Clement Studebaker (March 12, 1831 – November 27, 1901) was an American wagon and carriage manufacturer. With his brother Henry, he co-founded the H & C Studebaker Company, precursor of the

Studebaker Corporation Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...

, which built Pennsylvania-German Conestoga wagons and carriages during his lifetime, and automobiles after his death, in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Early life

Clement Studebaker was born on March 12, 1831, in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the sec ...

, to Rebecca (née Mohler) and John Studebaker. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. At a young age, he had learned to work as a blacksmith in his father's shop in

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Ashland County, Ohio, United States, 66 miles southwest of Cleveland and 82 miles northeast of Columbus. The population was 20,362 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan S ...

. At the age of twenty, Studebaker moved to Indiana and taught school in St. Joseph County, Indiana.North American Light and Power Company 1916 - signed by Clement Studebaker
Scripophily.com

Career

In 1851, Studebaker worked at a threshing machine factory. In February 1852, Studebaker and his elder brother Henry Studebaker opened the H. & C. Studebaker blacksmith shop at the corner of Michigan and Jefferson Streets in what is now the heart of downtown

. In 1858, Henry's interest in the business was bought out by a younger brother John Mohler Studebaker. At that time, the brothers were filling wagon orders for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

, which they continued throughout the Civil War. As a Dunkard, Henry was a committed pacifist and may have objected to having a part in making war materials. An official Studebaker company history simply says "Henry was tired of the business. He wanted to farm. The risks of expanding were not for him". Studebaker and three other brothers formed Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company. The company was incorporated in 1868 and Studebaker served as president. It would become the largest wagon manufacturer in the world and the only manufacturer of

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

s to successfully switch to automobiles. Studebaker was a commissioner from Indiana to the Paris Exposition in 1878 and the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United Sta ...

in New Orleans. He served as president of the board of world fair's managers at Chicago in 1893. Studebaker was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He was a delegate from the South Bend district to the

1880 Republican National Convention The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York (state), N ...

and an at-large state delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention. President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

appointed Studebaker to the

Pan-American Conference The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for cooperation on trade. James G. Blaine, a United States politician, Secretary ...

in 1889–1890. He served as a member of the South Bend City Council from 1870 to 1872. Studebaker was a member and served as president of the Carriage Builders' National Association. He was a member of the board of trustees of

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

. He served as a member and president of the Chautauqua Assembly.

Personal life

Studebaker married Charity Bratt on October 12, 1852, in St. Joseph County, Indiana. The couple had two children, Clems and Eddie, who both died in infancy. His wife died on March 17, 1863 in South Bend. Studebaker married Anna Harper Milburn in September 1864, in South Bend. His wife's father was George Milburn, president of the Milburn Wagon Company. This marriage produced three children: George Milburn Studebaker (1865-1939), Anne Studebaker Carlisle (1868-1931) and Clement Studebaker Jr. (1871-1932). George and Clement Jr. founded the South Bend Watch Company.Studebaker, Clement
at Pennsylvania Center for the Book (

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

) Studebaker was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

and was twice a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist church. He also went by the name "Clem". In spring of 1900, Studebaker traveled Europe and traveled to

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

in southern France under the advice of

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

and

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

. Studebaker died at his home in South Bend on November 27, 1901. Studebaker was buried at the Studebaker-Milburn Mausoleum at the South Bend City Cemetery. Some of the Studebakers were moved from the City Cemetery and Studebaker was buried at Riverview Cemetery in South Bend.

Legacy

Several months after Studebaker's death in 1901, St. Paul's Memorial United Methodist Church was completed in South Bend. Studebaker had contributed the funds to build the church in memory of his father-in-law, George Milburn. The completed church was dedicated in 1903. In 1911, Studebaker acquired the Everitt-Metzker-Flanders Company of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, later forming the

. The late Clement's son, Clement Studebaker Jr., had served on the E-M-F Company's board and at some time had a position on Studebaker's board. in A R Erskine's official history of Studebaker"> in A R Erskine's official history of Studebaker
/ref> By 1916 Clement Studebaker Jr. had also become president and chairman of the utility, North American Light and Power Company. He served in other executive positions as well, including as the president and chairman of the Illinois Power and Light Company (and of its subsidiary, the Illinois Traction Company), as well as treasurer of the Chicago and South Bend Railroad. In 1889, Clement Studebaker completed construction of a mansion on West Washington Street in South Bend and named it Tippecanoe Place (probably in honor of the Family settlement near Tipp City, Ohio). The mansion has been carefully restored and converted to a restaurant.

References

External links

*
StudebakerHistory.comTippecanoe PlaceSt. Paul's Memorial United Methodist Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Studebaker, Clement 1831 births 1901 deaths People from South Bend, Indiana People from Adams County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Dutch people American founders of automobile manufacturers Foundrymen Studebaker people 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople Methodists from Indiana Indiana Republicans