Steck, Michael

Dr. Michael Steck. Part of William A. Keleher Pictorial Collection (000-742-0143)

Michael Steck, son of John and Elizabeth Steck, was born in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, on October 6, 1818. He attended the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated in 1844. Steck practiced medicine in Mifflinville, Pennsylvania for a number of years before accepting an appointment from President Fillmore as Indian agent for the Mescalero Apache in Southeastern New Mexico in 1852. He was recalled by President Pierce, who later reappointed him to the post. In 1863 Steck was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for New Mexico Territory.

Steck strongly and bitterly opposed the Navajo Indian policy established by General Carleton. Frustrated by his inability to stop Carlton's campaign to relocate the Navajo, Steck retired from the Indian Service. He engaged in gold mining in New Mexico with Stephen B. Elkins, who later became U.S. Senator from West Virginia. Steck was successful in this venture but later lost his fortune in the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad, part of the Pennsylvania Railroad System, which he invested in after his return to Pennsylvania. He retired to a farm five miles from Winchester, Virginia, and there he died on October 6, 1880.