Fonds F1738 - Sam Steele fonds

Samuel Benfield Steele, 1849-1919, was born in Purbrook, County Simcoe, Ontario. In 1890 he married Marie Elizabeth Harwood and they had three children, Harwood, 1897-1978, Gertrude Alexander E. (Dudley), 1895- , and Mary Charlotte Flora Macdonald, 1891- . He had a long and illustrious career in the military and Mounted Police. He joined the militia in 1866 during the Fenian raids, served in the 1870 Red River Expedition, joined the Permanent Force Artillery in 1871 and in 1873 joined the newly-created North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). By 1879 he was in command at Fort Qu'Appelle, and in 1885 he was promoted to Superintendent of the NWMP. He helped establish Canadian authority during the Klondike Gold Rush. During the South African War he commanded Strathcona's Horse. During the First World War he was general officer commanding at Shorncliffe, England. He retired in 1918 and died in England the following year.

For further information see Sam Steele : Lion of the Frontier / Robert Stewart. -- Toronto : Doubleday Canada, 1979; and Roderick Charles Macleod's entry "Samuel Benfield Steele" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, volume XIV. -- Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1998, p. 967-972.