The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923,
The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York,
Volume III,
pg. 397-398
BYRON W. STEELE, M. D. For the past several years Dr. Byron W.
Steele has been engaged in the general prac- tice of medicine at
Mullens, and by his devotion to the duties of his profession, his
close study and his pronounced skill has won a liberal and
representative practice. His talents and sympathy have gained him
recognition as a leader, and he has maintained throughout his
career a high standard of professional ethics and honorable
principles.
Doctor Steele was born at Moundsville, West Virginia, July 14,
1889, and is a son of Dr. S. M. and Florence N. (Cheadle) Steele.
Dr. S. M. Steele was born September 14, 1860, in Tyler County,
Virginia (now West Virginia), and after completing his normal
school education at West Liberty engaged in school teaching for
two years, in the meantime pursuing his medical studies. He then
entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, from
which institution he was graduated with his degree with the class
of 1886, and commenced practice at Moundsville, West Virginia,
where he remained until becoming superin- tendent of the West
Virginia Hospital for the Insane. He remained in this capacity
from 1906 until 1914, and his tal- ents as an authority on
nervous diseases made his work of particular value. He returned
from the hospital to Mounds- ville, where he now has a large
practice and is numbered among the foremost members of his
profession. He is a republican in politics and an Elk
fraternally, and belongs to the Methodist Church, as does Mrs.
Steele, who is a native of McConnellsvilIe, Ohio. Four sons were
born to them, all of whom served during the World war, three
seeing overseas service. Dr. Byron W. Steele is the eldest of the
sons. Leonard C. Steele was a sergeant in the Medical Corps of
the Eighty-seventh Division and was overseas one year. He is now
associated with the Wyoming Ice and Bot- tling Company at Mullens
as bookkeeper. Rodney D. Steele was on the battle line with the
Seventeenth Ambu- lance Company, Fifth Division, a noted company
with splendid service to its credit. Marion Steele, the youngest
son, was at the Students' Training Camp at Washington and Lee
University when the armistice was signed.
Byron W. Steele attended the public schools of Mounds- ville,
and was graduated from the high school there, fol- lowing which
he entered Marshall College and was gradu- ated in 1910. He then
enrolled as a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons
at Baltimore, his father's alma mater, and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1914, receiving the degree of Doctor of
Medicine, and for one year thereafter served as instructor. For
the following year he served as obstetrician at Mercy Hospital,
Balti- more. and during the next year held the same position at
the Women's Hospital in that city. In 1916 he came to Mullens to
take charge of Robertson's General Hospital as surgeon, and
remained in that capacity until March 10, 1918, when he enrolled
as a student in the Army Medical School at Fort Oglethorpe,
Georgia. He received his com- mission as first lieutenant, was
made an instructor, and in June, 1918, went overseas, where he
was promoted cap- tain and made orthopedic surgeon at Base
Hospital No. 63. He remained in that capacity until March 11,
1919, when he was transferred to Base Hospital No. 91 as chief
orthopedie surgeon. He returned to the United States in August,
1919, and again settled at Mullens, where he is in the enjoyment
of a very heavy practice. Doctor Steele's physique and general
bearing are such as to inspire confi- dence, and his real
courtesy and sympathy likewise gain him the faith of his
patients. Ho holds to the highest ideals in his professional
service, and his work is characterized by a conscientious
devotion to duty and a display of knowl- edge that demonstrates
him a master of his vocation. His work has brought him before the
people of Mullens and the surrounding community in a way that
will not be easily for- gotten, and he has never been found
lacking in any of the essentials that are necessary for the
making of a truly great physician. He keeps fully abreast of the
numerous advance- ments being constantly made in his calling, and
is an ac- tive and interested member of the Mercer County Medical
Society, the West Virginia State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association. He is a member of the Phi Beta Pi medical
fraternity. In politics he adheres to the principles of the
republican party, but his profession has kept him too busily
occupied for him to engage in pub- lic life, although he displays
a good citizen's interest in civic matters and gives his support
to worthy movements and enterprises. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Mullens Lodge No. 151, A. F. and A. M., and Princeton
Chapter, R. A. M., in both of which he has numerous friends.
On July 14, 1920, at Mullens. Doctor Steele was united in
marriage with Miss Frances P. Ould, daughter of W. T. Ould, of
Glenlyn, Virginia. To this union there has been born one son,
Byron W., Jr. Mrs. Steele, a woman of nu- merous graces and
accomplishments, is a graduate of Con- cord Normal School at
Athens, West Virginia, and also did special work at the
University of Virginia. Prior to her marriage she was a teacher
in the public schools. She and Doctor Steele are members of the
Methodist Church. Doc- tor Steele is a member of the American
Legion.
Submitted by Valerie
Crook
