Person Page 3,879

Obituary (findagrave.com):

The News-Herald. (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, December 25, 1913, Image 1 & Image 4

COMMON PLEAS JUDGE

And Member of the Highland County Bar Forty-nine Years

Resident of Hillsboro Seventy-six Years. After forty-nine years' service at the bar of Highland county, Judge S. F. Steele passed away at a sanitarium in Columbus early Tuesday morning. The body was brought to the residence that night. Funeral services conducted by Rev G. B. Beecher were held from the home yesterday afternoon interment was made in the Hillsboro cemetery. Judge Steele was one of the oldest residents of Hillsboro. He was born in this city in 1837 and lived here all his life. The following obituary prepared by Judge Newby was read at the funeral services yesterday afternoon. Circumstances and the occasion forbid that sufficient time be now taken to pay a full tribute to the memory of him whose taking away has called us together to-day. It is but a little over 24 hours since the sad intelligence was brought me by wire while in a neighboring county that Judge Steele was dead. And besides, his long life in our midst, coupled with the fact that owing to his prominence and his intimate relations with the public has served to bring, around him a large circle of admiring friends, to whom to recount all his many high standards of character and manhood would be a work of supererogation. So when a life so useful and so exemplary has come to a close, a part of these services should be devoted to a testimonial due from the living to its virtues and teachings, not alone as a mark of respect to the dead, but as a thanksgiving from the living for the lessons his life has taught. His life is done, his story is told, his book is closed and it is for us, the living, to draw from these inspiration and courage. For Judge Steele was one of those men who, though dead, will continue to speak. Judge Samuel F Steele, the son of Rev. Dr. Samuel Steele, for more than thirty years, and up to the time of his death, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Hillsboro, was born in Hillsboro July 5, 1837. He attended in his native town the school of Prof. Isaac Sams, a noted educator of that day, from which school he entered the sophomore class of Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. From Miami he entered Center College at Danville, Ky , and graduated from that institution in 1850. Following his graduation he served as a tutor in Kentucky until he returned to Hillsboro in 1862. Upon his return to Hillsboro he took up the study of law in the office of the late Judge James Sloane, at that time one of the leaders of the bar of Southern Ohio. Judge Sloane early recognized the high order of legal talent possessed by his pupil and upon Judge Steele's admission to the bar in 1864 testified his appreciation of young Steele's ability and his entire confidence in his future as an attorney, by forming a partnership with him in the practice of the law. This partnership continued under the name of Sloane & Steele until the election of Judge Steele to the Common Pleas Judgeship in this district in the autumn of 1871. April 7, 1875, at Washington D. C., Judge Steele was married to Miss. Mary Poor, who with five daughters are left to mourn the loss of a loving and indulgent husband and father. In this community where Judge Steele enjoyed a wide acquaintance and a large circle of close friendships, it is unnecessary, I deem It, to elaborate upon his pleasing social qualities. Suffice it to say that his pleading social qualities, marked politeness, courtesy and kindness of manner and speech were felt and noted alike by all who came into his company and particularly by those who associated closely with him though kindness was the ruling element of his nature, he was not disposed to look lightly upon wrong-doing nor to apologize for the evil acts of others willfully done, but on the contrary, in such a case, his sense of right would rebel and he would condemn where he thought condemnation was deserved. But all Judgments of others were stamped with a generosity and charity tested by few men. And amongst Judge Steele's friends and acquaintances, two subjects were constantly remarked upon; one was his gentility toward and lack of criticism of all and the other, the universal respect of others for him. No man in the community had fewer harsh words to regret and none possessed more highly the contidence and esteem in the county and town where his long and active life was spent. Judge Steele was a gentleman, not of the old school alone, but of every school in every time. He was not one who paraded himself as a gentleman, but by his conduct and demeanor, he forced from all who knew him the acknowledgement that he was a gentleman. But whatever could be said of Judge Steele from a social point of view, and much more could be said, it was in his chosen profession of a lawyer that he proved his greatest usefulness and value to the community and county in which he lived. The work of a lawyer. In the discharge of his duties to his clients and the public may be compared to a dangerous weapon or a high explosive, in that its use is very valuable in the bands of one who can and will properly and intelligently control and employ it and very destructive when ignorantly, carelessly or improperly used. Judge Steele had drunk deep of the fountain of the law and was noted for his great knowledge of its underlying principles. And coupled with this wide range of knowledge was a ready and accurate mental perception which enabled him at a glance to see with remarkable clearness the complete legal bearings of a question, all of which combined to place him at the head of the column and give his advice and judgment on intricate points of law, the weight of authority. And, when there were added to these qualities, his high ideals of personal and professional integrity, his strong sense of justice and absolute and never falling impartiality of judgment, he became the ideal, the honorable lawyer, who sheds luster upon and bring to his noble profession the confidence and respect of the people. These qualities Judge Steele was universally known to posess and their practice undoubtedly made his opinions and advice more generally sought than those of any other member of the local bar, especially during the latter half of his professional life, a position he held at the bar until falling health removed him from the ranks. Judge Steele's mind was naturally of an analytical and investigative turn. He was a law scholar and while none surpassed him in the breadth and thoroughness of his professional knowledge, others there were more adept in the presentation and conduct of cases to juries, or as is frequently expressed, were better trial lawyers. But the best support that a trial lawyer could have in the trial of a case and valuable above his own brilliancy, however great, would be the wise, clear headed, sincere suggestions of Judge Steele. But in cases presented to the court alone, Judge Steele was pre-eminent, not alone because of his great knowledge of the law, but also because of his known sincerity and perfect frankness with courts that he would not urge on the court any proposition of law which did not have the fair and impartial endorsement of his own judgment. But it was as a judge that Judge Steele performed his greatest service and that was the place where he signalized his great power as an expounder of the law and proved the far-reaching thoroughness of his understanding of the law as well as the possession of those invaluable qualities of temperament: Patience, justice and impartiality, which form the indisputable proof of strong moral character and convictions. Judge Steele served approximately 10 years upon the Common Pleas bench of this district, from Feb. 1872, to Oct , 1881, and long before the close of his service, was looked upon as one of the fairest and most thoroughly equipped members of the Ohio bench. It was while serving on the bench that he was thrown much with the late Judge R. A. Harrison, of Columbus, who for years before his death, was considered the head of the Ohio bar. Mr. Harrison was so impressed with Judge's

