In Memoriam.
WELL may the German-American of Maryland mourn the
great loss he has sustained in the sudden and unexpected
death of our distinguished fellow-countryman and member
Dr. Lewis H. Steiner.
No brighter example of high and earnest ardor in his
country's cause, of manhood, integrity and energy shines in
the galaxy of sterling citizens which the sturdy race from
which he sprang has given to our State, and few men have
left behind them such a record of kindly traits, devotion to
duty and friendship.
But as a member of this society he has a special claim
upon us. We reverence in him the traditions of the past.
Descended from the hardy Palatine Jacob Steiner, who settled
in the valley of the Catoctin in the fourth decade of the last
century, and proud of his German ancestry, which is character-
istic of the best German-American citizen in our great republic,
Dr. Steiner was of those who took the lead in the formation
of this association, that unquestionably has given an impetus
to the spread of a desire for information upon the subject of
the German settlements and their influence upon the social
and industrial development, and political history of this State.
Himself the scion of a pioneer who helped to change a wilder-
ness into one of the most beautiful and prosperous regions of
Maryland, the great-grandson of a revolutionary officer, there
was a beautiful fitness in his position as one of our leaders
and most enthusiastic workers. Let us assume that his spirit
is still active around us, encouraging and leading us on to per-
severe in the good work we have set before us, and for the pro-
motion of which he was ever ready to give his time and talents.
Dr. Steiner was a patriot and lover of liberty from birth
— for he first saw the light of day in the Switzerland of Mary-
88
land, and inherited the blood of patriots who were among the
first to join the starry banner of the revolution. A son of
Christian and Rebecca Steiner, nee' Weltzheimer, both natives
of Frederick, he was born in 1837 and received a sound edu-
cation at the academy of his birthplace. A close and thought-
ful student, endowed with a remarkable memory — a faculty
which stood him in good stead in later life, and made him the
fluent off-hand speaker to whom it was our privilege frequently
to listen — he entered at an early age the sophomore class of
Marshall College in Mercersburg, Pa. Here he received the
degree of A. B. at sixteen, and that of A. M. three years later
when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with
the degree of M. D. At twenty-three he began the practice
of medicine in his native city of Frederick, and would, no
doubt, have attained eminence in this profession had he con-
tinned to practice it. In 1852 he removed to Baltimore, and
became associated with Dr. J. W. Dunbar in the conduct of
an institution for medical instruction, and in the following year
entered upon his successful career as lecturer and teacher. He
was appointed to the chair of Chemistry and Natural History
at Columbia College in Washington, and Prof, of Chemistry
and Pharmacy in the National Medical College of the same
city, in 1853; he was chosen lecturer on Chemistry and Physics
at the college of St. James, Maryland in 1854; in 1855 he be-
came lecturer on applied Chemistry at the Maryland Institute,
and in 1856, Professor of Chemistry at the Maryland College
of Pharmacy. It is hardly too much to say that the majority of
pharmacists and younger men in the medical profession in
Maryland heard their first lectures on science from Dr. Steiner,
whose simple style and genial manner made him a favorite lec-
turer of that time.
Unexhausted by his labors in lecturing and teaching, he
early combined authorship with his professional duties. He
commenced his busy literary life, when only twenty four, with
the publication of a volume called "Physical Science" which
was soon followed by other scientific works and a number of
biographical and historical papers, some of which have become
models for similar publications, and all of which form a strik-
ing memorial of the author's scholarship and diligence.
89
When in 1861 the black clouds of the civil war began to
darken the horizon, Dr. Steiner returned to Frederick and es-
poused the cause of the Union, offering his services to the med-
ical department at "Washington, which were accepted assigning
him to the Army of the Potomac, where by his zeal and skill
he soon rose to the position of a chief inspector of the then
newly organized Sanitary Commission. His energy greatly
aided in alleviating, after many a battle, the suffering of the
wounded in ambulance and hospital, in recognition of which
he was complimented on several occasions by the medical staff
and elected by the New York Commandery a companion of
the military order of the loyal legion of the United States.
After Appomatox he returned to his native city and belonged
to those who were anxious to have all traces of the war wiped
out and forgotten; and, true to his instinct, he set about to
heal the wounds which it had left open. Public education
demanded his first attention, and to elevate it and bring it in
accord with the changed condition of affairs, he labored in-
cessantly for three years as a member and president of the
Schoolboard of Frederick County, a position which brought
him prominently before the Republican voters of his county,
who sent him, unsought, thrice as their standard bearer to the
State Senate, where his warm moral and human nature, his
loyalty to principal and sterling integrity gained him great in-
fluence and the respect of a Democratic Senate and House.
During all the exciting time of war and public life, Dr.
Steiner never allowed his literary energy to flag. His facile
pen continued to contribute bright and interesting articles on
various subjects, to, a
number of journals, which won him a
national reputation and well deserved academic honors from
several seats of learning, among them the degree of Master of
Arts from Yale University. Learned societies enrolled him
among their honored members, and in 1876 he was. elected
Vice-President of the Public Health Association; in 1878 Presi-
dent of the American Academy of Medicine.
It was but natural that a son of Maryland whose attain-
ments were of such a high character, whose talent as an or-
ganiser had been so thoroughly tested, should have been called
by the President and trustees of the Enoch Pratt free library
90
to become its first librarian and executive officer. That this
great trust was well placed, that Dr. Steiner, to the day of
his death, did all that the most stringent care, rare scholar-
ship, good practical sense and fidelity, could do for the noble
foundation, is matter of history. There are many free public
libraries, great and small, in our country, but we know of
none of a more rapid growth, or better adapted to satisfy the
wants of that class of readers for whom public libraries were
established, than the Enoch Pratt free library of Baltimore,
of which Dr. Lewis H. Steiner was the first librarian and
practically the organiser. Few, we believe, have differed from
him in matters of technical preferences and choice of works
supplied, while no one denies him credit for the masterly
performance of his duties. Our interest in him will always
centre in his work rather than in the incidents of his career
although by no means uneventful; in the splendid example
which he gave us of steady purpose and unswerving devotion to
every moral obligation, of simple Christian life, of unremitting
effort in imparting knowledge, and in the scholar that won in
a quiet way lasting fame for his native State and the city of
Baltimore.
His useful life closed on the 18th of February. He died
suddenly at the library of his home, among his books which
he loved so well, and surrounded by his stricken family, his
devoted wife Sarah Spencer, a daughter of Hon. Ralph D.
Smyth, of Guilford, Conn., and his three daughters Getrude,
Bertha and Amy. His two sons Bernard C. and Walter R.
were away at the time; the former at Williams College, Mass.
where he is successfully filling the chair of history, and the
latter at Yale College, a student.
In the midst of their great bereavement it cannot but bring
some comfort to the family, as it surely is gratifying to us,
that our lamented friend has left behind him, fostered by his
kindly encouragement, a worthy aspirant to the respect and
fame which he himself has nobly earned. Dr. Bernard C.
Steiner, a graduate of Yale College, of Johns Hopkins Univers-
ity and Professor of History at Williams College, Mass., and
eldest son of the man that is so dear to our memory, will
succeed to the position left vacant by the death of his father.
C. F. RADDATZ.
91
Mr.
J. Alexander Shriver, a late member of the Society,
whose ancestors (Schreiber) came originally from Alsenborn,
Germany, was born in the city of Baltimore on February 3rd,
1821. He occupied during his life time many positions of
trust and was president of the Ericsson Line of Steamers up
to the time of his death. His uniting with our Society gave
proof, that though generations had been born and died since
his ancestors came over from the Fatherland, he still took an
earnest interest in the labors of those sturdy pioneers. Mr.
Shriver departed this life, greatly lamented by a large circle
of friends, as well as by this Society, on the 1st of March 1891.
Mr. Christopher Lipps, whose death the society had to
record during the year, was born in Mainhernheim, Bavaria,
on the 29th of October 1819. He came to this country in
1815 and by his indomitable energy rose to one of the largest
and best known manufacturers of Baltimore City. He took
an earnest interest in a great many of the social as well as
Benevolent Societies of the city and died on the 13th of April
1891.
Mr. Herman von Kapf, another departed member, was
one of the best known German-American merchants in the city.
He was born in Lorngo, Duchy of Lippe-Detmold on the 29th
of April 1818, and came to this country at the age of 21 years.
He also was an active member of many of the German Soci-
eties of the city and for a number of years was the honored
president of the "German Society of Maryland." He died on
the 30th of April 1892.
Frederick Polmyer, business manager of the "German
Correspondent," was born on March 16th, 1848 in Baltimore
city; he was educated at "Knapp's Institute" and at an early
age entered the business of his uncle, F. Raine, in which he
was engaged for over twenty years in the capacity of business
manager. He died on August 16th, 1891.
92
Dr. John H.
Smith was one of the earliest members of
the society. He was born in Baltimore city on 6th of May
1848. His medical studies he prosecuted in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and then for nineteen years was a most successful physician
in this city. In 1889 he left his large practice and went to
Europe to prepare himself for a special branch in medical
science. After spending two years in the world-renowned medical
schools and hospitals of Heidelberg, Prague, Munich, Vienna
and Berlin, he returned to Baltimore and established an institute
in his special branch, looking forward with good reason to a
most useful and successful exercise of his acquired greater skill.
He was suddenly, without a moment's warning, removed from
this earth on the evening of the 7th of December 1891.
 |