William S. Sturgess of Pawtucket, RI began manufacturing beer and similar spirits at 95 North Main Street, Pawtucket, in 1884.

By 1887 he had also begun putting out his own brand of medicines which included a Sturgess' Liver Regulator, Sturgess' Alternative & Tonic Bitters, and a Sturgess' Accacian Cough Balsam. He also entered the cure market with his own Anti-Cholera Drops or Tincture which he claimed would cure everything from dysentery to earaches.

A few years later, Sturgess moved the operation to a Central Falls address which bordered on Pawtucket.

Sturgess passed away in 1890 and a year later his wife moved to England.