George H. Steuart (diplomat)
Encyclopedia
George H Steuart was an American diplomat
and Foreign Service officer
, and one of the last consuls of the United States of America in Liverpool
, England. He was a major benefactor of the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
in Lancaster, Virginia
, donating by deed of gift the Steuart Blakemore Building
, formerly known as the Old Post Office.
on November 3, 1907, the son of physician George H Steuart, and Irene Blakemore. He was a descendant of the politician and planter George Steuart of Annapolis, a Scottish physician who founded his family's fortune in early Eighteenth Century Annapolis He attended Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore, and began his career in public service with the Works Progress Administration
(WPA) and the National Youth Administration
.
he was chief of accounting administration with the Board of Economic Warfare
, after which he served in Cairo
, Egypt
, with the Foreign Economic Administration
.
After The War he joined the Foreign Service and was assigned to London
, Geneva
and Liverpool
, where he became consul. The Liverpool consulate had been the first established by the then fledgling United States
, opened in 1790 by the first consul, James Maury
. At the time Liverpool was an important center for transatlantic commerce with the former Thirteen Colonies
.
The original consulate stood on the quayside of Steers Dock and the Pool of Liverpool. It was decorated with a huge bald eagle
, a reassuring sign to American sailors and travelers arriving at the port. The building still stands, and has been recently restored by the City.
The consulate in Liverpool was Steuart's final posting. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1965, and became a business consultant with James Somerville Associates, and manager of the Washington office of Commonwealth Associates, an architectural and engineering firm.
By a deed of gift executed on July 29, 1986, Steuart donated the Old Post Office building in Lancaster, Virginia
, to the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
in Lancaster, renaming the building the Steuart Blakemore Building
in honor of his parents. It now constitutes one of the five historic buildings in the museum complex.
Virginia. They were married for 53 years, and had four daughters:
Steuart was a vestryman
and usher at Immanuel Episcopal Church-on-the-Hill, Alexandria, Virginia
, and died in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1998. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Whitechapel
in Lancaster.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and Foreign Service officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
, and one of the last consuls of the United States of America in Liverpool
Consulate of the United States in Liverpool
The United States Consulate in Liverpool, England was established in 1790, and was the first overseas consulate founded by the then fledgling United States of America. Liverpool was at the time an important center for transatlantic commerce and a vital trading partner for the former Thirteen...
, England. He was a major benefactor of the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
The Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library is a museum and historical archive in the Northern Neck of The Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA. Its purpose is to preserve the history of Lancaster County, Virginia...
in Lancaster, Virginia
Lancaster, Virginia
Lancaster is an unincorporated community in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. Lancaster lies along State Route 3. The community is also known as Lancaster Courthouse or by an alternative spelling, Lancaster Court House....
, donating by deed of gift the Steuart Blakemore Building
Steuart Blakemore Building
The Steuart Blakemore Building, originally built in 1900 and used as the Lancaster Post Office until 1931, is a museum and historical archive, part of the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library in Lancaster, Virginia....
, formerly known as the Old Post Office.
Early life
Steuart was born in Ottoman, VirginiaOttoman, Virginia
Ottoman is an unincorporated community in Lancaster County in the U. S. state of Virginia....
on November 3, 1907, the son of physician George H Steuart, and Irene Blakemore. He was a descendant of the politician and planter George Steuart of Annapolis, a Scottish physician who founded his family's fortune in early Eighteenth Century Annapolis He attended Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in Baltimore, and began his career in public service with the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA) and the National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was chief of accounting administration with the Board of Economic Warfare
Board of Economic Warfare
The Office of Administrator of Export Control was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July 2, 1940 . Brigadier General Russell Lamont Maxwell, United States Army, headed up this military entity...
, after which he served in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, with the Foreign Economic Administration
Foreign Economic Administration
In the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Foreign Economic Administration was formed to relieve friction between US agencies operating abroad. As described by the biographer of the FEA's chief, Leo Crowley, the agency was designed and run by "The Nation's #1 Pinch-hitter".S. L...
.
Post War Career
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, where he became consul. The Liverpool consulate had been the first established by the then fledgling United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, opened in 1790 by the first consul, James Maury
James Maury (consul)
James Maury was one of the first United States diplomats and one of the first American consuls appointed overseas. In 1790 he was appointed to the Consulate of the United States in Liverpool, one of the first overseas consulates founded by the then fledgling United States of America...
. At the time Liverpool was an important center for transatlantic commerce with the former Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
.
The original consulate stood on the quayside of Steers Dock and the Pool of Liverpool. It was decorated with a huge bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, a reassuring sign to American sailors and travelers arriving at the port. The building still stands, and has been recently restored by the City.
The consulate in Liverpool was Steuart's final posting. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1965, and became a business consultant with James Somerville Associates, and manager of the Washington office of Commonwealth Associates, an architectural and engineering firm.
By a deed of gift executed on July 29, 1986, Steuart donated the Old Post Office building in Lancaster, Virginia
Lancaster, Virginia
Lancaster is an unincorporated community in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. Lancaster lies along State Route 3. The community is also known as Lancaster Courthouse or by an alternative spelling, Lancaster Court House....
, to the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
The Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library is a museum and historical archive in the Northern Neck of The Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA. Its purpose is to preserve the history of Lancaster County, Virginia...
in Lancaster, renaming the building the Steuart Blakemore Building
Steuart Blakemore Building
The Steuart Blakemore Building, originally built in 1900 and used as the Lancaster Post Office until 1931, is a museum and historical archive, part of the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library in Lancaster, Virginia....
in honor of his parents. It now constitutes one of the five historic buildings in the museum complex.
Family
Steuart married Lois Sykes Decamps (1912–1991), daughter of Christie Jean-Baptiste DeCamps and Lois Catherine Sykes, on May 28, 1938 in WallacetownWallacetown
Wallacetown is a small town in Southland, in the South Island of New Zealand. It has a population of about 400. Wallacetown is situated west of Invercargill, on high ground between the Makarewa and Oreti Rivers, not far from the Oreti's estuary. Both rivers are popular for trout and whitebait...
Virginia. They were married for 53 years, and had four daughters:
- Catherine Steuart (b.1941)
- Elizabeth Steuart
- Ann Steuart
- Darnall Steuart. Steuart is an economic counselor with the United States Embassy in CaracasCaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Steuart was a vestryman
Vestryman
A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body. He is not a member of the clergy.In England especially, but also in other parts of The United Kingdom, Parish Councils have long been a level of local government rather than being solely ecclesiastical in nature...
and usher at Immanuel Episcopal Church-on-the-Hill, Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, and died in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1998. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Whitechapel
St. Mary's, Whitechapel
St Mary's Whitechapel is an Episcopal church in Lancaster, Virginia, founded in 1669, and located three miles south of Lively, in Lancaster County, in the Northern Neck...
in Lancaster.