

I can't find proof that the half brothers(?), Andrew and Pvt. Samuel Steele Sr. are children of Sir Richard Steele and 1) Margaret Ford (the Widow Stretch) and 2) Mary Scurlock. Richard is said to have had 2 children that made it to adulthood - Elizabeth, legitimate, and an Elizabeth who was illegitimate but whom he later adopted. Since this is a master profile for Pvt. Samuel Steele, what is the documentation for his being the son of Sir Richard and Mary Scurlock? Sincerely, Harriet C. Ervin
From several years ago ---
Some Ancestry.com family trees and Geni.com claim that Samuel was the son of Sir Richard Steele and his wife Mary Scurlock. However, this note in Geni.com says:
Reprinted with Ernest Thompson's permission:
I am a descendent of Samuel Steele and Margaret Fulton. I regret to tell all that there is almost no possibility that the very famous Sir Richard Steele, author and playwright, and his wife Mary Scurlock were the parents of our Samuel Steele. The life of Sir Richard is extensively documented in at least three biographies (e.g., Life of Richard Steele by Aitken) and there is no record indicating he had a son either by Mary or anyone else including his first wife Margaret Stretch. Sir R. and Mary did have a child in 1709, but it was a daughter named Elizabeth. The theory that the Steeles of Steele's Tavern in Augusta Co. were descendents (sic) of Sir Richard has been around for 40 -50 years and seems to have a life of its own.
Much as we might like to think we are descendents (sic) of Sir Richard (I know I would) we will have to look elsewhere for the origins of the Steeles of Augusta Co.
Moved the Steele children to a placeholder - N.N. Steele
Sir Richard Steele, MP Had only a daughter.
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Steele