“The most unique and at the same time one of the most brilliant weddings ever celebrated in this city,” began the September 4, 1885 South Bend Register’s article covering the nuptials. The grand wedding took place at South Bend’s First Presbyterian Church. The groom and groomsmen, all graduates of the Pennsylvania Military Academy, were attired in gray dress uniforms with swords and helmets with plumes. The bride wore a silk dress with a pearl-beaded front and carried white rosebuds. The reception took place at the Lantz home, which was located on the current site of South Bend’s Central High School.

George M. Studebaker went to work for the family business, and later served as commanding officer of the 157th Indiana Volunteer Regiment during the Spanish-American War at the rank of colonel. He was henceforth known as Col. Studebaker.

Col. Studebaker served as a Vice-President of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company until 1911 and remained a stockholder until the early 1920s. He was also a major stockholder in the South Bend Watch Company and numerous other local concerns. Col. George and Ada were the last Studebakers to occupy the family mansion Tippecanoe Place. They began residing there in 1889 and remained at Tippecanoe until 1933. Financial reversals brought on by the 1929 stock market crash led to bankruptcy proceedings that forced them from the home.

A surviving artifact from Col. George and Ada Studebaker’s time at Tippecanoe Place is a portrait of Ada in her younger days, by Peruvian artist Albert Lynch. It is unknown when the Studebakers acquired the painting. It was previously displayed at Tippecanoe Place until 2013.

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With his elder brothers engaged in the wagon and carriage business, Jacob took an apprenticeship in carriage trimming with Mr. Peter VanNess of Tiffin, Ohio. Upon completion of the three-year apprenticeship, Jacob returned to South Bend and enrolled in a two-year business course at the University of Notre Dame. After finishing his curriculum he entered employment with the Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing Company. Utilizing his bookkeeping and business training, Jacob began work in the general offices of the company, and in 1868 was made a full partner and placed in charge of the Carriage Department.

The opening of the Studebaker’s Chicago Repository in 1885 saw Jacob spend a large amount of time in that city. He maintained a residence in South Bend and often returned on weekends. Like his brothers, Jacob was an avid horseman, and is credited as being a founder of the Percheron-Norman Horse Company near Greeley, Colorado. Jacob’s local stables housed many successful racing horses, including the stallion “Governor Tilden” and a black mare, “Gertie.”

In 1864, Jacob married the former Harriet Chord. Together they had two children, Ida, born in 1870, and Helen, born in 1872.

Jacob was a member of the Baptist faith and a strong supporter of the South Bend’s First Baptist congregation. He was a major contributor to the First Baptist’s new church that was located at the northwest corner of Main and Wayne streets in downtown South Bend. Jacob and his wife also hosted several benefits for the church. In early 1881, Mr. and Mrs. Studebaker hosted a “barn warming” at his newly-completed horse barn on South Bend’s east side. The Ladies of the Baptist society prepared a dinner, for which a 10-cent admission was charged. Over 1,000 people were served that evening, and the entire evening netted over $300 for the church.

Although often described as being in fine health, Jacob Studebaker became ill while visiting Chicago in December of 1887. After a weeklong illness, he succumbed to inflammation of the bowels and periotinitis on December 17, 1887 at Chicago’s Leland Hotel. He was the first of the five Studebaker brothers to pass away, and is buried in South Bend’s City Cemetery.

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Henry was the first of the family to visit northern Indiana, arriving in Goshen in 1847. He took employment in a blacksmith shop, but returned to Ohio a few months later. As he had sold his horse upon arriving in Goshen, he walked the entire way back to Ashland.

He returned to Indiana in 1851 along with the rest of the family. Henry is credited with building the wagons used by the family for this journey. On February 16, 1852, Henry and his younger brother Clement opened the H. & C. Studebaker blacksmith shop at the corner of Michigan and Jefferson streets in downtown South Bend.

Henry married Miss Susan Studybaker (no relation) in May of 1852. Together they had six children.  Susan died in 1871. In 1873 Henry remarried to Ms. Priscilla Kreighbaum who bore him four more children.

