Today is the birthday of Mathias Meller (April 9, 1827-April 1, 1900). He was born in Neuss, Germany, which is in the North Rhine-Westphalia area, and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 22, in 1849. He eventually settled in Galena, Illinois. In 1860 (or 1874, sources differ), he founded the Math. Meller Brewery (also called the Fulton Brewery), which would become the Casper Eulberg & Sons Brewery, and later, briefly, the Galena Brewing Co. after prohibition, before closing for good in 1936.
Here’s a short biography of Meller:
And this biography appears to be from a book on people from Jo Davis County
Curiously, their most popular beer was called Red Stripe, and had been made since the late 19th century. Apparently, when prohibition closed the brewery, they sold their recipe to British brewers who began production of the now-famous label in Jamaica.
