Jacob F. Schoellkopf was born on November 15, 1819 in Kirchheim Unter Teck,[1] a small town in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was the son of Gottlieb Schoellkopf and Christina Maier. He was educated in the town schools and at the age of 14 began learning about tanneries with his father, a large leather manufacturer, who had learned the trade from his father.[2]