Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

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JOHN STEERE.
 
        Among the successful men of Los Angeles County is the subject of this 
sketch, a brief resume of whose life is as follows: Mr. Steere was born and 
reared in Providence, Rhode Island, about the same distance from the Atlantic 
Ocean that his present residence in Santa Monica is from the great Pacific. The 
year 1823 is the year of his birth, and he is a son of Hosea and Hannah 
(Tinckcom) Steere, both natives of Rhode Island, and of Scotch origin. The 
subject of this sketch is the fifth bearing the same family name, and belongs to 
the fifth generation born in Providence, Rhode Island. His father was in the War 
of 1812. He had a family of twelve children, of which John was the youngest boy. 
He learned the trade of millwright, which he followed about seven years, when he 
engaged in the mercantile trade in Providence. There, at Exchange Place, he 
continued as a successful merchant till 1865, when he retired from business at 
that place, and traded with the West Indies, in sugar and molasses, and made 
several trips to Cuba. Then he came to California, not to engage in business, 
but to select a home in this genial climate by the sea, where he might spend the 
residue of his days retired from the exciting and pressing demands of business. 
He entered his name on The Great Register as John Steere, hunter. That event is 
worthy of mention in these pages, for he has gathered the largest and choicest 
collection of birds in Los Angeles County. As a taxidermist, he has made a 
record which will identify him with the history of this county for all time. In 
his collection in the Opera House in Santa Monica may be seen 350 specimens of 
birds, which contains at least 200 varieties, all arranged in perfect life-like 
order in the glass cases around the hall. Mr. Steere has also been eminently 
successful in business since he has been identified with this county. He has 
dealt in real estate and money, and is one of the stockholders and a director of 
the First National Bank at Santa Monica. The city by the sea will ever be 
grateful to him for the first brick house built there. It is known as the Opera 
Block Building, is 50 x 80 feet in dimensions and is two stories high. The 
erection of this building advanced the price of lots in Santa Monica from $500 
to $10,000 in one year. The upper story of the building consists of offices and 
a very fine opera hall. Mr. Steere was a member of the first board of trustees 
in Santa Monica, and was the first vice-president of the bank. His residence is 
beautifully located on Fourth street, in the city overlooking the sea. The 
citizens of this place recognize in Mr. Steere a wise financier, a shrewd 
business man, and an energetic, enterprising citizen, who favors every 
enterprise having for its object the public good.
 
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California �  Chicago, The Lewis 
Publishing Company, 1889   Page 809
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler