John Walker Tweddle was born in Temple Sowerby, County of Westmoreland, England. His childhood is a story that may sound familiar to fans of Disney films from the 1950s and 60s. At age 9 Tweddle was orphaned and his mother soon after remarried, and abandoned him to whichever member of his paternal family would have him. He apprenticed as a wheelwright in Carlisle, which over the course of a decade earned him just enough to buy cheap passage to America in 1819.

After a seven week's voyage he landed in Philadelphia and soon after moved to West Chester where he established a wheelwright shop. A few years later he was presented with the opportunity of purchasing a brewery in town and he took it. He was not a trained brewer but he learned the trade from his employees. He was a quick study, and he learned the art thoroughly.

In the 1830s Tweddle brought his son Thomas B. Tweddle, into the business. In 1847 the elder Tweddle left the West Chester brewery to his son and moved 250 miles north to Albany, New York, where he opened a malt house to serve the famed brewers of that city. Eventually his business added two more malt houses in the city of New York.

Aside from brewing and malting, Tweddle helped organize Albany's Merchant's Bank in 1853. Over the years he held prominent positions in many community organizations in that town. He supported the Union cause in the Civil War. He donated to local institutions. He built buildings that bore his name. He was an Albany man. John Walker Tweddle died on March 9, 1875. He was 77 years of age.