Biechele Soap
The Biechele Soap brand was a leading business in 19th century Canton, Ohio. It was created by Charles Biechele, and Joseph Biechele, who were part of the successful Biechele Brothers.
Charles, Joseph, Leopold, and Gustavus Biechele were born in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl, a small town in southwestern Germany. They immigrated to the United States of America in the mid-19th century, where Charles began to experiment with soap recipes. When the demand for his soap began in a small scale in 1858, he started a soap manufacturing plant. His brother Joseph soon joined the business, and their business soon took on new heights.
Charles Biechele left the business to his brother Joseph and started a separate business in wholesale groceries. The Biechele soap brand became nationally recognized; Joseph Biechele even became a friend of William McKinley, the governor of Ohio at that time, and eventually the twenty-fifth president of The United States. Joseph Biechele attended McKinley's wedding to Ida Saxton, and he was also a pallbearer at his funeral after he was assassinated.
The Biechele Soap company when at its height, was so successful, it became competition to other leading soap manufacturers in Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Cincinnati.
In 1913, Joseph Biechele sold his recipes to what is now known as Hygienic Products Co. He died in 1916, at the age of 80 years.
References
- Historical Collections of Ohio: An Encyclopedia of the State- by Henry Howe (1891)
