Businessman. Born in Prussia, he immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, in the 1850s and started working in the brewing trade. In 1861, he formed a partnership with Matheus Gottfried, opened a brewery and together they made about 600 barrels of lager beer a year. Schoenhofen bought out his partner in 1867, the company became the Peter Schoenhofen Brewing Company and the annual output had increased to about 10,000 barrels. At the time of his death, the business was owned by the City Contract Company  London, England, with an annual output of 180,000 barrels. In 1900, the Schoenhofen family regained control of the company, which employed about 500 people at its brewery. By the beginning of the 1970s, the Chicago operations were shut down and now the Schoenhofen Brewing Company is a Historic Chicago District landmark. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)  Family links:  Spouse:  Elise Knepper Schoenhofen (1837 – 1907)*  Children:  Emma Schoenhofen Theurer (1869 – 1927)* *Calculated relationship