The following information about the Steele House comes from -
The Steele
House
One
of the oldest homesteads on Prince Edward Island stood in Gaspereaux. It was
known as the Steele House, and was once used as a mission station during the
early years of the Catholic Scots settlement by their pastor Father Angus
Bernard MacEachern, Roman Catholic missionary and later first bishop of
Charlottetown. Donald MacMullen who came to Prince Edward Island in 1790 with
417 other immigrants on three ships, the Lucy, the Jane, and the British Queen from Visit in the
Hebrides, Scotland, settled in Gaspereaux and built the house in a Picket style
of architecture in 1812. John Dan Steele married into the family and later
inherited the property. Angus and Marie Steele, brother and sister were the
last descendants to live in the house. They were very proud of the old
homestead, saying that the house had been built over 150 years ago, and there
hadn't been a nail driven through it since then. Angus was known as the local
amateur veterinarian, who didn't charge anyone for his services. There were
even people who came to his house to have their teeth pulled; Angus would have
the job done in no time at all!
In
the early days when the Roman Catholic church was being established on Prince
Edward Island, the first Bishop of Charlottetown, Rev. Angus Bernard MacEachern
used the Steele House during his days as a travelling mission priest. In this
home, he celebrated mass, heard confessions, and ministered to the people in
the local communities. In June 1967, the ninth Bishop of Charlottetown, Rev.
Malcolm MacEachern came to the Steele House in Gaspereaux to stand in the
footprints of his ancestor, Rev. Angus Bernard MacEachern, the first Bishop and
celebrate mass. The table that he used as an altar was used for the same
purpose around one hundred and forty years ago. A chalice-like cup that the
pioneer bishop used in his celebrations stood on the mantle among the other
cherished mementos in the Steele House.
When
the early settlements were beginning on the Island, people were too poor to
have a chapel or a church; a "station" in a private home became the
church. The word would spread in the community, and people within reach would
assemble at the designated house on the appointed day, and have religious needs
attended to there. The Steele home was used as a station before and after the
chapel was built between 1814 and 1816 by Donald MacMullen on the west end of
Panmure Island.
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