Joseph Christian Leyendecker ('J.C.' or 'Joe') was born on March 23, 1874, at Montabaur in Southwest Germany, a tiny village near the Rhine, to Peter Leyendecker (1838-1916) and Elizabeth Oreseifen Leyendecker (1845-1905).
In 1882, the Leyendecker family immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, where Elizabeth's uncle had founded the successful McAvoy Brewing Company.