Copyright 1987 by Dodie E. Browning. All rights reserved.

Samuel Steele, was born Tazewell County Virginia, the fifth son and fifth child of George and Rosannah (Fannin) Steele. According to the family Bible, he was born 13 April 1809.

He married first to Rebecca Ratcliff, 30 March 1830, when he was twenty one years old. Apparently Rebecca died young, possibly in child birth. They had a daughter, Malissa Louisa, who married Huffman Rowe in Pike County KY in 1850. Apparently Sam and Rebecca lived with relatives, because he did not come on the Personal Property Tax List until 1832. He never owned land, so he was never on the Land tax records. It is not known whether he had other children with Rebecca, and we have no record of her death.

He remained on the Personal Property Tax records through 1836. He apparently left Tazewell County between 1836-1838. Before his departure, he married his first cousin, Sharlotty Steele on 17 February 1834. Sam and Lotty had two children before they left Virginia, according to their places of birth shown on the 1850 Census.

Apparently Sam owed money to some of the local residents, because there were court cases against him that were still pending up until his father died. His share of his father George's estate was confiscated by the court to pay the debts that had been pending for approximately twenty years. One record mentioned that he had remained "insolvent" for all that period of time and that he was believed to be in Indiana or Illinois in 1856.

Jimmie Steele and I worked together on this and we were not able to pinpoint his location until he appeared in the 1850 Census of Nicholas County Kentucky. Apparently he was somewhere in KY by 1840, because the next five children were born in KY.

Sam and Lotty had seven known children and there may have been others born after 1850, state unknown. The known children:
1. Patton Steele, born Va. circa 1835
2. Charlotte "Chatty" Steele, born circa 1837-1838 in VA. She is shown with her parents in Nicholas County KY in 1850 as age 12, but she is shown with her grand parents, George and Rosannah that same year as age 16.
3. Elenor Steele, born circa 1840 in KY
4. John Steele, born circa 1841, KY
5. Mary Steele, born circa 1843, KY
6. Samuel Steele, born circa 1844, KY
7. David Steele, born circa 1848, KY
Samuel and Lotty have not been traced farther to my knowledge, but we would certainly like to hear from their descendants, so we can "bring them home" for the on-line Christmas Home coming.