Unidad documental simple 2008.1.1.3.1.2.3 - Loose item from diary: Nova Scotia Historical Society printed notice

Samuel Benfield Steele was born at Purbrook, Medonte, County Simcoe, Ontario on 5 January 1848 to Captain Elmes Steele and Anne MacIan Macdonald. His father served under Nelson and other Admirals in the Napoleonic Wars, moving to Canada in 1832, with his first wife and family. After the death of his first wife, Captain Steele married Sam's mother, and they had six children, Sam being the eldest.

Griffiths Wainwright was a member of the Ontario Rifles, and he participated with Colonel Macleod on the Red River Expedition of 1870. He served as a major on the Expedition, and was discharged after the Expedition Force returned to Toronto. His next service was as adjutant of the North-West Mounted Police, when he accompanied the Force on the march to the Rocky Mountains in 1874. He served with the Force until August 1876, and then retired to live in Vancouver, B.C. Sam Steele writes that in 1910: "he still lives hale and hearty ... a prominant figure at all veteran banquets and meetings."