John Studebaker
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John Mohler Studebaker (10 October 1833 – 16 March 1917) was the
Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
co-founder and later executive of what would become 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 ...
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
company. He was the third son of the founding Studebaker family, and played a key role in the growth of the company during his years as
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, from 1868 until his death in 1917.


Career

John Mohler Studebaker was born in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...
to John S. and Rebecca Mohler Studebaker, and moved to
Ashland County, Ohio Ashland County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,447. Its county seat is Ashland. The county is named for " Ashland", the home of Senator Henry Clay near ...
with his family in 1836. While his two elder brothers Henry and
Clem Clem may refer to: Places *Clem, Oregon, United States, an unincorporated community *Clem, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Clem Nunatak, a nunatak in the Ross Dependency, Antarctica Other uses *Clem (hill), a categoris ...
became
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
s, John went to
Placerville, California Placerville (, ; formerly Old Dry Diggings, Dry Diggings, and Hangtown) is a city in and the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,747 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,389 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Sa ...
, lured by stories of the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
.Studebaker Family History fro
this site
retrieved March 11, 2007
After arriving, he realized that much mining employment in California had been taken, and he accepted an opportunity to manufacture wheelbarrows for miners, earning himself the nickname of "Wheelbarrow Johnny".Automotive Hall of Fame, retrieve
from here
on March 11, 2007
The site of John's business is now number 142 of California's Historic Landmarks. John went to
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
in 1852 and contributed $8,000 he had made in California to his brothers' funds to expand the Studebaker Wagon Corporation. They began to supply wagons for the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, becoming the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company in 1868, with John as its
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. In December 1901, at the age of 68, John was the last survivor of the founding family and, after a visit to a motor show in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, he began to accept the urging of his son-in-law
Fred Fish Fred Fish (November 4, 1952 – April 20, 2007) was a computer programmer notable for work on the GNU Debugger and his series of freeware Fish disks for the Amiga. The Fish Disks (term coined by Perry Kivolowitz at a Jersey Amiga User Gr ...
that electric cars, initially, would be the future of the Studebaker company. In 1902, five battery-powered-models were made, and 20 were sold,Longstreet, Stephen ''A Century on Wheels: The Story of Studebaker'' Henry Holt, New York 1952 including one which John owned personally. Fish, who married John Studebaker's daughter Grace in 1891, joined the company and provided the impetus for the production of "horseless carriages". In 1904 he and John negotiated a deal with
Garford Garford is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded by the River Ock to the north, by two tributaries of the Ock to the ...
of
Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 cen ...
to put Studebaker bodies on gasoline-powered chassis, creating the
Studebaker-Garford Studebaker-Garford was an automobile produced and distributed jointly by the Garford Company of Elyria, Ohio, and the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, from 1904 through 1911. During its production, the car was sold as a Studebak ...
brand name. By 1907 market gains by cars had begun to overtake those of wagons. The following year, Studebaker purchased a third of the Everitt Metzger Flanders Company and entered into a distribution agreement with EMF which was organized on 2 June 1908 following the acquisition of the automobiles companies known as Northern and Wayne. By 1909, Studebaker had made $9.5 million by distributing horseless vehicles manufactured in co-operation with other companies, and acquired the remainder of E.M.F from J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1910, thus taking over the company. In 1911 the company refinanced and reincorporated as the Studebaker Corporation, producing gasoline-driven
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
s, discontinuing electric vehicles but retaining production of wagons and carriages. John stated: On the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, John
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med
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
to offer the Studebaker facilities as a site for war material production, and the company went on to manufacture military vehicles throughout the war. John was still serving as honorary president when he died. Studebaker died on March 16, 1917. He was buried at the Studebaker family mausoleum at
South Bend City Cemetery The South Bend City Cemetery is a historic cemetery in South Bend, Indiana. History The South Bend City Cemetery was established in 1831, when Lathrop Taylor and Alexis Coquillard donated the land upon which it was built. Jacob Roof was the firs ...
. His name was added to the Automotive Hall of Fame.


Success in Ashland Carriage Company

John Studebaker, one of the founders of the Studebaker Corporation, resided in Ashland, Ohio from 1835 to 1850. He and his family moved from Pennsylvania to Ashland, Ohio in 1835. Upon arrival, they named their new homestead on U.S. Route 250, "Pleasant Ridge," which was his mother's maiden name. John and his two older brothers Henry and Clem helped their father with their family blacksmith and carriage shop at their home. Economic times were tough for 19-year-old John. His dream was to mine for gold and became aware of the gold rush taking place out west. John built a custom carriage and traveled to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, which took five months. Upon arriving in California, he was offered a job as a wagon maker, but turned down the offer to mine for gold. He decided to build wheelbarrows for miners, and sold wheelbarrows for ten dollars each. He saved and invested $8,000 in his first company which built carriages. Studebaker's company was the largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles. It was so successful that President Lincoln and General Grant both owned Studebaker carriages. In the late 1890s the Studebaker Company converted from horse-drawn vehicles to gasoline-propelled automobiles. In the next seven years, the company sold more than 2,481 passenger cars and trucks. The Studebaker Company operated seven plants in South Bend, Detroit, Chicago, and Walkerville, Ontario, with a net profit of $30,126,600. The Studebaker Company merged with Packard in 1954. In Ashland, Ohio, a bronze plaque honoring Studebaker is on US Route 250 at the site of the family homestead, "Pleasant Ridge". In 1959 actor Gil Lasky played Studebaker in the episode "Wheelbarrow Johnny" of the
syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, ''
Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'', hosted by
Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...
. In the story line, Studebaker fails at gold mining because con men take advantage of him. His talent for making wheelbarrows paves the way for a bright future in the transportation industry.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Studebaker, John Mohler 1833 births 1917 deaths Pennsylvania Dutch people American founders of automobile manufacturers People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Studebaker people American automotive pioneers People from Placerville, California Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from California 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople