About Us

Following King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, Highlight Abbe--a Knights Hospitaller Abbey of the Order of St. John of Jerusale--was shut down, and the village gradually depopulated. Surviving records document this decline, prompting the St. John family and their closest kin to relocate to London, where they engaged in Parliamentary affairs.

After the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) and the subsequent 1605 peace treaty, financial gains from the conflict helped fund colonial ventures, including the Virginia Company of London (Jamestown) and the Virginia Company of Plymouth (Popham) colonies. The St. Johns, descendants of Knights Templar and Hospitaller lineages, played key roles in these early American settlements.

The St. John Brothers: Explorers & Colonizers

The sons of Christopher St. John, Esquire of Highlight (1547-1616) provide crucial insights into the family's transition to Colonial America:

• Thomas St. John, Master of the Richard, the Popham Colony's ship, which was captured by the Spanish off the coast of present day Florida. After bribing a guard for his freedom, he returned to London a year later.
• Sir William St. John, Knight - A founder of Jamestown, 1st English Governor of the African Colony, and Vice Admiral (and Pirate) in the English Royal Navy.
• Captain Nicholas St. John & Lt. Alexander St. John - Killed at St. Lucia Island during an attempted English colonization effort while en route to the African colony.

Legacy of Land & Lineage

As members of the aristocratic and gentry class, the St. Johns held hereditary land rights in Normandy, England, Wales, and Ireland. Their American acreage was passed down under these customs, and in the Connecticut Colony, they were classified as freemen--granting them full citizenship and landownership rights based on birthright.

An Unbroken Male Lineage

These brothers were direct male descendants of Sir John III St. John, Knight of Instow, whose lineage traces back to Ralph of St. Jean-le-Thomas--the family's surname progenitor. The Y-DNA has been confirmed back to Christopher St. John (1547-1616), of Highlight, Glamogan, Wales.