The Life of Clement Studebaker

“The Life of Clement Studebaker” is a typewritten manuscript held in the collection of the St. Joseph County Library in South Bend, Indiana. Written after his death in 1901, it was never published. Although Clement died just at the dawn of the automobile age, he, together with his brother John Mohler Studebaker, established the character of the business and hand-picked the successors who introduced the company’s first cars. Clement, therefore, is an important precursor to the history of the automobile industry. “The Life of Clement Studebaker” covers his business life, his political life, his family life, his church life, and his connections with other businesses and other people in South Bend. It illuminates the man and gives insight. This fascinating 188-page biography belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in the history of the Studebaker Corporation, the city of South Bend, the automobile industry, or life in the late 19th century.