Charles Steele (lawyer)

Charles Steele (May 5, 1858 – August 5, 1939) was an American lawyer and philanthropist who was a member of J.P. Morgan & Co. for 39 years.

Charles Steele
Born(1858-05-05)May 5, 1858
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedAugust 5, 1939(1939-08-05) (aged 81)
Old Westbury, New York, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Virginia
Columbia Law School
OccupationLawyer
EmployerJ.P. Morgan & Co.
Spouse(s)
Nannie Gordon French
​
​
(m. 1885; died 1932)​
Children3
Parent(s)Isaac Nevett Steele
Rosa Nelson Steele
RelativesJohn Nevett Steele (uncle)

Early life

He was a son of Isaac Nevett Steele (1809–1891) and Rosa Londonia (née Nelson) Steele (1825–1894). Among his siblings was the Rev. James Nevett Steele of Trinity Church (his wife as a daughter of Herman D. Aldrich),[1][2] Mary Steele, John Nelson Steele, Rosa Nelson Steele, Kate Steele, Henry Maynadier Steele.[3] His father was a "distinguished lawyer" who was "universally recognized for years as the leader of the Maryland Bar" and served as the Chargé d'Affaires, Venezuela under three U.S. Presidents, serving from 1850 to 1853.[4]

He was the nephew of Rep. John Nevett Steele,[5] and Mary Nevett Steele, who married John Campbell Henry (the eldest son and heir of Gov. John Henry).[6] His maternal grandfather was U.S. Representative, U.S. Ambassador to Italy and U.S. Attorney General John Nelson and his great-grandfather was Revolutionary War Brig. Gen. and U.S. Rep. Roger Nelson.[4]

Steele attended the University of Virginia, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1878. He later graduated from Columbia Law School in 1880.[7]

Career

After his graduation from Columbia, he was admitted to the bar in New York on motion of Theodore William Dwight. He first practiced alone, then in 1880, joined with Field, Dorsheimer, Bacon & Deyo, later renamed Dorsheimer, Bacon & Steele.[4] He later became a partner of James A. Buchanan, the former head of the law department of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, in the firm of Buchanan & Steele, with Steele becoming general counsel of the Erie.[4] Seward, Guthrie & Steele on February 1, 1892.[4] In the 1890s, Morgan partner Charles H. Coster retained Steele to assist with reorganizing certain railroad interest,[7] including the reorganization of the Erie Railroad.[8]

In 1900, Coster died and J. Pierpont Morgan invited Steele, during Coster's funeral,[9] to become a partner in J.P. Morgan & Co. Steele then "played an important but unpublicized part in the affairs of the firm until 1934, when, because of his age, he gave up active participation. He remained a partner, however, until his death, although he gave up his many corporate directorships at his retirement."[7] At the time of his admission, a single partnership agreement governed both the American and French houses of Morgan, therefore, Steele was admitted as a partner in the New York firm, the Philadelphia firm (Drexel, Morgan & Co.) and the Paris firm (Morgan, Harjes & Co.).[8] Steele, who became a close friend of Morgan,[10] served on the corporate boards of the International Mercantile Marine Co., the U.S. Steel Corporation, the Southern Railroad Company, the International Harvester Company, Cerro de Pasco, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.[7][8]

Personal life
The Steele Mansion in New York, designed by the firm of Haydel & Shepard, 1900

In 1885, Steele was married to Richmond-born Ann "Nannie" Gordon French (1866–1932).[11] She was the daughter of Ellen Mercer (née Herndon) French, a descendant of Revolutionary War general Hugh Mercer, and Seth Barton French, a former Confederate soldier who became a cotton broker after the War and later an associate at J.P. Morgan.[12] She was an older half-sister of Dr. John Herndon French, who also lived in New York, from her father's second marriage to Mary Walker Fearn (a daughter of U.S. Minister to Greece Walker Fearn[lower-alpha 1]).[14] The Steele's maintained residences in New York City (a Beaux-Arts mansion at 11 East 62nd Street[lower-alpha 2]), in Old Westbury,[lower-alpha 3][17] and a large cottage in Southampton, New York.[lower-alpha 4][9] Together, Charles and Nannie were the parents of three daughters:

  • Eleanor Herndon Steele (1893–1977), who married Count Jean de la Greze of Paris in 1910.[18] They divorced in 1920,[19] and she married Dr. Louis Debonnesset in 1920.[20] They also divorced and she married H. Hall Clovis in 1930.[21] They too divorced and she remarried for the fourth and final time to Emmet P. Reese (d. 1982)[22] in 1941.[23]
  • Nancy Gordon Steele (1894–1955),[24] who married Devereux Milburn (1881–1942) in 1913.[25][26]
  • Kathryn Nevitt Steele (1896–1981), who married Francis Skiddy von Stade Sr. (1884–1967)[27] in 1915.[28] Kathryn Steele was a grandmother of the opera singer Frederica von Stade.