In 1858, Henry sold his share of the firm to younger brother J.M. Studebaker. A couple of different reasons are given for Henry’s leaving the business. His obituary states that he was exhausted after years of toiling at the forge. Other sources indicate he left due to the company accepting military contracts, which conflicted with Henry’s pacifist beliefs. He retired to his farm located on South Bend’s south side where he lived the remainder of his years.

Like his parents, Henry was a member of the Dunkard faith. He abstained from tobacco and liquor his entire life, as did all members of his family. Although a founder of what became the world’s largest wagon manufacturer, Henry was content to spend his retirement years on his farm and out of the spotlight.

Henry Studebaker died of stomach complications on March 2, 1895. Funeral services took place at First Methodist Episcopal Church in South Bend. He was laid to rest in South Bend’s Bowman Cemetery.

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In 1860, Peter Studebaker became a dealer for his brothers’ wagon business, and in 1864 formally joined the company. He was placed in charge of sales, and immediately went to St. Joseph, Missouri to establish a Studebaker retail branch. The St. Joseph branch proved very successful, as it was the “jumping off” point for settlers heading west. Peter returned to South Bend in 1872.

Under his leadership, the Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing Company Sales Department opened many other branches around the country, including its Chicago Repository that still stands today. Peter personally selected the building’s Michigan Avenue site, and would become a semi-permanent resident of Chicago for nearly ten years. He maintained a home just north of downtown Chicago on Prairie Avenue and later had an apartment at the Repository.

Peter Studebaker married Dora Handley in 1856, and together they had three children, Wilbur, Mary, and Dora. Ms. Handley passed in 1864, and in 1865 Peter remarried to Ms. Alice Woodbury. Their marriage unfortunately ended with her death in 1869. He married again in 1871 to Ms. Mary Alice Gunthie.

Politically, Peter Studebaker was a stanch Republican whose counsel and opinion were widely sought. He devoted two months to campaign for James Garfield’s 1880 bid for the White House. A longtime admirer of Abraham Lincoln, he read every article and story on Lincoln that he could find. Upon learning that Lincoln’s mother’s Spencer County gravesite was unmarked, he forwarded the necessary funds erect a proper marker.

Although not an active church member, Peter was an Episcopalian and contributed to the construction of South Bend’s Episcopalian church. He was also a supporter of the Waif’s Mission in Chicago, and a member of the Northern Indiana Historical Society’s executive committee.

A diagnosis of heart disease took Peter Studebaker to Alma, Michigan in October of 1897 for rest and treatment. J.M Studebaker accompanied Peter on the trip, and was at his bedside when Peter died just before noon on October 9, 1897. He is buried in City Cemetery in South Bend.

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In 1850, Clement moved to South Bend, Indiana and took work as a school teacher. He taught two terms in the Palmer School and also assisted in a threshing machine blacksmith shop. In February of 1852, Clement and his older brother Henry opened the H. & C. Studebaker blacksmith shop in downtown South Bend. Both brothers worked capably at the forge, and Clem also handled the bookkeeping. When the remainder of the brothers joined the firm, Clement took the title of President which he held until his death in 1901. In October of 1852, Clement married Ms. Charity Bratt. They had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Ms. Bratt died in 1863, and in 1864 Clement remarried to Ms. Anna Milburn, daughter of Mishawaka wagon maker George Milburn. The couple had three children, George, Anne, and Clement, Jr.

In addition to serving as President of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, Clement held interests in many other local concerns, including the Mishawaka Woolen Mfg. Company, the South Bend Malleable Iron Company and the American Malt Cream and Drug Company. Politically, Clement Studebaker was an ardent Republican. He served as a convention delegate in 1880 and 1888, and was an oft-rumored candidate for governor of Indiana. President Harrison appointed Clement to serve on the Pan American Congress in 1889. Locally, he served on the South Bend City Council and the St. Joseph County Council.

Clement was an active member of the Methodist Church, representing Indiana at several Methodist conferences and also underwriting the construction of St. Paul’s Methodist Church. Mr. Studebaker was a also a Knight Templar Mason and an Oddfellow. He served as trustee of Indiana’s DePauw University for twenty years. The school’s administration building is named in his memory. South Bend’s Memorial Hospital traces its roots to the late 19th century when Clement and Anna Studebaker gave a plot of land and a sizable financial guarantee towards the establishment of a medical facility.

