William Steeves

William Henry Steeves (May 20, 1814 – December 9, 1873) was a merchant, lumberman, politician and Father of Canadian Confederation.

Early life and education The William Henry Steeves House in Hillsborough, New Brunswick. It is now a museum.

William Henry Steeves was born on May 20, 1814, in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, the eldest son born to parents Joseph Steeves and Martha Gross. His great-grandparents, Heinrich and Regina Stief, were German immigrants who settled in the area after initially migrating to Pennsylvania; they founded the surname "Steeves" in North America. Steeves was educated in public school, where he later recounted receiving "much more education than was usually acquired in New Brunswick by persons attending only public school," which he attributed to being as a result of being taught by Duncan Shaw, a Scottish-born University of Edinburgh alumnus. Steeves was not recorded making any significant speeches during these conferences, though he did support Samuel Leonard Tilley. He was buried at Fernhill Cemetery; his grave bears a plaque, given his designation as a National Historic Person. Steeves is also the maternal great-granduncle of Jack Layton, a prominent left-wing academic and politician who led the New Democratic Party to its most successful point in the party's history.