Person Page - 490

     Melinda Elizabeth Stearns was born in 1845.¹ She was the daughter of Oliver Lathrop Stearns and Betsey Wood.¹ Melinda Elizabeth Stearns married Charles Hart Emerson.¹ Melinda Elizabeth Stearns died in 1912.¹

     Oliver Lathrop Stearns was born on 21 April 1816.² He married Betsey Wood, daughter of Henry Gerrish Wood and Betsy Gerrish, on 21 April 1840 probably in Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire.² Oliver Lathrop Stearns died on 28 May 1888 in West Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire, at the age of 72.²

     Pauline Wentworth Stearns was born on 10 June 1890.¹ She was the daughter of Rev. George Warren Stearns and Sarah Elizabeth Dow.^1,2

     Roswell Stearns was born on 2 August 1888 in Patten, Maine.¹ He was the son of Rev. George Warren Stearns and Sarah Elizabeth Dow.^1,2 Roswell Stearns graduated in 1909 from Boston University.¹

     Samuel Stearns married Hannah Manning.

     Edward Stebbing was baptised on 24 February 1594/95 at Black Notley, Essex, England.¹ He was the son of William ? Stebbing.¹ Edward Stebbing married Frances Tough, daughter of Ralph Tough, circa 1629.¹ Edward Stebbing died before 19 August 1668 in Hartford, Connecticut.¹

     Elizabeth Stebbing was the daughter of Edward Stebbing and Frances Tough.² Elizabeth Stebbing married Thomas Caldwell.¹ Elizabeth Stebbing died on 19 August 1668.¹

     Amelia A. Stebbins was born circa 1846 in Massachusetts.¹ She married Dr. Daniel Gilbert, son of Dr. Daniel Gilbert and Ann Sewall Ridgeway, on 4 January 1865 in Chelsea, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.²

     Elizabeth Quincy Stebbins was born on 10 April 1907 in Watertown, New York. She was the daughter of William Cooper Stebbins and Grace Foster Sewall.¹

     Jean R. Stebbins married Adelaide Cooper.

     Jean Reginald Stebbins was born on 14 September 1899 in Watertown, New York.² He was the son of William Cooper Stebbins and Grace Foster Sewall.¹

     Katherine Sewall Stebbins was born on 9 July 1904 in Watertown, New York. She was the daughter of William Cooper Stebbins and Grace Foster Sewall.²

     William Cooper Stebbins. Paper mill supply dealer.² He was born on 20 June 1866 in Little Falls, New York.^2,3 He was the son of Jean R. Stebbins and Adelaide Cooper.² William Cooper Stebbins married Grace Foster Sewall, daughter of Edmund Quincy Sewall and Katharine Cynthia Smith, on 9 October 1895.^3,4,5 William Cooper Stebbins died on 1 April 1923 in New York at the age of 56.⁶

     Gordon Charles Steele was born on 1 November 1892 in Exeter.¹ He was the son of Henry William Steele R.N. and Selina May Symonds. Gordon Charles Steele died on 4 January 1981 at the age of 88.¹

Commander Gordon Charles Steele, VC, RN (retired). Captain-Superintendent of the Thames Nautical College, HMS Worcester, off Greenhithe, from 1929 to 1957, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry, skill and devotion to duty during the attack on Kronstadt Harbour in August, 1919, died on January 4 at the age of 88.

Born on November 1, 1892, at Exeter, Steele was the son of Captain H. W. Steele, RN. His mother was Selina May, daughter of the late Major-General Symonds, RMLI. After receiving his early education at Vale College, Ramsgate, he became a cadet in HMS Worcester, Nautical Training College. His early service at sea was in the ships of the P&O Steam Navigation Company. He obtained very early his master mariner's certificate, and in 1909 he received a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve. When the war broke out in 1914 he was serving in HMS Conqueror as acting sub-lieutenant, and in the following October was transferred to the submarine service, the ships in which he served being the DS and the E22. It was his good fortune to be appointed to the first Q boat, or mystery ship, commission, and for his part in sinking an enemy submarine in August 1915. he was mentioned in dispatches.

He was in charge of the concealed guns in the Q ship Baralong when his ship took by surprise the German submarine U27 which had attacked the steamer Nicosian. The U-boat was destroyed. As a reward for his gallantry he was transferred from the Royal Naval Reserve to the list of sub-lieutenants RN. Three months later he was promoted to lieutenant. In that rank he served in the Royal Oak at the Battle of Jutland, and later he was appointed to the Iron Duke. During the latter part of the war, Steele held independent commands. He was captain of HMS P63, a patrol boat, from 1917 to 1919, when he took over command of HMS Cornflower, a sloop. His great chance came, however, in August, 1919, when he was in command of a coastal motor boat during the raid on Kronstadt Harbour. The deeds of conspicuous gallantry and skill which won for Steele the Victoria Cross were performed on August 18, 1919. Lieutenant Steele (as he then was) was second-in-command of HM Coastal Motor Boat No 88. in the course of the operations against the Bolsheviks it was necessary for the motor boat to enter Kronstadt Harbour. Soon after entering, the commanding officer. Lieutenant Dayrell-Reed, RN, was shot through the head, and in consequence the boat was thrown off her course. Immediately Steele became aware of what had happened he took the wheel and steadied the boat. After lifting his commanding officer away from the steering wheel, he got his boat in a convenient position for launching a torpedo at the Bolshevik battleship Andrei Pervozanni. He fired at a range of one hundred yards, and had the satisfaction of seeing his torpedo find its mark. Not content with that, he turned his attention to the battleship Petropavlovsk which was overlapped by the Andrei Pervozanni, and was partly obscured by smoke which was coming from the stricken ship. To get a clear view of the Petropavlovsk, he had an extremely difficult manoeuvre to perform, but the evolution was skilfully and successfully carried out, and the Petropavlovsk was torpedoed. It became imperative that Steele should make his way from the harbour as quickly as possible if he were to save his boat. He had only just room enough to turn in order to regain the entrance of the harbour, but he managed to do so with success. All this time his motor boat was drawing a heavy and concentrated fire from the line of forts. Nevertheless he passed close to the forts firing his machine guns all the way, and passing out of the harbour he saved his ship. The award to him of the Victoria Cross was notified in the London Gazette of November 11, 1919. After that gallant exploit he returned to more peaceful duties, and in 1923, when in command of Patrol Boat No 31, at Portland, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-commander. He always had an aptitude for languages, and it was after this that he fulfilled an ambition by becoming a Naval Interpreter in Russian. In March, 1925, as a specialist in anti-submarine duties, he was selected for duty on the staff of the Rear-Admiral of Submarines at Gosport. His next appointment was to the new cruiser Cornwall in which he served as first lieutenant-commander from 1927 to 1928 on the China station. His last appointment in the Navy was to HMS Egmont for duty at Malta. He served there for four months, when he was selected to be Captain-Superintendent of the Thames Nautical Training College, HMS Worcester, off Greenhithe, the ship in which he himself received his early training for the sea. He published several books including Electrical Knowledge for Ships' Officers; The Story of the Worcester; To me, God is real; About My Father's Business and In my Father's House.¹

