Combattez les spams : Cliquez ici

Studebaker History

The Studebaker family emigrated to the United States, that is one thing we know for sure.

But where did they come from?

A common but wrong answer is from Drenthe in The Netherlands, there is even talk of Zeeland, but more in the right direction is Germany. The name most commonly is analyzed as Stuttenbacker or Stoetenbakker and thus they are proclaimed bakers of traditional bread.

But alas most of that is not really right. The Studebakers came from Solingen and the family name was Staudenbecker. They were craftsmen there and knew the art of metallurgy very well. (Why do you think those Studebaker engines last so long :-). Part of the family wanted to try their luck (or fortune) in America.

At the time a craftsman was not allowed to emigrate and take all the "blade-making skills" with him. So the family had to practice another trade for five years in the city of Hagen before they could leave. Of course one wonders what that trade was...

After that period Peder and Clemens travelled down the Rhine with their cousin Heinrich. They set out to the United States by boat, named the Harle from Rotterdam, they arrived in the American colonies September 1, 1736.

If you want to read more about the Studebaker family checkout the www.studebakerfamily.org website.

There is also a very interesting letter written by Clemens and Peder Studebaker to family still in Germany. It gives an excellent insight into the thoughts and pre-ocupations of immigrants at that time and the Studebakers in particular.

1737 Letter from Clemens and Peder

We always talk about the Studebaker brothers, but actually there were also a lot of Studebaker Sisters. John Studebaker and his wife Rebecca Mohler actually had five sons and five daughters.