R. T. St. John
Biographical Sketch
R. T. St. John, sheriff of Mitchell County, emigrated to Iowa in
1859. He is the son of John and Nancy (Foster) St. John, who were married
in Stephenson Co., Ill., and were the parents of two sons and six daughters.
The father followed mining for many years, then turned his attention to
farming, and removed to Mitchell County in 1859.
His father, Andrew St. John, a native of Canada, and grandfather
of R. T., lived to be 104 years old. R. T. was educated in the common
schools and Cedar Valley Seminary, receiving a liberal education. In
1863 he enlisted in company A, 7th Illinois Cavalry, joining his regiment
eat Eastport, Miss., Gen. Hatch in command, and participated in many
battles and skirmishes, being honorably discharged at the close of the
war, after which be returned to Mitchell county.
In 1865 be was married to Addie Sayles, of Onondaga Co., N. Y.
One child blessed this union: Earle. Mr. St. John is a Knight Templar,
also a member of I. O. O. F. and G. A. R.
From: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1883; Page 250
R. T. St. John has long figured prominently in connection with
public affairs in Iowa and throughout his entire career has manifested
the same spirit of fidelity and loyalty which prompted his enlistment
when but sixteen years of age for active service in the Civil war. He
makes his home in Riceville but is widely renown throughout the state
and his sterling traits of character and effective service for public
good have won him a high place in the regard of his fellow citizens.
He was born July 14, 1846, in Elizabeth, Jo Daviess County,
Illinois, a son of John and Nancy (Foster) St. John. His father was
a native of East St. Louis, Illinois, where his birth occurred June 4,
1815, three years before the admission of Illinois into the Union.
He served as a soldier in the Black Hawk war of 1832 and thus
aided in freeing the states from the Indians, who so strongly resented
the encroachment of the white race upon their hunting grounds. He took
up government land at Freeport, Illinois, and afterward worked in the
lead mines of Galena, that state. In the year 1860 he removed to
Riceville, Iowa, and purchased land in the center of Jenkins township,
where he carried on farming until he retired from active business life
and established his home in Riceville, there spending his remaining
days in the enjoyment of well earned rest, his death occurring March
23, 1904, when he was in the eighty-ninth year of his age.
He was an enthusiastic worker in the Methodist Episcopal church
and throughout the greater part of his life served as one of its deacons.
In an early day he filled the office of justice of the peace and was an
earnest advocate of all those interests and movements which promised to
promote the welfare and advance the prosperity of his community. His
father was John A. St. John, a representative of a family that has
figured prominently in connection with the military history of France.
The mother of R. T. St. John bore the maiden name of Nancy Foster
and was born in Irado, North Carolina, October 10, 1817, and was a
representative of one of the old and distinguished families of Virginia.
She was four years of age when her parents removed to Nashville, Tennessee,
and in 1828 the family home was established at Freeport, Illinois, where
she formed the acquaintance of John St. John, who sought her hand in
marriage, the wedding ceremony being performed in Springfield, Illinois,
March 22, 1836. She, too, reached a ripe old age, passing away December
4, 1891.
They were the parents of nine children: Mary J., who became the
wife of Charles Morse, of Morrisville, Illinois, and is now deceased:
Luvina, the wife of George Terrill, of Riceville, Iowa; Charlotte, the
wife of R. M. Lyon, of Stockton, Illinois, also deceased; R. T., of
this review; Sarah, who became Mrs. S. E. Crum and has passed away;
John A., who lived in Douglas township, Mitchell county, Iowa, but has
also departed this life; and three others deceased.
R.T. St. John was educated in the common schools of Illinois
and earned his first dollar in picking over waste in the Galena lead
mines. After coming to Iowa with his parents from Morrisville, Illinois,
he continued his education as a student in the Cedar Valley Seminary and
in the Osage high school. Later he engaged in farming, in Mitchell
County but left his first farm in 1879 and in 1881 became proprietor
of a hotel at Riceville on the stage line. His fellow townsmen,
recognizing his worth and ability, desired his service in public office
and in 1882 he was elected sheriff of Mitchell county, in which position
he was continued by reelection for five terms, making a most excellent
record in office through the prompt and fearless manner in which he ever
discharged his duties, his name become a synonym for safety among all
law-abiding citizens, while it created a feeling of terror among those
who do not hold themselves amenable to law.
In 1888 he was elected president of the Iowa Sheriffs' Association.
Industry has ever been numbered among his marked characteristics. This
was manifest where he was only sixteen years of age in his enlistment
for service in the Civil war and moral as well as physical courage is
one of his notable traits. He has never feared to stand loyally by
whatever he has believed to be right and his position upon any vital
question is never an equivocal one. He was elected to the twenty-fifth
and twenty-sixth general assemblies of Iowa and also served during the
special sessions of the legislature. He was appointed to various
important committees and was chairman of the committee on agriculture.
He was prominent in the work of recodifying the laws and served on the
committees on taxation and compensation of public officers and he was
reelected by acclamation, the public thus giving indication of its
endorsement of his service.
Mr. St. John has had much to do with public progress and improvement.
He was elected state superintendent of the Agricultural Association and
served for nine years, during which time he did most effective work in
raising the standards of farming, in disseminating knowledge concerning
scientific and improved methods and in otherwise aiding the labors of
the tiller of the soil. He has served during the past five years on the
state department of fish and game preserves and he was a member of the
staff of Governor Harding. He is still a very active factor in business
circles, being vice president and one of the directors of the First
National Bank of Riceville, a stockholder and a director of the Western
Life Insurance Company of Des Moines and a well known dealer in real
estate in Riceville, where he has owned and handled much property. He
has also dealt largely in Iowa City property and helped to rebuild
that district after the great fire.
On the 4th of November, 1866, Mr. St. John was united in marriage
to Miss Addie E. Sayles, of Libertyville, Lake county, Illinois, a daughter
of D. P. Sayles, one of the pioneer farmers of Mitchell county, who after
his retirement took up his abode in Riceville, where he filled the office
of mayor. Mr. and Mrs. St. John have become the parents of three children:
Earl R., who is cashier of the Riceville Bank; Harry D., who is secretary
of the Western Life Insurance Company of Des Moines; and May, who died
in infancy.
Mr. St. John is a Mason of high rank, has held the highest offices
in the local organization of Odd Fellows and is connected with the Knights
of Pythias. He is also a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic
and has held office in Frank Brush Post of Osage, of which he has been
commander. He has also served as department commander of Iowa. He proudly
wears the little bronze button that proclaims him one of the veterans of
the Civil war and there are now few men of his age who are entitled so to
do by reason of active service at the front. This was an initial
expression of the loyalty which Mr. St. John has ever displayed toward
city, commonwealth and country and there is today no more valued or
honored resident of Mitchell County than he.
From: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, Page 457
Transcribed by Gordon Felland, Oct. 2003