Rev. David Steele, D.D.
Among the early settlers of Adams County, Ohio, Rev. David Steele, D. D., occupies a prominent place. He was born near Londonderry, Ireland, on the second day of November, 1803, and was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was the youngest of six brothers, whose father, David Steele, was the fourth generation from Captain John Steele of Lismahago, near Glasgow, Scotland, and who fought on the side of the Covenanters in the battle of Drumclog, June 22, 1679. Descended from such stock, as might be expected, he was trained up according to the strict order observant in Covenanting families. He received his academical education on the old wall of Londonderry, famous in history because of its siege in 1688 and 1689. When about twenty years of age, he emigrated to the United States, arriving in Philadelphia, June 7, 1824. After spending a short time with an uncle in Pennsylvania, he taught school in the first academy erected in Edinsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the meantime pursuing his classical and other studies. Entering the Western University of Pennsylvania as a Senior, he graduated from that institution in 1826. After studying theology with the late Dr. John Black, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, April, 1830. The following year, on May 4th, he was married to Miss Eliza Johnston, of Chillicothe, Ohio, and one month afterward, he was ordained and installed Pastor of the Reformed Congregation of Brush Creek by the Ohio Presbytery at a salary of four hundred dollars a year. When he settled on Brush Creek, the place was a wilderness, and he and his young wife found everything primitive and uncongenial to educated and refined living.
Thousands of miles he traveled on horseback yearly, having often to ford rivers when he had to get on his knees on the saddle to keep from being saturated with water as there were few bridges in those days. For twenty-nine years, he labored in this congregation upon a salary that was hardly sufficient to procure the necessaries of life. Although a little below medium in stature, he was possessed of an excellent constitution and this enabled him to bear up under difficulties which would have been too great for others. As a scholar, he was far above most of his compeers, particularly in the ancient classics, as he could read the most difficult Latin and Greek authors at sight. He was thoroughly versed in theology and his "Notes on the Apocalypse" show that he was a master in the exposition of the Bible truth. He was instrumental in training quite a number of young men for the Gospel Ministry. His home was the resort of all educated people, who came to the neighborhood, and hospitality was a marked feature of his house. It is but proper to state that his wife co-operated heartily with him in all his plans for the elevation and culture of all who dwelt in the vicinity of Brush Creek. His influence for sound morality, godly living and consistent Christianity was felt far and wide and left its impress upon the whole community. Brush Creek owes much in culture and refinement to the early settlement of him and his wife. As an orator, Rev. Steele was concise, clear and frequently eloquent and impassioned, and his discrimination in the use of words showed his mastery of the English language. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from his Alma Mater a few years before his death.
After leaving Ohio, he spent several years in Illinois near Sparta. The remainder of his life was spent in Philadelphia, and he died in the fifty-fourth year of his ministry at the age of eighty-four. His remains lie in the cemetery of Petersburg, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
From History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900