Stephen Hauser was born in White Oak, Hamilton County, Ohio. He came to Cincinnati when he was 14 years of age and secured a situation in the cooper-shop of a brewery. After four years of service, he learned his trade as a cooper. From the brewery cooper-shop, he went to work with Steppi, on Sycamore Street. At Steppi, he worked on large casks until 1860 (reference ""Cincinnati: The Queen City of the West"; 1895, Page 178, by George Mortimer Roe) (reference “A Little Bit of Paradise"; Chapter 28, Page 287, published in 1999 by the College Hill Historical Society).

In 1860, he became the foreman of the Debus Cooperage Company. After several years of experience with the company, Mr. Debus took Stephen Hauser into partnership, under the firm name of Debus & Hauser (reference ""Cincinnati: The Queen City of the West"; 1895, Page 178, by George Mortimer Roe). His occupation as a cooper (barrel maker) first appears in the Cincinnati City Directory in 1861.

In 1885, Mr. Debus had other interests and sold out his share of the business to Stephen Hauser. This same year, Stephen Hauser admitted his sons to the firm under the name of S. Hauser & Sons. About the same time he started a factory opposite his Central Avenue, near Mohawk Bridge, place of business for the purpose of manufacturing beer and wine casks and small cooperage. This new factory was run under the firm name of Hauser, Kraemer & Company (reference "Over the Barrel" pg. 100, by Timothy J. Holian) (reference ""Cincinnati: The Queen City of the West"; 1895, Page 178, by George Mortimer Roe).

The two firms continued apart until 1888, when they united with the National Cooperage Co., and formed the Hauser, Brenner & Fath Co. (reference "Cincinnati: The Queen City of the West"; 1895, Page 178, by George Mortimer Roe). The Hauser, Brenner & Fath (reference "Tanks Never Die", Cincinnati Enquirer, May 8, 1949) company manufactured Wooden Tanks, Casks and Silos (reference Cincinnati 1916 Directory). These wooden tanks could be seen on building tops, along railroad lines, factory yards and farms.

In 1914, the name was later changed to The Hauser-Stander Tank Company. Stephen Hauser was the founding President of the Hauser-Stander Tank Company (reference Cincinnati 1916 Directory). In December, 1974, a company in Carolina bought all the company assets which included stock holders shares.

Stephen Hauser lived on 22.8 acres of land at the southwest corner of Colerain Pike at Poole Road in Colerain Township, Cincinnati, Ohio. He sold this property and this land is now owned by the Hamilton County Park District and is known as the Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve. This property was originally a Revolutionary War Grant to Aaron Stout in 1816 during President's Madison's term in office. The barn on this land was built in 1815. The bloodhounds used in the Walnut Street Threatre play (Cincinnati, Ohio), Uncle Tom's Cabin, were raised on this property. Stephen Hauser saw the play and decided to buy the dogs after the final performance to live on his land.

Stephen Hauser lived in Cincinnati, Ohio all his life. He was an Odd Fellow, a member of the Elm Street Club and a Mason in Cincinnati, Ohio (reference "Cincinnati; The Queen City of the West, pg.178 by George Mortimer Roe, 1895).

Freemasons are men who value personal integrity and honor. They are men of character who believe in moral and ethical behavior and that a man's word is his bond. To a Freemason, a handshake is a binding contract. This would have been a way in which Stephan Hauser Sr. would have conducted business.

The Freemasonry movement meant different things in each country. In the American colonies, it was a gathering of Protestant (our Hauser family were of Protestant faith) laymen who believed in self advancement and promoting the moral uplift of the larger community (reference "Franklin" The Essential Founding Father, pg. 70, by James Srodes, 2002). Masons were very much of the rising classes, whereas the nobility and establishment church controlled the lodges in England (reference "Franklin" The Essential Founding Father, pg. 162, by James Srodes, 2002). To be a Mason was to have a public identity as a member of the establishment; it meant one had friends who would help in time of need (reference "Franklin" The Essential Founding Father, pg. 70, by James Srodes, 2002).