Cornelius Steele was born on February 19, 1836, in Herkimer County, New York, to George and Mary Steele. His father was a farmer who owned $6,000 of real estate and $2,000 of personal property by 1870. By 1855, the family was living in Truxton, New York. He married Jane Preston around 1859, and they had at least three children: Nora, born around 1859; Ellsworth, born around 1862; and Agnes, born around 1867;

 

He enlisted in the Union army on October 15, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company G of the 10^th New York Cavalry on November 15. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with dark hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign. He mustered out on June 24, 1865.

 

He settled in Lincklaen, New York, after the war, and he worked as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $3,600 of real estate and $980 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in July 1870 and eventually received one. By 1890, he was suffering from deafness and chronic diarrhea. He moved to DeRuyter, New York, in the 1890s, and his wife died in 1901. He married a woman named Emerette the following year. He died in DeRuyter on July 6, 1918.

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