grandfather — who would take over his father’s hardware business in 1811 and become one of Lancaster’s most prominent citizens.
He helped incorporate the Conestoga Navigation Company in 1825 — the company responsible for building the Slackwater Canal along the Conestoga River from Lancaster to Safe Harbor, connecting the city with river- and ocean-going traffic.
Their two sons, James Hale (born in 1886) and John Frederick (born in 1884), would eventually take over the business in 1915 and expand it into Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
He served on the board of Lancaster General Hospital and founded the John Frederick Steinman Fellowship that provided for the training of qualified persons in advanced study of psychiatry, psychology and social work.