     Henry William Steele R.N. was born circa 1856.² He married Selina May Symonds, daughter of Maj. Gen. Jermyn Charles Symonds RMLI and Susan Campbell Kennedy, on 2 May 1889 in St. Helier Parish Church, Jersey.¹ Henry William Steele R.N. died on 4 January 1916
Captain Steele entered the Royal Navy in April, 1869, and received his lieutenant's commission in November, 1880. He was the navigating sub-lieutenant of the Shah, flagship of Admiral de Horsey, the Commander-in-Chief on the Pacific station, when that vessel, with the Amethyst, engaged the Peruvian rebel turret ship Huascar in May, 1877, off the town of llo. He served in two torpedo attacks on the rebel ship, and was mentioned in dispatches. In December, 1895, he was made commander, and for some time was in command of the Racer, the tender of the Britannia training ship, when he had charge of the instruction of the naval cadete in navigation. He retired from active service with the rank of captain in November, 1903, and afterwards became captain superintendent of the training ship Cornwall at Purfleet.²

     Ida M. Steele was born in Ottumwa, Indiana.² She married William Sherbourne Osgood, son of Rev. Joseph Osgood and Ellen Devereux Sewall, in 1881.¹

     Margaret Steese married Dr. Frank Garverich, son of Augustus Garverich.¹

     Rev. Alexis W. Stein married Mabel Bonner, daughter of George Thomas Bonner and Isabel Grace Sewell, on 14 January 1903 in St. George's Church, Stuyvesant Square, New York.¹ Rev. Alexis W. Stein and Mabel Bonner appear on the census of 1910 at Colorado Springs, Colorado.² Rev. Alexis W. Stein died before 19 August 1910 in Saranac Lake, New York, after four years of tuberculosis.³ He was buried on 20 August 1910 in the Adirondack woods.⁴

     Nanie Werner Steinbrecher was born on 17 May 1850 in Cincinnati, Ohio.¹ She married George Walter Worcester, son of David Worcester and Ellen Shaw Sewall, on 9 April 1878 in Cincinnati, Ohio.¹

     Gretta Steinholf married Arthur St. Clair Gordon.¹

     Dorothy Stephens married Robert Parker.²

     Louisa Augusta Stephens married David Sewall, son of Rev. Samuel M. Sewall and Mary Lambard, on 2 April 1840.² Louisa Augusta Stephens and David Sewall appear on the census of 1850 where her name is spelt Loiza. David Sewall's occupation is that of shoemaker.³ Louisa Augusta Stephens died on 29 April 1889 ² and is buried in Exira Cemetery, Iowa.⁴

     Capt. John Stephenson married Tabitha Longfellow.

     Mary Stephenson married Nicholas Schuyler, son of Philip Schuyler and Elizabeth Meyer, say 1745.¹ Mary Stephenson died after 1748.¹

     Capt. Samuel Stephenson was the son of Capt. John Stephenson and Tabitha Longfellow.¹ The marriage intention of Capt. Samuel Stephenson and Abigail Longfellow, daughter of Hon. Stephen Longfellow and Patience Young, was published on 30 October 1801.¹

     Maud Sterns was born in 1869.¹ She married John H. Jewett, son of Joseph Wood Jewett and Cynthia Ann Ela.¹

     Adele Livingston Stevens was born on 3 October 1863 in New York.¹ She was the daughter of Frederick William Stevens and Adele Livingston Sampson.¹ Adele Livingston Stevens married Frederic Hobbes Allen on 30 June 1892 in New York.¹

     Arthur Joseph Stevens was born on 18 April 1882 in West Waterville, Maine.² He was the son of George Washington Stevens and Olive Viola Eaton.¹ Arthur Joseph Stevens graduated in 1901 from Roswell High School, New Mexico.²

     Dionis Stevens was christened on 4 March 1609 at Plymouth, Devon.³ She was the daughter of Robert Stevens.² Dionis Stevens married Judge Tristram Coffin, son of Peter Coffin and Joan Thember, circa 1629 in Brixton, Devon.¹ Dionis Stevens and Judge Tristram Coffin emigrated in 1642 and settled in Newbury, Mass. in 1648.¹ Dionis Stevens died in 1682 in Nantucket.⁴