Mary Elizabeth Lakin Steele’s Birthday

Mary Elizabeth Lakin Steele (1850 – 1899), was the first wife of T.C. Steele.  She was born on February 22, 1850 at her family’s farm near Rushville, Indiana.  The couple had three children, Rembrandt (1870 – 1965), Margaret (Daisy) (1872 – 1955 ) and Shirley (Ted) (1879 – 1952). Rembrandt and Daisy were born in Battle Creek, Michigan, and Shirley was born in Indianapolis.  Mary Elizabeth Lakin (Steele) was called by family and friends “Libbie” or “Bess”. T.C. Steele and Libbie met at Waveland Academy in Waveland, Indiana where they were both students; they were married on St. Valentine’s day, February 14, 1870 after graduating from Waveland Academy. She was a founder of the Portfolio Club in Indianapolis which exists to this day. Libbie Steele died of tuberculosis at age 49 at the family residence known at Tinker Homestead, at Pennsylvania and Sixteenth streets at 7 o’clock pm on Tuesday, November 14, 1899.  She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis Indiana.