Background
John F. Mitchell was born in 1816 in Ripley, Ohio, United States.
John F. Mitchell was born in 1816 in Ripley, Ohio, United States.
He was trained in architecture in the office of an uncle, Stuart Matthews of St. Louis, a specialist in Roman Catholic church work.
Mr. Mitchell made a name for himself as a church architect. Three of the early Catholic churches in St. Louis were designed by him, namely St. Bridget’s at Jefferson and Carr Streets, built in 1860 and extant in 1934; Immaculate Conception, Seventh and Chestnut, 1853, razed in 1874, and St. Joseph's, second building on the site at Biddle and Eleventh Street, erected in 1869.