Peter Ballantine, future brewery magnate of Newark, was born in in Mauchline, Scotland. He emigrated to America in 1820. His reasons for leaving Scotland were due to the "pressure of poverty and the call to great achievement". He took a job in an Ale Brewery in Albany New York, and by 1830 he had established his own brewery in that town.

In 1840 he removed himself and his family to Essex County, New Jersey where he partnered with Erastus Patterson to purchase the Thain & Collins brewery in Newark. In 1847 Ballantine sold his partnership and built an ale brewery of his own at 137 River Street. That brewery and its brand new, state of the art equipment served him well. By the beginning of the Civil War he had become the wealthiest man in Newark. Soon his sons took over the business and Ballantine retired. He died on January 23rd, 1883 at age 91 years.

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