Photo taken of the Schuchter family brewery workers at the Jackson Brewery during the late 1870s:
Franz Shuchter (1830-1914) is pictured on the first row, 4th from the right at the kegs. Joe F. Schuchter (1872-1941) is the little boy standing 2nd from the right on the first row. The other little boy to the right of Franz is Louis Schuchter (1866-?) and the man behind him is Joe Schuchter (1827-1915). Most of the other people in the picture are Schuchter relatives by marriage -- in particular the Nelters, Steffens, and Lutzs.
More than half a million German immigrants settled in Cincinnati between 1852 and 1854 and millions more would follow in the decades ahead. These settlers brought with them not only their cultural values and traditions but also a strong brewing tradition and malt drinking culture. It was during this period that Franz Schuchter, a German immigrant and the 3x Great Grandfather to the current of owner of Valley Vineyards, took up residence on Hamilton Road (known today as West McMicken Street) in the heart of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine district.
Employed at Jackson Brewery as a brewer, according to the 1865 edition of the William’s Cincinnati Directory, Franz would be the first of many Schuchter descendants to work in the brewing industry. Franz’s son, Joe F. Schuchter, during prohibition would eventually leave the area and become a farmer near Morrow, the current location of Valley Vineyards.
Image courtesy of Valley Vineyards.