Today is the birthday of Kasper George Schmidt (February 20, 1833-December 10, 1898). He opened the William Siebert & Kaspar Schmidt Brewery in Chicago in 1860, but by 1866 it was known as the K.G. Schmidt Brewery.
Here’s a biography from the Encyclopaedia of Biography of Illinois.
And this is another one from A History of the City of Chicago.
Although it’s unclear, it appears that the Chicago brewery bought the Columbia Brewery in Logansport, Indiana in 1893, renaming it K.G. Schmidt. Though by that time, Kaspar may have already been retired, and his son George K. Schmidt was running the company.
I wonder if Schmidt’s of Philadelphia had any connection to him.
My great grandfather George w kellner married Schmidt s daughter Barbara and managed the brewery until the sale. I still have the German beer steins that KG gave them as a wedding present.