He was born to Leonard and Catharine Eichholtz, who owned and run the Bull's Head Tavern on East King Street in Lancaster; his father took part in the American Revolutionary War.
Eichholtz married Catharine Hatz Michael (1770-1817), a young widow with two children; they had four children of their own, Caroline, Catharine Maria, Rubens Mayer, and Margaret Amelia.