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STEEL, William, reformer, born in Biggar, Scotland, 26 August, 1809; died in Portland, Oregon, 5 January, 1881. He came to the United States with his parents in 1817 and settled near Winchester, Virginia, but removed soon afterward to Monroe county, Ohio, where, from 1830 till the civil war, he was an active worker in the "Underground railroad," of which he was one of the earliest organizers. During these years large numbers of slaves were assisted to escape to Canada, and in no single instance was one retaken after reaching him. At one time the slaveholders of Virginia offered a reward of $5,000 for his head, when he promptly addressed the committee, offering to bring it to them if the money were placed in responsible hands. He acquired a fortune as a merchant, but lost it in 1844. From 1872 till his death he resided with his sons in Oregon. In the early days of the anti-slavery movement Mr. Steel was the recognized leader of the Abolitionists in southeastern Ohio. He was at one time a candidate of the Liberty party for congress, and in 1844 circulated in eastern Ohio the "great petition," whose signers agreed to vote for Henry Clay if he would emancipate his one slave.
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