American lawyer and philanthropist who was a member of J.P. Morgan & Co. Steele attended the University of Virginia, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1878. He later graduated from Columbia Law School in 1880. 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. 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. Seward, Guthrie & Steele on February 1, 1892. In the 1890s, Morgan partner Charles H. Coster retained Steele to assist with reorganizing certain railroad interest, including the reorganization of the Erie Railroad. In 1900, Coster died and J. Pierpont Morgan invited Steele, during Coster's funeral, 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." 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.). Steele, who became a close friend of Morgan, 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. In 1885, Steele was married to Richmond-born Ann "Nannie" Gordon French (1866–1932). 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. 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 daughter of U.S. Minister to Greece Walker Fearn. The Steele's maintained residences in New York City (a Beaux-Arts mansion at 11 East 62nd Street, in Old Westbury, and a large cottage in Southampton, New York. Together, Charles and Nannie were the parents of three daughters. 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. Steele died at his home in Westbury on August 5, 1939. 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.
American lawyer and philanthropist who was a member of J.P. Morgan & Co. Steele attended the University of Virginia, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1878. He later graduated from Columbia Law School in 1880. 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. 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. Seward, Guthrie & Steele on February 1, 1892. In the 1890s, Morgan partner Charles H. Coster retained Steele to assist with reorganizing certain railroad interest, including the reorganization of the Erie Railroad. In 1900, Coster died and J. Pierpont Morgan invited Steele, during Coster's funeral, 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." 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.). Steele, who became a close friend of Morgan, 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. In 1885, Steele was married to Richmond-born Ann "Nannie" Gordon French (1866–1932). 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. 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 daughter of U.S. Minister to Greece Walker Fearn. The Steele's maintained residences in New York City (a Beaux-Arts mansion at 11 East 62nd Street, in Old Westbury, and a large cottage in Southampton, New York. Together, Charles and Nannie were the parents of three daughters. 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. Steele died at his home in Westbury on August 5, 1939. 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.
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