p. 8.
  6. ^ a b c State Central Committee. (1896). Republican League Register, a Record of the Republican Party in the State of Oregon. Register Publishing Co, pp. 19-20, 369.
  7. ^ Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1887 Regular Session (14th). Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
  8. ^ Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1889 Regular Session (15th). Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
  9. ^ Harvey, Charles Mitchell. (1900). Official proceedings of the … Republican National Convention. S.N., p. 14.
  10. ^ Curtis, Francis. (1904). The Republican Party: a History of its Fifty Years’ Existence and a Record of its Measures and Leaders, 1854-1904. AMS Press, p. 540.
  11. ^ Republican National Committee (1902). The Republican Campaign Textbook. Republican Congressional Committee, p. 4.
  12. ^ Oregon State Treasury Administrative Overview. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
  13. ^ Parker, Andy. “Road’s name, running a county worth a word”, The Oregonian, February 1, 2007, Metro South Neighbors, p. 3.