Steiner, Lewis Henry (1827-1892)

Lewis Henry Steiner was born in Frederick City, Maryland, May 4, 1827 to Christian and Rebecca Steiner. Dr. Steiner graduated from Marshall College, Mercersburg, PA. in 1846 with and A.B. degree. He received his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1849, and commenced practicing in Frederick, Maryland. In 1849 he received the degree of A.M. from Marshall College, and was granted the honorary degree of the same name from St. James' College in 1854, and Yale College in 1869. Delaware College gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1884, and Franklin and Marshall College the degree of Litt. D. in 1888. In 1852 he went to Baltimore, and lectured in Dr. J.R.W. Dunbar's private medical institute. During the following 9 years he lectured in a number of colleges. These included: professor of chemistry and natural history in Columbia College; professor of chemistry and pharmacy in the National Medical College at Washington; lecturer on applied chemistry at the Medical Institute; lecturer on chemistry and natural philosophy in the College of St. James; and professor of chemistry in the Medical College of Pharmacy. In 1862, Dr. Steiner returned to Frederick City. At the outbreak of the war, he assisted in raising troops and he was appointed the chief inspector of the sanitary commission in the Army of the Potomac. When slavery was abolished and the freedman's bureau was organized, Dr. Steiner interested himself in the establishment of "colored schools" all over Maryland, and served as president of the school board for nearly three years. Dr. Steiner was a Republican, and was involved in politics by being a delegate to the Republican national Convention in 1876. He was elected to the State Senate in 1871, from Frederick county. He was re-elected in both 1875 and 1879, during which time he was the Republican leader of the State Senate. Upon the opening of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Dr. Steiner was appointed librarian and did most of the work of organizing and equipping the main library and it's several branches. He had numerous contributions to the literature and science of the country from 1851 on. He was assistant editor of the American Medical Monthly for many years. He occupied prominent positions in a number of Medical and Scientific Associations. Dr. Steiner was an active member of the Reformed Church, a member in the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick City, Maryland for a number of years. He was an elder and frequently represented the congregations on the floor of Classis and Synod meetings. He was a member of the Committee to revise the Provisional Liturgy, and of the Hymn Book Committee of the Eastern Synods. He wrote the text of the Hymn Book with his own pen, as well as "Cantate Domine" and "Tunes for Worship." He was Treasurer of the Potomac Synod for several years, as well as a member of the Peace Commission. He was one of the representatives of the Synod of the Potomac and appointed by the Commission as a member of the special committee to whom was entrusted the preparation of what is now known as the Directory of Worship. Dr. Steiner translated several works from German into English, published by the Publication Board of the Reformed Church. He frequently contributed to the "Messenger" and the "Reformed Quarterly Review." Dr. Steiner was married in 1866 to Miss Sarah L. Spencer, daughter of Judge Ralph D. Smith of Connecticut, with whom he had three daughters and two sons. One son, Bernard, was a professor in Yale College. Dr. Steiner died suddenly of apoplexy Thursday, February 18, 1892. He was 65 years old.