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Hiram R. Steele | |
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| Louisiana Attorney General | |
| In office 1876–1877 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hiram Roswell Steele (1842-07-10)July 10, 1842 Stanstead, Quebec,Province of Canada |
| Died | November 21, 1929(1929-11-21) (aged 87) Brooklyn, New York, US |
| Resting place | Hillside Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingPorter Steele |
| Occupation | Lawyer, judge |
Hiram Roswell Steele (July 10, 1842 – November 21, 1929) was a Canadian-American lawyer, judge, andLouisiana Attorney General.
Steele was born on July 10, 1842, inStanstead, Quebec, theProvince of Canada, the son of Sanford Steele and Mary Hinman.[1] Steele moved toVermont at a young age and studied atSt. Johnsbury Academy inSt. Johnsbury, Vermont. He then taught at a district school in St. Johnsbury, then atLyndon and became a principal atCassville High School in Stanstead. By the spring of 1861, he was assistant teacher and master of mathematics in theLyndon Academy in Lyndon.
He studied law in the law office of his brother, futureVermont Supreme Court justiceBenjamin H. Steele, inDerby Line.[2] In July 1862, during theAmerican Civil War, he helped raise men for military service in Derby Line,Newport, andOrleans County. In August 1862, he was commissioned Captain of Company K,10th Vermont Infantry Regiment.[2] He served with the company for the next two years. In May 1864, he was severely wounded in theBattle of Spotsylvania Court House. Two weeks later,President Lincoln promoted him to captain and Commissary of Subsistence, and in June he was reported to report for duty inNew Orleans, Louisiana. In August, he was assigned Commissary of Subsistence of the cavalry forces,Nineteenth Army Corps, on the staff of GeneralE. J. Davis. In February 1865, he was assigned Commissary of Subsistence of a separate cavalry brigade on the staff of Brigadier-General T. J. Lucas. In July, he was transferred and assigned toNatchez, Mississippi, on the staff of Major-GeneralJ. W. Davidson as Depot and Post Commissary at Natchez and Chief Commissary of the Southern District of Mississippi. He was mustered out in January 1866, and was breveted Major in May 1866.[2]
Steele remained in the South after the war, initially working in cotton planting. In 1868, he began practicing law inSt. Joseph, Louisiana.[3] He was also elected Parish Judge ofTensas Parish that year and was re-elected to that office in 1870. In 1871, he was appointed District Attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial District of Louisiana and he was elected to a full term in that office in 1872. In 1875, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General of Louisiana, and later that yearGovernor Kellogg appointed him Judge of the Superior Criminal Court of New Orleans. In 1876, he was appointedAttorney General of Louisiana. After his term as Attorney General expired, he was elected and re-elected District Attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial District. He also served as a member of the1868 Louisiana Constitutional Convention and the1879 Louisiana Constitutional Convention. He was aRepublican and considered a "carpetbagger", but he was popular with both parties.[2]
In 1890, Steele moved toNew York, settling inBrooklyn and becoming senior partner of the law firm Steele, De Friese & Dickson, later known as Steele De Friese & Steele. He became prominent in the Brooklyn Republican Party, and in 1898 GovernorTheodore Roosevelt appointedBrooklyn District Attorney, although a year later he was defeated for election to the office. He was a director of theBrooklyn City Railroad Company and theNew York Life Insurance Company, and was a trustee and counsel for theSouth Brooklyn Savings Institution.[3]
Steele was a member of theSons of the American Revolution, theGrand Army of the Republic, theLoyal Legion, theNew England Society, and theBrooklyn Institute of Arts and Science.[4] In 1877, he married Elizabeth Porter. Their children, all born in Natchez, Mississippi, werePorter, Elizabeth Hinman, Roswell Hiram, Charles Messenger, and Henry Sanford.[1]
Steele died at home of diabetes and heart disease on November 21, 1929.[3] He was buried inHillside Cemetery inScotch Plains, New Jersey.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Attorney General of Louisiana 1876–1877 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Brooklyn District Attorney 1899 | Succeeded by |