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Joseph Beal Steere was born in Rollin, Michigan in 1842. Steere’s family had moved twice in his childhood, first to Covington, Kentucky, and then to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. Both of Steere’s parents were teachers and farmers, and his biography suggests a humble upbringing. In 1851, at nine years old, Steere was sent to live with his uncle where he “work[ed] to earn his keep” (Joseph Beal Steere’s Papers The Bentley Historical Library). In 1853, his family moved to Bloomer Center, Montcalm County, Michigan into a “Miner Settlement.” In 1858, Dr. George Pray moved into Bloomer Center, a few farms away from Steere. Dr. Pray was one of the earliest graduates from the University of Michigan and began to mentor students interested in college, including Steere. It was during their weekly lessons that the University of Michigan began to foster Steere’s intellectual endeavors Through its alumni Dr. Pary, UM influenced Steere’s intellectual career long before he set foot on Michigan’s campus as a student.
In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, a nineteen-year-old Steele wanted to enlist and join the Union’s fight. However, Steere’s father opposed his enlistment, although two of his brothers would eventually enlist. During the war, Steere moved in with Dr. Pray in Ann Arbor to further his studies. There he enrolled in Ann Arbor High School. Steere successfully passed the entrance exam at the University of Michigan in 1864. Two years later, he obtained a law degree, although his main interest was natural history. Soon after graduating from the University of Michigan, Steere convinced his mother’s cousin, Rice A. Beal to fund expeditions to South America and East Asia. Beal, who was the owner and publisher of the Ann Arbor Courier agreed to fund the four-year trip on the condition that Steere would write letters documenting his journey to be published in the Courier. Throughout his four-year journey, Steere shipped thousands of specimens and encountered more than a dozen previously unknown tribes along the Amazon. After reaching Singapore in 1875, the University of Michigan granted Steere its first honorary doctorate and appointed him Assistant Professor. Within a year, Steere would climb the academic ladder even higher after being appointed the Curator of the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology in which he had donated his collection. In 1879, Steere was given a full professorship in Zoology and Paleontology. That same year, he led a group of students to the Amazon where they collected more than a thousand specimens of birds and mammals over the course of three months. In 1887, Steere led another group of students on another expedition. This time to the Philippines.