John Steele (North Carolina politician)

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John Steele (16 November 1764 - 14 August 1815) was a U.S. Congressman from the state of North Carolina between 1790 and 1793.

Born in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1764, Steele attended Clio’s Nursery and the English School, both near his hometown. Named assessor in 1784 and a town commissioner in 1787, Steele was first elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1787 and served again multiple times: in 1788, 1794, 1795, 1806, and from 1811-1813. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in Hillsborough in 1788 and to the 1789 convention in Fayetteville which ratified a new state constitution, and was a special commissioner from North Carolina to treat with the Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians from 1788 to 1790.

From April 19, 1790, until March 3, 1793, Steele served in the 1st and 2nd sessions of the United States Congress. On July 1, 1796, he was appointed Comptroller of the United States Treasury by President George Washington; he was reappointed by Presidents Adams and Jefferson until his resignation on December 15, 1802. In 1805, Steele was appointed to the board of commissioners tasked with determining the boundary line between North Carolina and Georgia, where he served until 1814.

Steele died on August 14, 1815, in his hometown of Salisbury; that same day, he had been elected again to the North Carolina House of Commons. He is buried in Salisbury's Chestnut Hill Cemetery.

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.