James W. (James William) Steele

James William Steele was born on November 9, 1840, in Grandview, Illinois, and spent much of his youth in Kansas. During the Civil War he served first with the 38th Indiana Infantry and later as a second lieutenant in the 43rd U.S. Colored Troops, suffering serious wounds before returning to civilian life.

After the war, he studied law in Topeka, married Augusta Butterfield in 1866, and also spent time in New Mexico and Arizona as a captain in the U.S. Cavalry. He helped establish the Kansas Magazine and became its editor, then served as U.S. consul at Matanzas, Cuba, from 1874 to 1877. Later he moved to Chicago, where he continued editorial and literary work until his death in 1905.

Steele wrote widely on travel, frontier life, and regional history. His books include Cuban Sketches, Frontier Army Sketches, Old Californian Days, Colorado Outings, and several railroad and overland guides to the Pacific coast. Some of his writing was published under the name Deane Monahan, but across his work he remained a clear, energetic guide to places that fascinated American readers of his time.