Francis (Frank) Marion Steele called himself a "tourist photo artist."
Perhaps best known for his photography of cowboy life on the plains, F. M. Steele traveled throughout western Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and even into the Oklahoma Territory. It is speculated that only the tip of Steele's photographic iceberg has been discovered. Many of his works have been found in personal collections, museums and even the Library of Congress to be later identified as the works of F. M. Steele.
Born in 1866, in Stanton, Ill., young Francis' father disappeared when he was 2. By the age of 13, he was studying the trade of photography in Kansas City, Mo., with G. T. Atkinson. He must have done some traveling early on in his career, for we find him in Woodward, Okla., Territory that same year. That was the beginning of this Tourist Photo Artist's career.
The Dodge City Journal reported that he had spent six years as an official round-up photographer as early as 1891. Meade County found him using a special "flashlight" process to take photographs of the masquerade ball on Christmas 1894. By January of 1895, Steele had opened a studio in Meade and he issued an invitation to the public to visit Jan. 1, 1895, until March 20, 1895. He found himself scheduling an extended stay in Meade when he met and married Pink Fletcher on May 26, 1895, and then shortly thereafter, his daughter Edith was born.
In spite of having a wife and infant daughter to take care of, the tourist photo artist continued to travel away from home. In 1897, the Comanche Clipper noted that Steele had "finished about 4,000 pictures in Ashland, Kansas, and still had about 1,500 more to do." Later that same year, a second daughter was born, but months of traveling and photographing the plains life had taken its toll on his marriage. In 1897, Frank Steele and Pink Fletcher were divorced.
F. M. Steele accepted special assignments from companies interested in his skills of photography. The Rock Island Railroad employed Steele as a special photographer as well as the Garden City Co., which built the sugar factory. He incorporated techniques in his photography that were new and innovative at the time such as spotlight photography, telephoto lenses and photos in full color.
During his assignment with the Rock Island Railroad in Greensburg, Frank met and married Sadie Harp. In 1904, his son, Marion was born. He continued to run a studio in Hutchinson while purchasing a gallery in Dodge City in 1906.
In 1914, mention is given in The Garden City Telegram that he would permanently locate in Garden City on Eighth Street. It is not known whether his family accompanied him to these locations. In 1925, he moved his business to McCook, Neb., for the next 10 years. Perhaps the call of Kansas was too great for him to stay away forever, for in 1935 he took a job with the city of Dodge City to help encourage the tourist trade at the age of 69. There, with his wife Sadie, on Jan. 2, 1936, he died of asphyxiation when a boiling pot of water extinguished the flame on their gas stove.
Perhaps best known for his photography of cowboy life on the plains, F. M. Steele traveled throughout western Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and even into the Oklahoma Territory. It is speculated that only the tip of Steele's photographic iceberg has been discovered. Many of his works have been found in personal collections, museums and even the Library of Congress to be later identified as the works of F. M. Steele.
Born in 1866, in Stanton, Ill., young Francis' father disappeared when he was 2. By the age of 13, he was studying the trade of photography in Kansas City, Mo., with G. T. Atkinson. He must have done some traveling early on in his career, for we find him in Woodward, Okla., Territory that same year. That was the beginning of this Tourist Photo Artist's career.
The Dodge City Journal reported that he had spent six years as an official round-up photographer as early as 1891. Meade County found him using a special "flashlight" process to take photographs of the masquerade ball on Christmas 1894. By January of 1895, Steele had opened a studio in Meade and he issued an invitation to the public to visit Jan. 1, 1895, until March 20, 1895. He found himself scheduling an extended stay in Meade when he met and married Pink Fletcher on May 26, 1895, and then shortly thereafter, his daughter Edith was born.
In spite of having a wife and infant daughter to take care of, the tourist photo artist continued to travel away from home. In 1897, the Comanche Clipper noted that Steele had "finished about 4,000 pictures in Ashland, Kansas, and still had about 1,500 more to do." Later that same year, a second daughter was born, but months of traveling and photographing the plains life had taken its toll on his marriage. In 1897, Frank Steele and Pink Fletcher were divorced.
F. M. Steele accepted special assignments from companies interested in his skills of photography. The Rock Island Railroad employed Steele as a special photographer as well as the Garden City Co., which built the sugar factory. He incorporated techniques in his photography that were new and innovative at the time such as spotlight photography, telephoto lenses and photos in full color.
During his assignment with the Rock Island Railroad in Greensburg, Frank met and married Sadie Harp. In 1904, his son, Marion was born. He continued to run a studio in Hutchinson while purchasing a gallery in Dodge City in 1906.
In 1914, mention is given in The Garden City Telegram that he would permanently locate in Garden City on Eighth Street. It is not known whether his family accompanied him to these locations. In 1925, he moved his business to McCook, Neb., for the next 10 years. Perhaps the call of Kansas was too great for him to stay away forever, for in 1935 he took a job with the city of Dodge City to help encourage the tourist trade at the age of 69. There, with his wife Sadie, on Jan. 2, 1936, he died of asphyxiation when a boiling pot of water extinguished the flame on their gas stove.
Francis (Frank) Marion Steele called himself a "tourist photo artist."
Perhaps best known for his photography of cowboy life on the plains, F. M. Steele traveled throughout western Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and even into the Oklahoma Territory. It is speculated that only the tip of Steele's photographic iceberg has been discovered. Many of his works have been found in personal collections, museums and even the Library of Congress to be later identified as the works of F. M. Steele.
Born in 1866, in Stanton, Ill., young Francis' father disappeared when he was 2. By the age of 13, he was studying the trade of photography in Kansas City, Mo., with G. T. Atkinson. He must have done some traveling early on in his career, for we find him in Woodward, Okla., Territory that same year. That was the beginning of this Tourist Photo Artist's career.
The Dodge City Journal reported that he had spent six years as an official round-up photographer as early as 1891. Meade County found him using a special "flashlight" process to take photographs of the masquerade ball on Christmas 1894. By January of 1895, Steele had opened a studio in Meade and he issued an invitation to the public to visit Jan. 1, 1895, until March 20, 1895. He found himself scheduling an extended stay in Meade when he met and married Pink Fletcher on May 26, 1895, and then shortly thereafter, his daughter Edith was born.
In spite of having a wife and infant daughter to take care of, the tourist photo artist continued to travel away from home. In 1897, the Comanche Clipper noted that Steele had "finished about 4,000 pictures in Ashland, Kansas, and still had about 1,500 more to do." Later that same year, a second daughter was born, but months of traveling and photographing the plains life had taken its toll on his marriage. In 1897, Frank Steele and Pink Fletcher were divorced.
F. M. Steele accepted special assignments from companies interested in his skills of photography. The Rock Island Railroad employed Steele as a special photographer as well as the Garden City Co., which built the sugar factory. He incorporated techniques in his photography that were new and innovative at the time such as spotlight photography, telephoto lenses and photos in full color.
During his assignment with the Rock Island Railroad in Greensburg, Frank met and married Sadie Harp. In 1904, his son, Marion was born. He continued to run a studio in Hutchinson while purchasing a gallery in Dodge City in 1906.
In 1914, mention is given in The Garden City Telegram that he would permanently locate in Garden City on Eighth Street. It is not known whether his family accompanied him to these locations. In 1925, he moved his business to McCook, Neb., for the next 10 years. Perhaps the call of Kansas was too great for him to stay away forever, for in 1935 he took a job with the city of Dodge City to help encourage the tourist trade at the age of 69. There, with his wife Sadie, on Jan. 2, 1936, he died of asphyxiation when a boiling pot of water extinguished the flame on their gas stove.
Perhaps best known for his photography of cowboy life on the plains, F. M. Steele traveled throughout western Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and even into the Oklahoma Territory. It is speculated that only the tip of Steele's photographic iceberg has been discovered. Many of his works have been found in personal collections, museums and even the Library of Congress to be later identified as the works of F. M. Steele.
Born in 1866, in Stanton, Ill., young Francis' father disappeared when he was 2. By the age of 13, he was studying the trade of photography in Kansas City, Mo., with G. T. Atkinson. He must have done some traveling early on in his career, for we find him in Woodward, Okla., Territory that same year. That was the beginning of this Tourist Photo Artist's career.
The Dodge City Journal reported that he had spent six years as an official round-up photographer as early as 1891. Meade County found him using a special "flashlight" process to take photographs of the masquerade ball on Christmas 1894. By January of 1895, Steele had opened a studio in Meade and he issued an invitation to the public to visit Jan. 1, 1895, until March 20, 1895. He found himself scheduling an extended stay in Meade when he met and married Pink Fletcher on May 26, 1895, and then shortly thereafter, his daughter Edith was born.
In spite of having a wife and infant daughter to take care of, the tourist photo artist continued to travel away from home. In 1897, the Comanche Clipper noted that Steele had "finished about 4,000 pictures in Ashland, Kansas, and still had about 1,500 more to do." Later that same year, a second daughter was born, but months of traveling and photographing the plains life had taken its toll on his marriage. In 1897, Frank Steele and Pink Fletcher were divorced.
F. M. Steele accepted special assignments from companies interested in his skills of photography. The Rock Island Railroad employed Steele as a special photographer as well as the Garden City Co., which built the sugar factory. He incorporated techniques in his photography that were new and innovative at the time such as spotlight photography, telephoto lenses and photos in full color.
During his assignment with the Rock Island Railroad in Greensburg, Frank met and married Sadie Harp. In 1904, his son, Marion was born. He continued to run a studio in Hutchinson while purchasing a gallery in Dodge City in 1906.
In 1914, mention is given in The Garden City Telegram that he would permanently locate in Garden City on Eighth Street. It is not known whether his family accompanied him to these locations. In 1925, he moved his business to McCook, Neb., for the next 10 years. Perhaps the call of Kansas was too great for him to stay away forever, for in 1935 he took a job with the city of Dodge City to help encourage the tourist trade at the age of 69. There, with his wife Sadie, on Jan. 2, 1936, he died of asphyxiation when a boiling pot of water extinguished the flame on their gas stove.
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