Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-17
COAL OIL JOHNNY
And His Wealth and Ways Talked
About by His Wife.
HIS ECCENTRICITIES RECALLED.
New Estimates of His Income That Scale
Eown Old Ones
HE NEVER CRIED OVER SPILLED MILK

rsrEcrAI TELEGRAM To THE DISPATCH,
OIL CITY, Feb 16-Mrs. John Steele, Of
Ashland, Neb, has been here on visit
fer the past week Mrs. Steele is the wife
of a man to whom the discovery of petro-
leum in Pennsylvania gave wider reputa-
tion than any other man, and one concern
ing whom many true stories and many noble
lies have been told. He is none other than
the famous ''Coal Oil Johnny" whose
former home was near Housewife, this
county, and who now has a farm near the
Nebraska town named after him.
Mrs. Steele was given an opportunity to
correct in an interview some of the "Arab-
ian Nights tales told about her husbands
eccentric actions in the days when he was a
reported millionaire and when his source of
wealth seemed limitless. She had been
wearied long ago by exaggerated interviews
with her husband and herself and declined
to talk, but the following interesting points
were obtained from an authentic source.
The wealth of Mr.. Steele has undoubtedly
been overrated-that is to say, his wealth in
cash.
He Had 100000 In Cash.
At the time the Pittsburg Sanitary Com
mission made an offer to donate soldiers
monument to the county making the largest
contribution, the producers of this section
agreed to set aside for that purpose the
proceeds from their wells for one day. Mr..
Steele's contribution for that day was
81, 800, which was q fair gauge of what his
wells were doing.
The farm and the conjunctive interests
bequeathed to HIM by his grandmother he
probably could have disposed of for half a
million dollars or more when the same
came into his possession, but it is doubtful
if at any time he possessed more than $780,
900 in cash.
His expensive eccentricities were many,
but did not include as often reported, the
purchasing and giving away of hotel
out of the fact that while in Philadelphia
at one time he experienced some difficulty
in securing hack and finally bought one
outright; that when he got through with
the rig the driver asked him what to do with
it and he told him to keep it. 1t was on
that trip to Philadelphia that he, while |
with Slocum, the fellow who was Showing |
him the world, attracted so much attention
by going about with bills of various de- |
nominations tied in the buttonholes of his |
making small purchases with |
good sized bills, taking no change back and |
even lighting cigars with his money. |
Curious Ways of Spending His Money.
Another of his eccentricities on that trip |
was the forming of negro minstrel troupe |
at random, for each of the members of which
he bought suit of clothes when he engaged |
him. He brought his troupe here, and that
was about all he did with it.
The details of his doings in Philadelphia,
New York, Saratoga, and elsewhere. in
cluding his experiences with sharpers-no-
tably his $40, 900 acquaintance with John
Morrissey-have been written threadbare.
Summed up briefly the main points in his
life are these: When quite young he be-
came an orphan and was adopted by his
Mr.. and Mrs William
He was married two or three
years before he became of age, and worked
1t farm work until the oil excitement be-
gan. He then engaged in hauling oil down
Dill creek and hauling coal back with pair
of old plugs. The result was the possession
Of good team of his own. The McClintock
farm became one of the most valuable along
Dill creek. Mrs. McClintock survived her
husband several years, and when she died, in
1865, the adopted son, Steele, became the
Iole heir to her property.
Seeing tho World With His Wealth.
He soon calculated to see some Of the
world with his wealth and he saw it. He
sought notoriety and he got it. He spent
lis money like man with Monte Cristo
bled by leeches feeced by
harpers, and in few years, his oil inter-
,sts in the meantime rapidly depreciating
n value, he found himself again poor
nan. But no one ever heard him express
particular regret over the return he re-
,eived for his money.
At one time when he was highest in his
eccentric e1travagances, Captain j. j. Van
lergrift, T. H. Williams and others sent for
lin and kindly .expostulated with him on
he point that he ought to save some of his
money. He thanked them for their friend
y advice, but said that he had made liv-
ng by hauling oil and could do it again if
Necessary. He couldn't rest until he had
pent that fortune, Ultimately he got the
equired rest.
a cousin of Mr.. Steele maintains that the
stimates which have been put upon Steeles
Tealth have not, as a general thing, been
Exaggerated. He says that he personally
;nows that when Mrs. McClintock died
'teele inherited S125, 900 in gold and about
100, 900 in other money. The income from
is wells then was from 81, 600 to $4,000 a
ay. The cousin says that from his knowl-
dge of SteeIe's affairs he should say that at
ne time "Coal Oil Johnny" could havcd
reduced 81, ,000, 900 in cash.
HORSFORD,S sCID pHOSPHArE