The Biechele Soap Company was a leading business in 19th-century Canton, Ohio.
Charles, Joseph, Leopold, and Gustavus Biechele were born in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl, a small town in southwestern Germany.
They immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century, where Charles began to experiment with soap recipes.
When the demand for his soap began on a small scale in 1858, he started a manufacturing plant.
Joseph became a friend of Ohio governor and eventual twenty-fifth president of The United States, William McKinley.