Steele's legal attainments and his broad and ready grasp of legal questions that he offered Judge Steele a partnership with him in the practice of law in Columbus, which was as high a compliment to Judge Steele's ability as is seldom received by any one. Judge Steele never sought polltical office. On numerous occasions political preferment was his for asking, aye, for the acceptance, but he was so devotedly wedded to his profession and its duties were so agreeable to him that he steadfastly refused to step out of his profession, though only temporarily, for political official life. Though busily engaged with professional duties, Judge Steele's was always ready with a helping hand for the betterment of the town and the advancement of it's interests. He served for a time on two or three occasions, I believe as a member of the village school board, and in other ways identified himself with the interests of the town and its forward movements. Though not active in the membership of any church, Judge Steele was a religious man. But his religion was not of the kind that proved itself only in pretense or even adherence to creed, it was manifested in action, in conduct. His religion was positive, not negative, he lived his religion according to the Golden Rule and by rendering unto Ceasar the things which were Caesar's. He was the up right man whose end, the scriptures tell us, in peace. Judge Steele leaves us after a spotless life covering a span of nearly four score years. Others may have passed him in the line of success which consists in the accumulation of vast wealth or the attainment of high political place, but none will leave a richer heritage to those he has left behind. He passed with the great satisfaction that comes from consciousness of a life well spent and duties well preformed.

Contributed by DKT, 23 Nov. 2013.