The Greene County Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 185?-1867, 1867-01-09
A BEGGARED MILLIONAIRE.

Last week brief item chroDicllng
the sale of the Steele Farm, on Oil
Creek, 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 discourse
as lengthy as the moral law. 1t is
hardly an exaggeration to state that
wherever petroleum is known, the name
of johnny Steele the young prince Of
Vonango county, has been heard, while
the accounts of his apparently boundless
wealth and reckless 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 tho same may net
be entirely without interest, which the
Crawford Journal thus narrates:
This farm, moro generally known 'on
the creek as the widow McClintock
farm, is immediately opposite the -four
ishing little town of Rouseville, 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
$500 barrels per day, and several wells
yielding from 200 to 500 barrels were
struck at subsequent periods Beside
these, there, were many smaller wells,
and the territory, though sadly misman'
aged, is still regarded as among the best
in the oil region, In 1864, widow Nc
Clintock died from the effects. of burns
received while kindling fire with crude
oil. AT this time the average daily in
come from the landed interest of the
farm was $4,000, 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 ofage. In the iron
safe where the old lady kept her money,
was found $l5O,OOo, two>thirds of the
amount ir greenbacks and the balance
in gold. Mrs. McCllntock 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 a dollar
remaining. The young mlllionalre'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
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 so well Authenticated
Wine, women. horses, faro, and general
debauchery soon made wreck Of that
princely fortune, and in twenty months
johnny Steele squandored two millions
of dollars. Hon. John Morlisey 'went
through him at faro to the amount OF
100000 in two nights; he bought high
priced turn outs, and after driving them
an hour or two gave them awayi he
equipped a large minstrel troupe and
presented each member with a diamond
ring and pin, and kept about him be.
sides,tw or three men who were rob-
bing HIM day after day, He is now
filing the honorable position OF door
keeper for Skif and Gaylord's minstrels,
the company he organized and is, to
use q very expressive but not strictly
classical phrase, completely played out
The wealth obtained by those who
worked SO assiduously to effect Steele's