born in 1842 in the village of haina, near the town of römhild, duchy of saxe-meiningen (in the region of thuringia), christian was the third of four children born to casper and marguerite (née fuchs) heurich. christian's father was the local innkeeper which included being a butcher and brewer. christian learned the trade from his father, in addition to several apprenticeships in his youth. by the time christian was fourteen years old, both of his parents had died, leaving him orphaned. he traveled throughout europe until his older sister, elizabeth jacobsen, who was living in baltimore, maryland, convinced him to emigrate to the united states, where he would have a better chance of fulfilling his dream of starting his own brewery; he arrived in june 1866, initially joining his sister in baltimore.