From the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North American Organbuilders by David H. Fox (Organ Historical Society, 1991). —

Born April 10, 1824 in Southwick, Massachusetts; father of John S. and Frank J. Steere; shared residence with S. D. Steer; apprentice to cabinetmaker in Tarriffville, Connecticut, age 17-21; with father-in-law William A. Johnson of Westfield, Massachusetts, c. 1847; partner with George William Turner in Steer & Turner of Westfield, (1867-1879), then Springfield, Massachusetts (1879-1891); altered name from 'Steer' to 'Steere', c. 1880; operated J. W. Steere & Sons of Springfield, 1892-1894 and J. W. Steere & Son after 1894; died December 11, 1900 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts; succeeded by John S. Steere.

Sources:

• Orpha Ochse, The History of the Organ in the United States (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 240.
• Barbara Owen, The Organ in New England (Raleigh: Sunbury Press, 1979), 413.
• Organ Handbook 1985 (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society), 23.