Henry J. Steere
Encyclopedia
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and industrialist from Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
Childhood
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
on April 11, 1830 to Alice Smith (1789–1863) and Jonah Steere (1788–1871), a manufacturer, saddler and harness maker. Henry was their only surviving child. Steere was a Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
, whose ancestor John Steere immigrated to the Providence from Great Britain before 1660 and married the daughter of Reverend William Wickenden
William Wickenden
William Wickenden was an early Anglo-American Baptist minister, co-founder Providence, Rhode Island, and signer of the Providence Compact. Wickenden Street in Providence marks where he originally settled in the seventeenth century and is named in his honor.-Immigration to New England:Wickenden...
. Henry J. Steere was educated at home and in the public schools, eventually graduating from Providence's high school. Steere then became a clerk in the Merchants Bank. Steere served as a lieutenant in the First Light Infantry where he served at Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island near the Lowell General Hospital.
Business endeavors
Steere entered the textileTextile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturing business, eventually building mills in the towns of Providence, Burrillville, Smithfield, and Glocester. Steere was also president or a director of Northern Bank, Globe National Bank, Fifth National Bank, Washington Insurance Company, Economical Insurance Company, and City Savings Bank. Among his business concerns was the Waskuck Mills which Steere founded with Jesse Metcalf and Stephen Olney. Because of the mills’ rapid success, expansions were made by Steere on Wild Street in 1884 and on Douglas Avenue by the company in 1893. The mills were named Steere Mills and Geneva Mills. The company later expanded its operations outside of Providence, building both Mohegan and Oakland Mills. Steere died on October 28, 1889 of sudden kidney problems with no children or surviving siblings. Steere was buried at North Burial Ground
North Burial Ground
The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island, dating to 1700. Providence had no public burial ground and no Common until the year 1700 because Rhode Island's religious and government institutions were so rigorously kept distinct, dating back to its founding by Roger...
in Providence.
Philanthropy and legacy
Arthur Steere
Arthur Wallace Steere was a Rhode Island politician and prominent businessman and landowner.-Biography:Arthur W. Steere was born in Glocester, Rhode Island on September 3, 1865 to Seth Hunt Steere and Lucy L. Smith...
. Other individuals receiving bequests and trusts included: Jesse H. Metcalf
Jesse H. Metcalf
Jesse Houghton Metcalf was a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Born in Providence, he was educated in private schools there, studied textile manufacturing in Yorkshire, England, and engaged in textile manufacturing. In 1889 Metcalf received a large bequest from his father's business...
, Mary Ann White, Lydia Jane Westcott, Charles H. Atwood, Horace Steere, Job Steere, Asa Westcott, Charles S. Westcott, Frances Irons, Smith Salisbury, Daniel Salisbury, Joseph Salisbury, Stephen Metcalf, Marton Metcalf, Eliza Radeke, Sophia Baker, Alfred Metcalf, Emily Arnold, Thomas Holden, Thomas Steere, Julia Miner, Charles H. Steere, Seth H. Steere Edward Knowles, Lee Salisbury, Nelson Steere, and Albert Steere. Steere donated $340,000 to charities including: Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (home of Oscar the cat
Oscar (cat)
Oscar is a therapy cat living in the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Rhode Island, United States. He came to public attention in July 2007 when he was featured in an article by David Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown University, in the New England Journal of...
, noted for his purported ability to predict imminent death), Beneficent Congregational Church
Beneficent Congregational Church
Beneficent Congregational Church is a United Church of Christ congregation of Congregationalist heritage in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, founded in 1743 during the "First Great Awakening"....
, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
St. Stephen's Church (Providence, Rhode Island)
St. Stephen's Church is a historic Episcopal church located at 114 George Street in Providence, Rhode Island in the midst of the Brown University campus. It remains an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island....
, Rhode Island Historical Society
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island...
, Roanoke College
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is an private, coeducational, four-year liberal-arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college is located in Salem, Virginia, a suburban independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia...
, and Tabor College
Tabor College (Iowa)
Tabor College was a Christian college in Tabor, Iowa that operated from 1853 to 1927. It is now defunct.-History:The school's roots date to 1852 when Deacon Samuel A. Adams, George Gaston, and Rev. John Todd came to Iowa for the purpose of establishing a Christian college, and in 1853 they...
in Iowa.
Throughout his life Steere had been active as a member of the Franklin Society of the Rhode Island Historical Society
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island...
and as a trustee of Rhode Island Hospital
Rhode Island Hospital
Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in Providence, Rhode Island.-Overview:Rhode Island Hospital is the main teaching hospital of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. A major trauma center for southeastern New England, the hospital is dedicated to...
. Steere built Beneficent Congregational Church
Beneficent Congregational Church
Beneficent Congregational Church is a United Church of Christ congregation of Congregationalist heritage in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, founded in 1743 during the "First Great Awakening"....
as a memorial to his father with a donation of $30,000. A descendant of Arthur Steere
Arthur Steere
Arthur Wallace Steere was a Rhode Island politician and prominent businessman and landowner.-Biography:Arthur W. Steere was born in Glocester, Rhode Island on September 3, 1865 to Seth Hunt Steere and Lucy L. Smith...
, one of Steere's devisees currently runs the Henry J. Steere Orchards in Greenville, Rhode Island
Greenville, Rhode Island
Greenville is a village and census-designated place in the town of Smithfield in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,626 at the 2000 census...
.