Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker stu d be k r , STOO-d -bay-k r , was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 1 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners and the military.

Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles and in 1904 with gasoline vehicles, all sold under the name "Studebaker Automobile Company". Until 1911, its automotive division operated in partnership with the E-M-F Company and the Garford Company of Elyria, Ohio.

The first gasoline cars to be fully manufactured by Studebaker were marketed in August 1912. 2 p231 Over the next 50 years, the company established an enviable reputation for quality and reliability. The South Bend plant ceased production on December 20, 1963, and the last Studebaker car rolled off the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, plant on March 16, 1966.

According to the official Studebaker history published in 1918, three German men named Studebecker 3 Peter aged 38 , Clement 36 and Henry 28 sailed on the ship Harle from Rotterdam, Holland, and disembarked at Philadelphia on September 1, 1736. 4 p.11 They had bought their tickets in Krefeld, Germany. Two were accompanied by wives. They moved on from Philadelphia to Germantown and, sixty-two years later, persons named Studebaker were recorded as paying taxes in York County, and were described as "blacksmiths and woodworkers". 5 p.3 These were Peter Studebaker 1747 1812 probably a son of the immigrant Clement Studebecker 1700 1762 and his wife Anna Catherine 6 and his son Peter Studebaker Jr. 4 p.

In Albert Russel Erskine's official history, Peter Studebaker is reported to be the father of John Clement Studebaker and thus grandfather of the five Studebaker brothers of South Bend, Indiana. 4 p.13 However, this conflicts with a genealogy produced later, in which John's father is identified as Clement Studebaker 1758 1840 . 7 In any event, John Studebaker 1799 1877 moved to Ohio in 1835 2 p228 with his wife Rebecca n e Mohler 1802 1887 and taught his five sons to make wagons. They all went into that business as it grew to gigantic proportions with the country.

The five sons were, in order of birth Henry 1826 1895 , Clement 1831 1901 , John Mohler 1833 1917 , Peter Everst 1836 1897 and Jacob Franklin 1844 1887 . The boys had five sisters. 8 Photographs of the brothers and their parents are reproduced in the 1918 company history, which was written by Erskine after he became president, in memory of John M. 4 p.5 whose portrait appears on the front cover. Directors Frederick Samuel Fish and Henry Goldman son of Marcus Goldman are also pictured in the book.