Tafel was born in Munich, Germany (München). He was one of the Forty-Eighters, meaning he fled Germany after the Revolution of 1848. He started in Cincinnati as a printer, and later became a newspaper editor. He resided in a house at the northeastern corner of 14th and Walnut streets from 1848-1870. At the time, Cincinnati had a large German population and a number of German language newspapers, and Tafel quickly became a leader in that community.