Where Did The Georgia Steele's Come From?

Where IN SOUTH CAROLINA

 did Martha Steele come from ?

Martha Steele and her 5 children were the first of our Steele's to come to Henry County, Georgia between 1835 -1839 from South Carolina.  Where did she live in South Carolina?  The answer to that question has never been answered with certainty.

NOTE:  2015 New information found. 
Please go to latest Post 8
"William G Steele found in Charleston, South Carolina" 1820 and 1830 Census.
William G Steele was a wealthy lumber merchant in Charleston and built a large historic mansion.  According to the records at the Charleston County Courthouse it appears that Martha and William separated and he remarried.  Martha must have gotten a monetary settlement and moved with her 5 children to Henry County,Georgia where she had Smith family relatives already there.   

The following theories are probably not true.

An old family story indicates the Steele’s came from near the present day State Capital of South Carolina, which could be anywhere in the vicinity of Columbia, SC, which includes Richland, Fairfax or Lexington Counties, Saxe-Gotha or Congaree Townships along the Congaree River. 

Thousands of Steele families either settled or passed through South and North Carolina and many were found in this area.   The absence of accurate preserved records and the repetition of names through generations as in “William Steele” makes connecting family histories almost impossible. 

An extensive search of Steele’s in South Carolina showed there were many Steele settlers all over the state.  Some immigrated through Charleston and were part of South Carolina’s westward settlement plan to place Scotch Irish settlers in the upstate area to fight off the Indians.  Others were early immigrants from  Essex County England and were founders of Hartford, Connecticut.  A William Steele, from a later generation migrated south to Pickens County, Pendleton, SC.  No documented connection to our Steele’s could be found.

One promising record shows a Steele family in Lexington County, at present day Columbia, SC, which fits the old family story that they were in Columbia, SC.  This is documented in a book, “The Steeles of Old Lex”, by Lee R. Gandee.  They would have arrived in the early 1700’s.  

The first Steele noted in the now Columbia, SC area was Honorius “Onarius” or “Onnie Steele.   Two of his sons were Isaiah Steele and George Steele. 

George was born early enough to fight in the Revolutionary War.  He owned land which is today part of downtown Columbia from present day Gervais Street.  The house stood on the site of White’s Department Store and the back of his land fronted on the Congaree River.  It has been said he is buried somewhere on the SC State House grounds, no grave has been found.  He had 8 sons and 2 daughters.  Most of the sons left Columbia and settled in other parts of the state and some called themselves Steele, Still or Stills.  He died in 1820 or 1821.  

The 1810 Census lists him as Major William Steele, but the original census record clearly shows it was Major George Steele.  This was rightly corrected on Ancestry.com by professional genealogist, Shirley Booth-Byerly of Robertsdale, AL, to Major George Steel.  Was there a William Steele, or George's son?  This Census shows that George Steele had a household of 6 members, 4 males and 2 females, and 15 slaves.

 This George Steele operated a boat freight hauling service from Columbia to Charleston using flat pole boats and 6 Negro slaves.  These pole boats were narrow and up to 80 feet long.  The slaves rowed down river and poled the boats back up river.  The boats were loaded at the banks of the Congaree River, which joined the Broad River and other rivers to make the route to Charleston.  

These boats carried 75 to 80 bales of cotton, weighing about 300 pounds each.  The trip took a week one way.  On the return trip back up river, they brought supplies such as coffee and sugar back from Charleston. 

A verbal account of this freight hauling operation is documented in the book, “Before Freedom – When I Just Can Remember” edited by Belinda Hurmence.  This book is the results of the 1930 Federal Writer’s Project who recorded interviews with slaves.  One account was given by Caldwell Sims, an 82 year old former slave, who recorded what he remembered about the pole boats.

If this George Steele is part of our Steele family, it would make a connection to possibly one of his sons, William Steele, who married Martha, living in Charleston Fourth Ward in and 1830.   Other family stories have indicated that “our Steele’s” came from Charleston, SC.  Perhaps the following 1830 Census record could be “our William Steele” living in Charleston, SC in 1830.

The following information is now confirmed in 2015:

The August 7, l830 US census of the 4^th Ward Charleston, SC shows -

William Steele with the appropriate number and age of Martha’s family members to possibly be our William Steele. 

One free white male under 5 – Could be Henry Smith Steele, b.1821

Two free white males age 5 – 9 – Could be Robert b. 1823 & William G. b. 1827

One free white male age 30 – 39 – Could be William Steele b. about 1796 in Virginia 

One free white female under 5 – Could be Martha Jane b. 1829

One free white female age 5 – 9 ?

One free white female age 20 – 29 – Could be Martha Steele b. about 1800 in South Carolina

One free white female age 70 – 79 - ?  Could be a mother or grandmother

One free colored female age 10 – 23 – house maid?

One female slave age 10 – 23 – Slave girl?

The speculation that this could be a family connection is enhanced by a somewhat modified naming pattern of the Scotch Irish.  Martha and William’s 3^rd son was William George Steele.

The 1840 US Census of the 4th Ward Charleston, SC does not show William Steele.  So apparently something happened to him within those 10 years.

The 4^th Ward of Charleston in 1830 was bounded east by the Cooper River, south by Hasell Street, west by Anson Street, north by Boundary Street.  This would be the oldest part of Charleston and near the shipping docks.   

During this time Charleston was plagued by diseases, yellow fever, fires, slave uprisings and many problems.  It is possible that if Martha and William did live in Charleston, he could have died as the results of many things. No record could be found regarding his death or burial in Charleston. 

When Martha Steele arrived in Henry County, Georgia she had money to purchase a farm.  It would be likely her deceased husband had a lucrative business or had  property to sell to provide his widow with money.                                       

If this Charleston connection is true, then after William’s death Martha could have moved her family back upstate to around the Columbia area and then moved to Georgia.   Or, she could have remained in Charleston and moved directly from there to Henry County, Georgia between 1835 and 1840.  

Travel by railroad was established by this time both between Charleston and the upstate area of South Carolina and to Georgia, through Augusta, GA. Or, well established trails could have been followed.  Records show there were other Steele families already settled in Henry County, which was opened up for settlement in 1820. Settlers were on the move westward, seeking better farm land and a new life.

 And, the rest is history of our Georgia Steele's and the beginning of a long line of very strong willed and minded women and men in the Steele Family.