George W. Steele who was the first Territorial Governor, was born in Fayette County, Indiana, December 13, 1839. He was educated in the public schools at Marion, Indiana, and in the Ohio Wesleyan University. At the age of twenty, he began the study of law in his father's office In Hartfore City, Indiana, and he was admitted to the bar just as the Civil War broke out. He entered the volunteer military service as a private and rose from the ranks through the various grades to that of Lieutenant Colonel. After the end of the War he was given a commission in the Regular Army, which he resigned after being in the service for ten years. He then engaged in farming, pork packing and banking. In 1880, he was elected to a seat in Congress from his locality in Indiana, and was reelected in 1882, 1884, and 1886. He served as a governor of Oklahoma from May, 1890, to October, 1891. In 1894, he was again elected to Congress and was twice reelected. He died at Marion, Indiana, on July12 1922 He was a republican.
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Ann Maloney, Bartlesville, OK.
Copyright © 1998 Ann Maloney all rights reserved.