William Henry Steeves
A Father of Confederation
1814 - 1873
illiam Henry Steves was born in 1814 in the small cottage which today is the
Steeves House Museum. He was the oldest of Joseph and Martha Steves' eleven
children. He was also the great-grandson of Rachel and Heinrich Stief (the early
form of Steves that later became Steeves) who are the founders of the Steeves
family. William started his career in Hillsborough in the form of a small grocery
store and post office. Later, after acquiring several acres of forests, he went
into the lumber industry. This connected him with the shipping industry. At
that time, the Petitcodiac River was used for shipping and its shores for ship
building. He and his brother Gilbert started a Ship's Brokerage. It was because
of this business that, sometime after 1861, he moved with his family to the
city of Saint John, N.B. It was here, in 1873 at the age of 59, that William
Henry died and was buried. His brother Gilbert had earlier moved to Liverpool
England to handle the overseas business because their Brokerage was doing so
well. After William's death, his wife took their six children and moved to England.
Therefore, all of his descendants are in England. His great-grand-daughter,
Edith, married Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, the 17th Duke of Somerset. His
two sons became prominent Liverpool surgeons.
William Henry Steeves' Grave in Saint John, New Brunswick
efore
he moved to Saint john, William Henry Steves also had a big role in the politics
of New Brunswick and Canada. While New Brunswick was still independent, in 1846,
Albert County was given the right to send two members to the legislature. William
Henry was elected to be one of these representatives at the age of 32. In 1851,
he was appointed to the Legislative Council. In 1854, he found a place in the
Cabinet as Surveyor General. Then, in 1855, he became the first Minister if
Public Works for New Brunswick and held the position twice. Then, in 1864, William
Henry's role as a Father of Confederation began with his attendance at the Charlottetown
conference. He was also in attendance at the Quebec conference, a follow-up
of the Charlottown conference, where he represented New Brunswick. In the first
vote on confederation, New Brunswick was the only province to reject the idea,
but Albert County voted strongly in favour of it. William's influence there
was evident, even after he had moved to Saint John. Finally, in 1866, the vote
was turned around and Confederation was accepted. After the vote, representatives
from the four provinces went to England to negotiate with the British government
to create the British North America Act (BNA Act). When passed in 1867, the
BNA Act created the dominion of Canada. William Henry played a large role in
the formation of Canada.
Portrait of W. H. Steves by Jennifer Munns in the entryway of Steeves House Museum