John Steiner House

John Steiner was born on August 6, 1886, in Saturn, which is north of town near present day Harwood. He was the sixth of eight children born to Henry and Magdalena Meyer Steiner, who were originally from Germany.

Henry Steiner immigrated to the United States through New York on May 21, 1867. He initially settled in Detroit, Michigan, where he learned the craft of building carriages. Magdalena also immigrated in 1867, working in her aunt’s boarding house, likely in Cincinnati, Ohio. Afterward, Henry moved to Cincinnati, where he and Magdalena married. In 1870, the young couple relocated to Hopkinsville, Texas, urged by a German friend to settle there. Henry worked for the railroad as a blacksmith. In 1874, Henry and Magdalena purchased land in Saturn, where Henry began farming, raising cattle, and continuing his blacksmithing business.

John Steiner married Linnie Pate on May 24, 1911. Linnie, born February 13, 1893, was the daughter of Andrew Jackson and Sarah Suzanna Sherry Pate, also of Saturn. The following year, John purchased this house and lived in it until 1920. The home was built by H W Matthews in 1911.

The house is constructed of cypress with longleaf pine woodwork, typical of the era. After selling the house in 1920, John and Linnie moved to San Antonio, where John had a successful career as an executive with the Texas Oil Company, later known as TEXACO.

John died on July 7, 1969, and Linnie passed away on April 3, 1977. They are both buried in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.