Engraver Stephen Alonzo Schoff was born in Danville, Vermont and grew up in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He took up engraving at age 16 as an apprentice and then studied under Joseph Andrews, an established master. He spent about two years in Paris, studying drawing at the school of Hippolyte Delaroche, and perfecting his skills.
After his return to the United States he was soon employed upon his first important work, "Caius Marius on the Ruins of Carthage," after John Vanderlyn, ca. 1843. In 1844 he was accepted as an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design. Private banknote companies and the U. S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing provided a steady income stream throughout his long career.
Schoff engraved or etched a number of plates after works by William Morris Hunt. He was best known for engraved portraits of leading figures of the day based on works by other artists. He died at Norfolk, Connecticut.