John Steiner was born August 6, 1886, in Saturn, Gonzales County, Texas. He was the sixth of eight children born to Henry and Magdalena Meyer Steiner of Germany.
Henry arrived in the United States, through New York, on May 21, 1867. He settled in Detroit, Michigan, where he learned to build carriages. Magdalena also immigrated in 1867 and worked in her aunt’s boarding house, probably in Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry later moved to Cincinnati and they married there. In 1870 the young couple was convinced, by a German friend, to move to Hopkinsville,Texas, where Henry worked for the railroad as a blacksmith. In 1874 Henry and Magdalena purchased land in Saturn, Texas, and Henry began farming and raising cattle as well as continuing his blacksmith business.
On May 24, 1911, John married Linnie Pate, born February 13, 1893, the daughter of Andrew Jackson and Sarah Suzanna Sherry Pate of Saturn. The following year, John purchased this house and lived there until 1920. Although the house was built by H.W. Matthews, he did not live in it. Matthews purchased the lot in June, 1911, from T.M. Lamkin and built the house that same year. However, he was already living in his house at 620 St. Michael. Therefore, he either rented it or it stood vacant until he sold it to Sanuel P. Jones in April, 1912. Within a week, Jones sold the house to John Steiner. The house is constructed of cypress with longleaf pine woodwork as was typical of the era. After John sold the house, he moved to San Antonio where he had a successful career as an executive with the Texas Oil Company (TEXACO). John died July 7, 1969, and Linnie died April 3, 1977. They are buried in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.
