John Wilhelm William Seeger was born in  Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  At age 21 he was living in England and baptized into the Anglican Church.  Nine years later, in 1840, he and his wife Johanna Christiana (née Wolf) were living in Moscow, Russia.  In 1852 the family decided to emigrate once again and set sail for America.

Johanna, John and their ten children arrived in New York on September 23rd, 1852.  They had an eleventh child in Covington, Kentucky on their way to their final destination of St. Peter, in the Territory of Minnesota.  St. Peter was growing town in strong running to be the Capital when Minnesota gained statehood and Seeger had a mind for politics.  Perhaps this is what drew him there.

It was In St. Peter thatSeeger met fellow German emigre Mattis Engesser.  In 1856 the two decided to form a brewery on the banks of the Minnesota River.  They ran the St. Peter Brewery for eight years, Seeger taking the senior partnership. 

When the War Between the States broke out Seeger felt the call of his adopted country, and despite being 52 years old he enlisted in September of 1862.  He served his tour and reenlisted in 1864.

Aft the end of the war Seeger returned to St. Peter, but he didn't reunite with Engesser in the brewery by the river.  He set his sights on politics and land speculation.  In 1871 he was elected State Treasurer. Then in 1873, at age 63 years, he was impeached for embezzling and was forced to resign.

Seeger lived out the rest of his life in the Minnesota's Capital, St. Paul.  When his wife died in 1886 Seeger fell ill with grief and never recovered.  John Wilhelm Seeger died on the 22nd of May, 1888.  He was 78 years old.

Learn more at the links below

Associated Breweries