He decided to leave Scotland due to the "pressure of poverty and the call to great achievement.

In 1840, he moved to Newark, New Jersey, and partnered with Erastus Patterson to form P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company, and leased the old High Street Brewery that had been built in 1805 by John R.

Together, Peter and Julia were the parents of the following children, all of whom were born in Albany:[1] His wife died in Newark on June 7, 1868 of "remittent fever".

[1] Peter Ballantine died at his home in Newark, New Jersey, aged 91 after three weeks of bronchitis, on January 23, 1883.

[6] He was a great-grandfather to Peter Hood Ballantine Cumming (1910–1988), who held political office (Mayor of Rumson, New Jersey, 1950–51) and was a noted business executive (Textile Banking Company, Iselin-Jefferson Financial Company, H.A.