Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1866-12-26
A Beggared Millionaire.

Last week brief item ehronicling the
sale of the Steele Farm, on Oil Greek, for
taxes due the Government, started on its
voyage on the sea of newspaperdom. The
paragraph will doubtless be read by many
without a second thought, but those few
lines might easily form the text for a dis
course as lengthy as the moral law. 1t is
hardly an exaggeratIon TO state that wherev
er petroleum Is known, the name of John
ny Steele, the young prince of Fenango
county, has been heard, while the accounts
of his apparently boundless wealth and reck
less expenditures. were. told in hundreds
of papers, from the New York Herald
down or up. Soon after the sale of the
farm, the closing act, brief history of the
same may not be entirely without interest,
which the Crawford Journal thus narrates:
This farm. more generally known ION the
creek, as the widow. McClintock farm, is
Immediately opposite the houriShing little
town of Housewife, and was among the first
of the oil producing farms of the valley.
Early in 1868. the Van Slyke well on this
farm, was struck, and flowed for some time
at the rate of 2. 500 barrels per day, and sew
eral wells yielding from 200 to 500 barrels
were struck at subsequent periods Beside
these, there were many smaller wells, and
| the territory, though sadly mismanaged, is
| still regarded as among the best In the oil
region. In 1864, widow McClintock died
! from the effects of burns received while
! kindling fire with crude OIL At this time
| the average daily income from the landed
/ interest of the farm was 50, 600, and BY her
will the property, with all its possessions in
money was left, without reservation, to her
adopted son, John W. Steele, then about
twenty years of age. In the iron safe where
| the old lady kept her money, was found
/ 5 $50, 900. two thirds of the amount in green
backs and the balance in gold Mrs. Nc
Clintock was hardly cold in her coffin before
young Steele, who appeared to have had
nothing naturally vicious in his composition,
was surrounded by set of vampires, who
clung to him as long as he had doll"r re-
manning The young millionaire head was
evidently turned by his good fortune, as has
been that of many an older man who made
his pile in oil, and he was of the impress
sion that his money would accumulate too
rapidly unless it was actually thrown away.
and throw it away he did. Many of the
stories concerning his career in New York
and Philadelphia SAVIOR strongly of fiction,
and would not be credited, were they not SD
well authenticated Wine, women, horses,
faro, and general debauchery soon made a
wreck of that princely fortune. and in TWEEN
| ty months johnny Steele squandered two
millions of dollars Hon. John Morrissey
went through" him at faro to the amount
of Sl00, 900 in two nights; he bought high
priced turn outs, and after driving them an
hour or two gave them away; he equipped
large minstrel troupe and presented each
member with diamond ring and pin, and
| kept about him besides two or three men
who were rubbing him day after day. He
is now filing the honorable position of door
keeper for Skiff and Gaylord's minstrels,
the company he organized and Is, to use
| a very expressive but not strictly classical
| phrase, completely played out :"
| The wealth obtained by those who worked
so assiduously to effect Steele's ruin, gave
| little permanent benefit to its possessors
The person most brazen and chiefly instru-
mental in bringing about the present condi-
ton Of affairs, was the notorious Seth Slo-
cum, who hung around the city several
weeks last summer. He was worth at one
time over 100000, which he had cap
tured' from Steele, and laid aside for a
rainy day. but when the latter money van
lshed, this amount soon took unto itself
wings, and he is at present known among
his old associates as dead beat" At
last accounts, Slocum was incarcerated in
the Jail of neighboring county for various
breaches of the peace, and was unable to
obtain bail in the sum of $500. Exemplf-
cations these of the old adage, ''easy come
and easy go, or of the other, fools and
their money are soon parted
|