Clement Studebaker’s home, Tippecanoe Place, was built over three years beginning in 1886. This 40-room mansion quickly became one of South Bend’s most prominent landmarks and served as the Clement Studebaker family’s home until 1933. Today, it is one of South Bend’s most elegant restaurants.

Clement suffered from stomach ailments and anemia through much of his adult life, and frequently took trips to benefit his health. In the fall of 1901, upon the advice of Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan, he traveled to southern France for rest and relaxation. His health momentarily rejuvenated, he returned to South Bend in late September. His recovery was short lived, however, as his anemia returned. Clement Studebaker died November 27, 1901 at 1:45 in the afternoon. He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in South Bend.

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He arrived in South Bend in the winter of 1852 and took work cutting wood, chopping up to two cords a day. In 1853, J.M. departed for California to prospect for gold and arrived in Hangtown (Placerville) California five months later. Once out west, he took work with Madison, Indiana native and blacksmith H.L. Hinds making wheelbarrows.

By 1858, J.M. had amassed $7,000 from his wheelbarrow sales. He returned to South Bend and bought out Henry Studebaker’s share of the family firm. J.M. spent much of his time managing the wagon-making side of the business.

On January 2, 1860, J.M. married Ms. Mary Jane Stull. A planned honeymoon trip to Chicago was cancelled due to extremely cold weather. Instead, the young couple honeymooned in Goshen with Peter Studebaker and his wife. J.M and Mary had three children, Lillie, Grace, and John Mohler, Jr.

J.M. owned significant amounts of land in and around South Bend. His Sunnyside farm on South Bend’s east side spanned many acres and was home to his mansion of the same name. In civic affairs, J.M. took an active interest in promoting and growing the area’s parks system. In 1889, J.M. approached the city of South Bend with an offer of riverfront land near the present day Indiana University-South Bend for park use. South Bend’s Howard Park benefited from both cash and land contributions from Mr. and Mrs. Studebaker, and in 1906 the family underwrote the $25,000 cost of Howard Park’s new fountain. South Bend’s YMCA received a new home in the early 1900s through the generosity of J.M. Studebaker, who contributed funds for a new building in memory of his brothers. The brothers were long-time supporters of the “Y.” Clement Studebaker was its first president, and the first organizational meeting was held at J.M. Studebaker’s house.

Although raised as a Dunkard, in his adult life J.M. Studebaker was a Presbyterian and freely gave in support of his congregation. His helped fund construction of South Bend’s First Presbyterian Church, which still stands at the corner of Washington and Lafayette streets.

J.M Studebaker lived to 84 years of age. In his later years he was named Honorary President of the Studebaker Corporation, and went into the office nearly every day until his health no longer allowed. John Mohler Studebaker passed away at his home on March 16, 1917 at 11:00 p.m. He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in South Bend.

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Little is known about Nancy Studebaker Lucas (1825-1872). She suffered from typhoid fever and died at the young age of 47. Her obituary notes that, “She lived a very exemplary and consistent Christian life…” She and her husband John had two children.

Elizabeth Studebaker Witwer (1829-1909) met her future husband, George Witwer at a church revival meeting. Mr. Witwer was an elder in the church, and the two carried on a long-distance relationship before marrying in 1849. The Witwers traveled extensively, living as far away as Hamilton, Missouri before setting in South Bend in 1881. The Witwers had twelve children.

Unlike her older sisters, Rebecca Studebaker (1837-1915) never married. She was a member of St. Paul’s Methodist Memorial church and served as a member of the Women’s Relief Corps, a group dedicated to serving the poor. She and her younger sister Maria were active on the South Bend social scene. For years they hosted a New Year’s Day open house until Rebecca’s death in 1915.

Maria Studebaker (1840-1925), the youngest of the Studebaker sisters was also the last surviving sibling from that generation. “Aunt Maria” as she was known, lived on the site of the Studebaker’s first South Bend homestead at the northwest corner of LaSalle and Taylor Streets. Like her sister Rebecca, she never married, but did foster a number of children in her home. Upon her death in 1925, the bell at the St. Paul’s was rung for each year of her life.

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Check out our series of articles called Meet the Studebakers!  This series is based upon a Museum exhibition featured in 2015.

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