Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives 
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm


CHRISTOPHER C. STEELE.
 
        The subject of this sketch is a resident of Savannah, where he is the 
owner of fifty acres of rich and productive land which he is devoting to general 
farming. He purchased his farm in 1883 and has made all improvements since that 
date, building cottage residence, barns, etc. Twenty acres of his land produce 
from ten to twelve tons of alfalfa per acre each year. His grain land is 
yielding sixty bushels of barley per acre, which shows a high state of 
cultivation. His improved stock is worthy of notice, comprising Jersey cattle 
and fine specimens of horses of Ben Wade and Hamiltonian stock. Mr. Steele is a 
native of Franklin County, Arkansas, dating his birth May 28, 1844. His parents 
were John and Elizabeth W. (Ray) Steele, natives of Tennessee. His father was a 
farmer, and to that calling the subject of this sketch was reared until the 
breaking out of the war in 1861. In June of that year, although less than 
eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the service of his State and entered the 
Arkansas Cavalry. Mr. Steele served in the Confederate army throughout the war, 
and participated in some of the hardest-fought battles of the Southwest, among 
which were Oak Hill, Wilson's Creek, Corinth, Farmington, Shiloh, Hatchie 
Bridge, Vicksburg, Baker's Creek, Grand Gulf and others. An earnest supporter of 
what he believed a just cause, he fought bravely, and he will carry the marks of 
his valor to his grave, as he was wounded no less than seven times during 
service. At the close of the war he returned to agricultural pursuits in his 
native State, cheerfully accepting the result and earnestly aiding in the 
establishment of peace throughout an undivided country. In 1866 he married Miss 
Catherine P. Anderson, a native of Arkansas. Her parents were P. N. and Jane 
(Stanford) Anderson, also natives of that State. Mr. Steele continued his 
farming operations in Arkansas until 1883, when he came to Los Angeles County, 
and took up his present residence. He is a desirable acquisition to any 
community and has the respect of his associates. He is a consistent member of 
the Methodist Church. Politically he has for years been allied with the 
Democratic party, but is a strong Prohibitionist in principle and an earnest 
worker in that cause. The eight living children of Mr. and Mrs. Steele are: 
James H., Elizabeth J., Mattie L., Robert E., Josephine N., Jessie A., Frederick 
A. and De Barth. Elizabeth married Edward T. Briggs and is now a resident of Los 
Angeles.
 
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California �  Chicago, The Lewis 
Publishing Company, 1889   Page 635
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler