Eliza R. Stansbury was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1798. She was one of four daughters of Daniel and Eliza Stansbury of the prominent Stansbury family. On 9 Nov., 1838, at age 40, she married immigrant British merchant, Joseph Steele. In June and July 1840, the Steeles made their visit to the American Frontier, Chicago. On a spontaneous change to their planned itinerary, on to the Mississippi River. In 1840, her first book, Heroines of Sacred History was entered into copyright. The preface, dated October, 1840, suggests she delivered it to the publisher after her return from the West. A Summer Journey In the West was published in 1841. In 1845 they moved into their new home in the fashionable Clinton Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The house still stands and since 1968 has been a New York Historic Landmark for its architectural value.