A devoted director of the Metropolitan Opera Association for the Metropolitan Opera House, he was also a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club, the Metropolitan Club, the Piping Rock Club, the Meadow Brook Club, the National Golf Links of America and the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.[7]

Steele died at his home in Westbury on August 5, 1939.[7] After a funeral at St. Thomas' Church at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, where 100 seats were reserved for employees of J.P. Morgan (including Junius S. Morgan and Thomas W. Lamont), he was buried at the Locust Valley Cemetery on Long Island.[29] After his death, his estate was valued at $29,498,373 (equivalent to $542,191,387 today), including a $23,122,904 interest in J.P. Morgan.[30] Each of his daughters received $1,500,000 (equivalent to $27,570,574 today) and an interest in the remainder of the estate.[3]

Philanthropy

Steele was noted for his generous philanthropy both during his lifetime, and after his death which totaled $5,000,000 (equivalent to $91,901,914 today).[3] A lover of music and former pupil of Dr. T. Tertius Noble, he gave $100,000 (equivalent to $1,527,435 today) in 1922 to St. Thomas' Church for the purchase of buildings for a permanent choir school, today known as the Saint Thomas Choir School, which was founded in 1919. He gave an additional $300,000 (equivalent to $4,373,624 today) to endow the school in 1925,[7] and another $100,000 to the Church upon his death.[3]

