David Steele

Born in County Donegal, Ireland, on November 2, 1803, David Steele worked on his family's farm before continuing his education at the Academy of Londonderry. He emigrated to the United States in 1824, studied further in Pennsylvania, graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1827, and then trained for the ministry under Rev. John Black in Pittsburgh.

He was ordained in 1831 and became pastor of the congregation at Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. In 1840, after a break with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, he helped form the Reformed Presbytery and remained a leading figure among the original Covenanter movement for many years. Later he served in Illinois and Philadelphia, where he also established a theological school.

Steele was remembered as a learned preacher, a strong debater, and a writer deeply committed to the principles he believed the church should uphold. Even in old age, after suffering blindness, he continued his ministry. He died in Philadelphia on June 29, 1887.