John Steele

John Steele (21 March 1821 – 31 December 1903) was an Irish-American pioneer, local politician, medical doctor, and astrologist. Born in Ireland, after converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Glasgow, Steele and his wife emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois. Steele joined the Mormon Battalion and traveled to Salt Lake City with the Mormon pioneers. He was one of the founders of Parowan, Utah. Steele also contributed to the development of Iron, Kane, and Washington counties in Utah.

He practiced as an unorthodox physician in Toquerville, using herbs, astrology, and aspects of magic to treat patients. He could no longer practice in Utah after physician licences were required, but his knowledge of astrology and broken bone setting were still desired. His daughter, Young Elizabeth Steele, was the first white child born in Utah.

Early life John Steele was born on 21 March 1821, in Holywood, County Down, Ireland. His parents were John and Nancy Steele, and he had two older sisters: Elisabeth and Jane. At the age of fifteen Steele worked as an apprentice shoemaker, and moved to Belfast in 1839 to start a shoemaking business. When he was nineteen, he met Catherine Campbell. In 1841 Steele joined the Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR). Steele was unsatisfied with his Presbyterian religion. After Steele's son John was born on 2 June 1842, Steele read the Book of Mormon. John Steele and his wife were baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Glasgow in 1843; John on 10 April and Catherine on 3 May. Steele's other child Margaret was born on 17 June 1844, and died 18 December the next year. In Nauvoo he joined the Tanners and Shoemakers Association, the Nauvoo Legion, and the Masons. Skilled in masonry, Steele claimed to have built one-third of the first fort in Salt Lake City.

Steele faced many hardships during his winter in the Salt Lake valley. His crops were ruined by the cattle of incoming pioneers; however, his family was able to survive on cornmeal and trading milk products from their cow. Steele's 1848 crop was also ruined by insects, frost, and cattle. Native Americans led them to their chief, who was farming at the future site of Toquerville. During the founding of the Parowan Iron Company, Steele acted as the scribe for George A. Smith; Steele was one of the signers of the document. with Jacob Hamblin. He was appointed as postmaster of Toquerville on 22 March 1865. In Toquerville, John Steele worked as the town's preeminent doctor. He was known for the way that he integrated medicine, magic, and astrology. Because Steele's son Robert Henry was killed by calomel, Steele preferred Thomson's herbal medicines. While practicing as a doctor, Steele still maintained a shoemaking business.

After the death of his wife Catherine on 15 June 1891, His knowledge of astrology and his skills for setting broken bones were still desired.