Friederich Ernest Ziegler was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.  He emigrated to America in 1837 and worked with engineer John A. Roebling in bridge production.   In 1850 he moved to Wheeling, Virginia.  There he met and married fellow German emigre Hannah Schwertfeger on the 3rd of November, 1851.  Together they had six children, all but one were girls.

He founded a flour mill opposite Short Creek and ran it for several years, after which he went into the Hotel business.  In around 1864 he built a brewery on Eoff and Thirty-Third Streets.  Eventually that building was torn down and he erected the large factory that would become the Schmulbach Brewery.

Ziegler retired in about 1878 and died on April 11th, 1886 at the age of 65.  The brewery he built would continue on for nearly 30 more years, finally closing down due to West Virginia Prohibition laws in 1914.

The Wheeling (West Virginia) Daily Register publishes a notice announcing a rise in the price of beer.