Woman of the Century/Rowena Granice Steele

STEELE. Mrs. Rowena Granice, journalist and author, born in Goshen. Grange county, N. Y., 20th June, 1824. She is the second daughter of Harry and Julie Granniss. At an early age she showed talent for composition, but, being of an extremely sensitive nature, her efforts were burned as soon as written. In 1856 she went to California. Through the force of circumstances she was compelled to offer her stories and sketches to the ROWENA GRANICE STEELE. newspapers and magazines, and in less than two years the name of Rowena Granice had become a household word in every town in the new State of California. The newspapers were loud in their praise of the simple home stories of the new California writer. In 1862 she, with her husband, Robert J. Steele, started the "Pioneer" newspaper in Merced county, in the town of Snelling. They soon removed to Merced City, where the paper was enlarged. Mrs. Steele continued to act as associate editor until 1877, when the failing health of her husband compelled her to take entire charge , and for seven years she was editor and proprietor. In 1884, assisted by her son. she started a daily in connection with the weekly. In 1889 her husband died. After conducting successfully the newspaper business in the same county for twenty-eight years she sold out. She has been married twice and has two sons, H H. Granice and L. R. Steele, both journalists. She is still an active writer and worker in the temperance cause, and at present (1892) is editor and proprietor of the "Budget," in Lodi, Cal.