[1] In her day, she owned the largest and most valuable Wordsworth library in the U.S.[2][3] she was engaged in collecting books for 40 years.

From early girlhood, St. John showed a passionate love of nature and a devotion for the poetry of Wordsworth.

In that way, she formed friendships with prominent Wordsworthians, among whom was Prof. William Angus Knight, of University of St Andrews , secretary and founder of the Wordsworth Society.

In 1883, St John, with her husband, visited the England's Lake District and saw every place associated with Wordsworth from his birth to his death, and alluded to in his poems.

One result of that visit was a "Wordsworth Floral Album", the flowers, ferns and grasses in which were gathered by her own hand.

The chief publication of her lifelong study of the poet was her Wordsworth for the Young (1891), with an introduction for parents and teachers.