Joseph Skeels Saberton was born in Cambridgeshire, England. He and his brother John pursued the business of farming in Cambridge but in 1843 they formally dissolved their partnership with a notice in the Edinburgh Gazette. When their father died in 1847 Joseph boarded a steamer and moved to America. He settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he gained employment at one of the breweries there. In 1849 he married Elizabeth Hudson in Janesville, then they moved to Chicago in 1851. Chicago was experiencing explosive growth in the 1850s. Its population had increased nearly sixfold in the previous decade. Here in this boomtown he opened a brewery of his own on Wolcott and Church Streets, right next to the lake. It is considered one of the first breweries in Chicago. He apparently leased the facility out to various tennant brewers over the years. He owned the building until 1864 when he sold it and it was closed. Sadly Saberton's family life was also coming undone at this time. His wife had petitioned for divorce and his children had become estranged. Saberton retired to his farm alone in Yellow Springs, Ohio and died on April 21st, 1877. He was 61 years of age.

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