The Thomas B. Jeffery Company was an American

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 ...

manufacturer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1902 until 1916. The company manufactured the

Rambler Rambler or Ramble may refer to: Places * Rambler, Wyoming * Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong * The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centra ...

and Jeffery brand motorcars. It was preceded by the

Gormully & Jeffery Gormully & Jeffery (G&J) was an American bicycle company, founded in Chicago in 1879 by Thomas B. Jeffery and R. Phillip Gormully. History Gormully & Jefferey started with the production of children's bicycles in 1879. They were the second bi ...

Manufacturing Company, a bicycle manufacturer. It was the predecessor company to

Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...

, and thus one of the predecessor companies of

American Motors Corporation American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...

(AMC) and later

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Thomas B. Jeffery

Thomas B. Jeffery Thomas Buckland Jeffery (5 February 1845 – 2 April 1910) was a British emigrant to the United states who co-founded the Gormully & Jeffery company which made the Rambler bicycle. He invented the "clincher" rim which was widely used to fit tires ...

was an inventor and an industrialist. He was one of America's first entrepreneurs interested in automobiles in the late 19th century. In 1897, he built his first prototype motorcar. Thomas B. Jeffery was serious enough about automobiles to sell his stake in Gormully & Jeffery to the

American Bicycle Company American Bicycle Company (1899-1903) was an American bicycle company (Trust) led by Albert Augustus Pope. The company was formed to consolidate the manufacturers of bicycles and bicycle parts. In the 1890s the advancements in bicycle design led ...

to finance his new car company.

Business

Charles T. Jeffery Charles Thomas Jeffery (13 May 1876 – 10 November 1935) was an American businessman. Early life He was the son of Thomas B. Jeffery, founder of Thomas B. Jeffery Company, an automobile manufacturer. Career When his father died in 1910, Cha ...

's (Thomas' son) experimental prototypes of 1901 (Models A and B) used at least two radical innovations – ''steering wheels'' and ''front-mounted engines''. By the time Charles was ready for production in 1902, his father had talked him out of these wild dreams and convinced him to stick with

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

s and engines under the seat. From 1902 until 1908, Jeffery moved steadily to bigger, more reliable models starting with the 1902 Model C. Jeffery cars were built on assembly lines (the second manufacturer to adopt them,

Olds Motor Works Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

was first), and in 1903 Jeffery sold 1,350 Ramblers. By 1905, Jeffery more than doubled this number. One reason may have been because Charles went back to the steering wheel before 1904. In 1907, Jeffery was building a large variety of different body styles and sizes. Among them was a five-passenger,

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2,500 Rambler weighing and powered by a engine. In April 1910, Thomas B. Jeffery died in

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and in June of that year, the business was incorporated under the name of the Thomas B. Jeffery Company, with Charles T. Jeffery as the president and general manager and H. W. Jeffery as the vice president and treasurer. In 1915, Charles T. Jeffery changed the automotive branding from ''Rambler'' to ''Jeffery'' to honor the company's founder, his father Thomas B. Jeffery. As of 1916, G. H. Eddy replaced H. W. Jeffery as the treasurer so H. W. Jeffery could focus on the position of vice president. G. W. Greiner was the secretary, L. H. Bill the general manager, J. W. DeCou the factory manager, and Al Recke was the sales manager. Charles T. Jeffery survived the sinking of the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlanti ...

(a British luxury liner torpedoed by the Germans in

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 ...

) in 1915 and decided to spend the rest of his life in a more enjoyable manner.

Charles W. Nash Charles Williams Nash (January 28, 1864 – June 6, 1948) was an American automobile entrepreneur who served as an executive in the automotive industry. He played a major role in building up General Motors as its 5th President. In 1916, he bou ...

was caught in a power struggle for leadership at

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

(GM) after successfully refocusing the automaker's management and production as well as increasing its sales and profits. Although

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

offered Nash an annual salary of $1 million to continue working for GM, Nash saw an opportunity to exercise complete control over a company and purchased the Thomas B. Jeffery Company in August 1916. In 1917, Nash renamed the company

The Factory

Thomas B. Jeffery, with the money from his sale of

, bought the old Sterling Bicycle Company's factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The original factory building was only in size. By 1916, the company's buildings expanded to cover over under roof and all of its facilities had grown to over that included a test track. Automotive production would continue on the original sites under a number of succeeding companies. The last facility in Kenosha, known as

Kenosha Engine Kenosha Engine was an automobile and engine factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. First opened for automobile production in 1902 by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company and later operated by American Motors, the Kenosha Engine Plant saw all operations halted by ...

, was finally closed by

in 2010.

Jeffery Quad

The Jeffery Quad, also known as the Nash Quad or Quad is a four-wheel drive truck that was developed and built in Kenosha from 1913, and after 1916, by Nash Motors, as well as under license by other truck makers. The Quad introduced numerous engineering innovations. Its design and durability proved effective in traversing the muddy, rough, and unpaved roads of the times. The Quad also became one of the most effective work vehicles in

. The Quad was also one of the first successful four-wheel drive vehicles ever to be made, and its production continued unchanged through 1928, or 15 years, with a total of 41,674 units made.

Timeline

1897 – Thomas B. Jeffery builds a rear-engine prototype motorcar using the Rambler name previously used on a highly successful line of bicycles made by Gormully & Jeffery. 1899 – Positive reviews at the 1899 Chicago International Exhibition & Tournament and the first National Automobile Show in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

prompt the Jefferys to enter the automobile business. 1900 (Dec 6) – Thomas B. Jeffery finalizes a US$65,000 deal to buy the Kenosha, Wisconsin, factory of the defunct Sterling Bicycle with money from the sale of his interest in Gormully & Jeffery. 1901 – Two more prototypes, Models A and B, are made. 1902 – First production Ramblers – the US$750 Model C open runabout and the $850 Model D (the same car with a folding top). Both are powered by an , one-cylinder engine mounted beneath the seat, and are steered by a right-side tiller. First-year production totals 1,500 units making Jeffery the second-largest car maker behind Olds Motor Works. 1910 (Mar 21) – Thomas B. Jeffery dies while on vacation in Italy. 1910 (Jun 10) – Charles T. Jeffery incorporates the firm as a $3 million (US$ in dollars) public stock company. 1914 – The Rambler name is replaced with the Jeffery moniker in honor of the company's founder, Thomas B. Jeffery. 1916 (Aug) – Charles T. Jeffery sells the company to former GM president Charles W. Nash. 1917 – Charles W. Nash renames the company Nash Motors after himself.

Notes

External links

{{Commons category
1916 advertisement for Jeffery Quad, p. 481

Schematic drawing of Jeffery Quad chassis

Data sheet for Armored Car #1 (U.S. Army), build on Jeffery Quad chassis at Rock Island Arsenal, 1916

Photo of armored rear-drive Jeffery truck (not a Quad)
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin Companies based in Kenosha, Wisconsin Nash Motors Rambler vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Wisconsin Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1902 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1916 1902 establishments in Wisconsin 1916 disestablishments in Wisconsin Veteran vehicles Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Cars introduced in 1902