James Steel

James Steel was the second son of John Steel and Mary Smith. He was born in 1792 at Greenock, a year or two after his infant brother had died of the pox. When he was only one or two years old, his father was press-ganged into the navy from a merchant vessel in Jamaica. He did not return for nine years. Meanwhile, James was educated at Mr Martin and Mr Buchanan's schools.
He grew up with his cousin John McFarlane, whose mother had died, and was sent to work with him at the Customs House in Greenock when he was 13 years old. After a year there, he was with Duncan Ferguson and Co for 8 years, Robert Macfie & sons for a year, then 4 years with John Rankin before joining The Clyde Shipping Company as their agent at Greenock.
In 1825 he was promoted to Lighter Manager at Glasgow with a salary of £200 a year and he married Mary Heron, the eldest daughter of John Heron, a watchmaker and jeweller in Greenock. They lived at 46 York Street, just up from the Broomielaw wharf in Glasgow and had eight sons.
James left the Clyde Shipping Company in 1851, buying their lighters and forming the Glasgow and Greenock Shipping Company. In 1856 he took his eldest and third sons, John and Robert, into partnership, trading under the name of James Steel and Sons in the lighterage trade between Glasgow and Greenock.
James died in 1858 from cancer of the stomach. The firm moved into tugs and became Steel and Bennie in 1877. It was eventually sold in 1970.