Steane was born in March 1798 in
Oxford. His father dealt in wines and spirits and the family attended New Road Baptist Church. Steane went to school where he was taught by James Hinton and became a lifelong friend with his son,
John Howard Hinton. Steane's interests were at the New Road church and although he briefly worked as a chemist the church agreed that he was to be a minister. He was sent for training at
Bristol Baptist College and then unsuccessfully at
Edinburgh University. In 1834 he married Mary Stevenson, the granddaughter of Abraham Booth, another Baptist minister, and they had five children. In 1840 Steane attended the 1840
World Anti-Slavery Convention and he was included in the commemorative painting. Steane also helped found the
Bible Translation Society charity after the
British and Foreign Bible Society refused to fund a translation. In 1846 Steane was appointed as one of the people required to set up a conference that resulted in the
Evangelical Alliance. He is seen as one of the founders and he edited the organisation's periodical,
Evangelical Christendom. Steane's failing health caused the church to appoint
Rev Charles Stanford as a co-pastor at Camberwell in May 1858. Three years later Stanford took the job on full-time, but Steane was left with the title of Pastor until 1866. His first wife, Mary, died in 1862 and in 1864 he married Eliza Pigeon and gave up editing the
Evangelical Christendom. Steane died at his home near
Rickmansworth. ==References==