References
Notes
  1. After Nannie's father's death in Palm Beach, Florida in 1910,[12] his widow, the former Mary Walker Fearn (1866–1964), remarried to Russian émigré Prince Serge Wolkonsky.[13]
  2. Steele bought the New York City mansion in 1912 from Edith and Ernesto Fabbri, a daughter of Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard and Elliott Fitch Shepard. The 1900 Beaux-Arts mansion was designed by Augustus Haydel (a nephew of Stanford White) and August D. Shepard Jr. (a nephew of Elliott Shepard and William Rutherford Mead).[15]
  3. Their Old Westbury mansion was built for James F. D. Lanier and designed by James Brown Lord, c. 1891. After Steele acquired the mansion, he extensively renovated it.[16]
  4. The Steele's bought their Southampton property from the estate of William Yates Mortimer (father of Richard Mortimer) in October 1898 for $9,000 (equivalent to $276,588 today) and commissioned a "two-and-a-half story English Tudor-style building". The home was razed in 1984[9]
Sources
  1. "DIED. Steele" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 August 1916.
  2. "REV. DR. J. N. STEELE DIES.; Former Vicar of Old Trlnity Church Was a Patron of Music" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 August 1916. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. "$5,000,000 IN GIFTS LEFT BY STEELE; Morgan Partner's 3 Daughters Get $1,500,000 Each and Also Share Residue EMPLOYES REMEMBERED Mrs. E.E. Horne's Estate Is Valued at $4,437,937--Mrs. Melville Aids Garden Clubs". The New York Times. 11 August 1939. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  4. Swaine, Robert T. (2007). The Cravath Firm and Its Predecessors, 1819-1947. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. pp. 477–479. ISBN 9781584777137. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  5. "STEELE, John Nevett - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  6. Jones, Elias (1902). History of Dorchester County, Maryland. Williams & Wilkins. p. 304. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. "CHAS. STEELE DIES; MORGAN PARTNER; Member of Firm 39 Years Had Served House as Lawyer in 1890s--Succumbs at 82 EPISCOPAL CHURCH LEADER Endowed the St. Thomas Choir School--Was Treasurer of Opera Real Estate Co. Joined Banking Firm in 1900 Endowed Church Choir School" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 August 1939. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  8. Carosso, Vincent P.; Carosso, Rose C. (1987). The Morgans: Private International Bankers, 1854-1913. Harvard University Press. p. 821. ISBN 9780674587298. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  9. Spanburgh, Sally (2015). The Southampton Cottages of South Main Street: The Original Hamptons Summer Colony. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625847775. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  10. "J.P. MORGAN SAILS TODAY.; Leaves With Charles Steele for Europe on Delayed Vacation" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 August 1921. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  11. "MRS. CHARLES STEELE | Wife of Partner of J. P. Morgan & Co. Dies in Sleep" (PDF). The New York Times. December 19, 1932. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  12. "SETH BARTON FRENCH DEAD; New Yorker Had Gone to Palm Beach in Search of Health" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 February 1910. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  13. Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs (2008). Yale's Confederates: A Biographical Dictionary. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 70. ISBN 9781572336353. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  14. MacCracken, Henry Mitchell; Sihler, Ernest Gottlieb; Johnson, Willis Fletcher (1903). New York University: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni. R. Herndon Company. p. 249. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  15. "Fabbri-Steele Residence - New York City". www.nycago.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  16. L, Zach (May 18, 2010). "The Charles Steele Estate". OLD LONG ISLAND. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  17. Pennoyer, Peter; Walker, Anne (2014). New York Transformed: The Architecture of Cross & Cross. The Monacelli Press, LLC. p. 80. ISBN 9781580933803. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  18. "MISS STEELE WEDS COUNT DE LA GREZE; Eldest Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Steele Married at Sunridge, Her Country Home. NUPTIALS AT GARDEN CITY Miss Anne Townsend Becomes the Bride of Edward B. MacKellar in Cathedral of the Incarnation" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 October 1910. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  19. "OBTAINS DIVORCE IN PARIS.; Former Miss Eleanor Steele Is Freed from Count de la Greze" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 October 1920. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  20. "COUNTESS DE LA GREZE, REMARRIED, ARRIVES HERE -- Mr. and Mrs. Charles Steele's Daughter Wife of Dr. Louis Debonnesset". New York Herald. December 13, 1921. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  21. "MRS. STEELE WED TO OPERA SINGER; Daughter of Charles Steele, J. P. Morgan Partner, Marries Hall Clovis in Chicago. BOTH IN LITTLE OPERA CO. Bride Made Her New York Operatic Debut Last Season--Her Third Marriage" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 September 1930. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  22. Jensen, Joan M.; Patterson, Michelle Wick (2015). Travels with Frances Densmore: Her Life, Work, and Legacy in Native American Studies. U of Nebraska Press. p. 127. ISBN 9780803274945. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  23. "About Us : The Steele-Reese Foundation". steele-reese.org. The Steele-Reese Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  24. "Mrs. Devereux Milburn" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 November 1955. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  25. "THE AUTUMN WEDDING BELLS ARE RINGING; Numerous Nuptials Fixed for Town and Country During October -- Harvest of Notable Engagements -- Plans for Miss Steele's Wedding to Devereux Milburn On Nov. 1" (PDF). The New York Times. 28 September 1913. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  26. "DEVEREUX MILBURN WEDS MISS STEELE; Polo Player Married to Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Steele at Westbury. SOCIETY IN LITTLE CHURCH Boy Choir Sings Before Ceremony;-Attendants and Guests ;- Reception at Sunridge Hall" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 November 1913. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  27. "Skiddy von Stade Sr. Dies at 82; Horseman and Star Polo Player; Saratoga Track's President In 40's and 50's Kept Old Course Going" (PDF). New York Times. February 21, 1967. Retrieved 2011-03-27. F. Skiddy von Stade Sr., one of the country's best-known horsemen and a polo player of distinction in that sport's golden era in the nineteen-twenties, died here yesterday at his home in Powell's Lane. Death was attributed to a heart attack. He was 82 years old.
  28. "MISS K. N. STEELE, BRIDE IN COUNTRY; Weds F. Skiddy Von Stade in Picturesque Church at Westbury, After Polo Romance" (PDF). The New York Times. June 27, 1915. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  29. "NOTABLES ATTEND STEELE SERVICES; Members of Morgan Banking Firm Honor Partner at Rites in St. Thomas Church Here BOY CHOIR PARTICIPATES Dr. Noble Flies From Coast to Play the Organ Selections Requested by Financier" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 August 1939. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  30. "Steele Estate Value Set at $29,498,373 -- Ex-Morgan Partner Had Interest of $23,122,904". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 4 February 1941. p. 11. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
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