Dodie Elizabeth (Smith) Browning is your Hostess....
From original research of Dodie E. Browning
Copyright- all rights reserved.
Elizabeth Jane "Letty" Steele, the daughter of Richard and Elenor (Marlow) Steele was born circa 1804 in Tazewell County Virginia. She died circa 1834-1835, (possibly in childbirth) She had married George Steele the son of Ralph & Mary (Griffitt) Steele 22 December 1825
The children of George and Elizabeth (Steele) Steele:
(1) Elizabeth Steele, b. circa 1829-1834, died 1841.
(2) Ann Eliza Steele , b. circa 1827-1828, died 1841.
(3) Calvin Steele, b. 1830
(4) Francis Marion Steele b. 1831- 1833
(records vary- The Heritage of Russell County VA. Volume I shows him born 1820. This
date was apparently taken from his obituary, which had an erroneous date. Based on the
1850 census and his marriage records, and his parents marriage records, he was younger than the obituary showed).
Based on court records and estate settlement, Ann Eliza died before Elizabeth, but apparently their deaths were close together. Shadrack White was appointed as their guardian in the Spring of 1840 and by October 1841, both of the little girls had died. Shade White (the half brother of Richard) and his wife had no children and this is probably the reason that the little girls were placed in their home, where they would continue to be pampered and loved as their grandparents had loved and cared for them. How heartbroken the entire family must have been. The names of these little girls were carried on for several generations in the Steele family and was carried into the Smith family of this researcher. My ancestor Shadrack Steele, the nephew of Richard Steele, named daughters Ann Eliza,(my ancestor)Elizabeth and Eleanor.
The little girls did own slaves, inherited from their grandfather and Grandmother. This information will be published under a new section on African American Steele-White Heritage (Coming soon).
After the death of "Letty" (or Betty- She is shown as both in Tazewell County records.) George married her younger sister, Mary "Polly" Steele, also his first cousin, 17 February 1834.
Polly was b. circa 1814 in Tazewell County Virginia. They are last known to be in St.Louis County MO, where they can be found on the 1850 census. The "e" had been dropped from the spelling of the name.
The known children of George and Polly Steel are:
(5)John Steel, born MO. circa 1840
(6)Mary Steel,(born MO. circa 1848
There was also a twenty year old, Rachel Gammon, (born MO) living with the family in 1850.
Attempts to find this family in later census records in MO have been exhausted. Apparently they moved to another state or George used another name.
