Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-01-02
The steele Farm and its For
meF Owner.

the sale OF the steele Farm, on Oil
Creek, for taxes due the Government
started on its voyage on the sea of news,
paperdom. The paragraph will doubt
less be read by many without a second
thought, but those few lines might easily
form the text for a discourse as LENGTHY
as the moral law. 1t is hardly an ex-
aggeration to state that wherever ne
troleum is known, the name of John
ny Steele" the young oil prince of
Venango county, has been heard, while
the accounts of his apparently bound
less wealth and reckless expenditures,
were told in hundreds of papers, from
the n. Y. Herald down-or up. Soon
after the sale of the farm, the closing
act, a brief history of the same NAV
not be entirely without interest.
This farm, more generally known
ION the creek" as the widow M'CIin-
tick farm, is Immediately opposite the
hourishing little town of Housewife.
and was among the first of the oil pro
ducing 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 $500 barrels per day,
and several wells yielding from 200 to
800 barrels were struck at subsequent
periods. Besides these, there were
many smaller wells, and the territory,
though sadly mismanaged, is still re-
garded as among the best in the oil re-
gion. In 1864, widow McChntock 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
g 900, and by her will the property,
with all her possessions in money, was
left, without reservation to her adopted
son, John W. Steele, then about twen-
ty years of age. In the iron safe where
the old lady kept her money, was found
Sl5O, 900, two-thirds of the amount in
greenbacks and the balance in goId.-
Mrs. McClintock was hardly cold in her
coffin before young Steele, who ap-
pears to have had nothing naturally
vicious in his composition, was sur
rounded by set of vampires, who
clung to him as long as he had dollar
remaining. The young milhonaire's
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 impression that his
money would accumulate too rapidly
unlessit 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 so well authenticated
Wine, women, horses, faro and general
debauchery soon made a wreck of that
princely fortune, and in 20 months
Johnny Steele squandered two millions
of dollars. Hon. John Morrissey, NJ.
c., event through" him at faro, to the
amount of 500, 900, in two nights; ne
bought high priced turn-outs, and after
driving round an hour or two, gave
them away equipped large minstrel
troup and presented each member with
diamond pin and ring, and kept about
him besides two or three men who were
robbing him day after day. He is now
filling the honorable position of door
keeper for Skiff and Gaylord 8 minstrels
the company he organized, and is, to
use very expressive but strictly clas-
sical phrase, completely played out"
The wealth obtained by those who
worked so assiduously to effect tSteele's
ruin, gave little permanent benefit to
its possessors. The person most bra
zen and chiefly instrumental in bring
ing about the present condition of
affairs, was the notorious Seth Slocuna,
who hung around this city several
weeks lrst Summbr. He was worth at
one time over 100000, which he had
captured" from Steele, and laid aside
for rainy day, but when the latter's
money vanished, this amount soon
took unto itself wings, and he is at
present known among his old associ-
ates as a "dead beat" At last accounts,
Slocum was incarcerated in the Jail of
a neighboring county for various breach
es of the peace, and was unable to OBJ |
tain bail in the sum of $500. Exem-
pli6cations these ofthe old adage, "easy
come, easy CO." or that other, ''fools
and their money are soon parted."-l
Crawford Journak