William Penn had traveled to many countries in Western Europe espousing the advantages of his new lands in America: equal status of the people, religious freedom, and bountiful lands for crops. As a German Quaker, Francis Pastorius signed on, purchasing 15,000 acres he called Germantown. So, it is not surprising that on 9/1/1736, three men, two wives, and three children disembarked the "Harle" to finish their four month trip from Solingen Germany to Philadelphia. They had come from families of farmers, blacksmiths, and cutlers being intermarried with the Henckels. They were prepared and eager to fulfill their dreams, and they did. Nine generations later and 280 years, there have been some 525,000 people descendent from these Studebakers: Clement and Anna Melchers, Peter and Anna Aschauer, and Heinrich. Some 175,000 are still alive today.
Clement and his wife Anna Catherine Melchers moved on in the spring of 1738 and bought some land on the Conewago Creek near East Berlin, York Co. PA. They had eight children between 1741 and 1759, and all survived to marry. These families followed their father in farming. blacksmith, carpentry, and the joining trades. But five generations later through their son Clement and his descendants, five Studebaker brothers started a blacksmith shop in South Bend IN in 1852. In less than a half a century, it would become the largest manufacturer of wagons in the world.
Clement and his wife Anna Catherine Melchers moved on in the spring of 1738 and bought some land on the Conewago Creek near East Berlin, York Co. PA. They had eight children between 1741 and 1759, and all survived to marry. These families followed their father in farming. blacksmith, carpentry, and the joining trades. But five generations later through their son Clement and his descendants, five Studebaker brothers started a blacksmith shop in South Bend IN in 1852. In less than a half a century, it would become the largest manufacturer of wagons in the world.
William Penn had traveled to many countries in Western Europe espousing the advantages of his new lands in America: equal status of the people, religious freedom, and bountiful lands for crops. As a German Quaker, Francis Pastorius signed on, purchasing 15,000 acres he called Germantown. So, it is not surprising that on 9/1/1736, three men, two wives, and three children disembarked the "Harle" to finish their four month trip from Solingen Germany to Philadelphia. They had come from families of farmers, blacksmiths, and cutlers being intermarried with the Henckels. They were prepared and eager to fulfill their dreams, and they did. Nine generations later and 280 years, there have been some 525,000 people descendent from these Studebakers: Clement and Anna Melchers, Peter and Anna Aschauer, and Heinrich. Some 175,000 are still alive today.
Clement and his wife Anna Catherine Melchers moved on in the spring of 1738 and bought some land on the Conewago Creek near East Berlin, York Co. PA. They had eight children between 1741 and 1759, and all survived to marry. These families followed their father in farming. blacksmith, carpentry, and the joining trades. But five generations later through their son Clement and his descendants, five Studebaker brothers started a blacksmith shop in South Bend IN in 1852. In less than a half a century, it would become the largest manufacturer of wagons in the world.
Clement and his wife Anna Catherine Melchers moved on in the spring of 1738 and bought some land on the Conewago Creek near East Berlin, York Co. PA. They had eight children between 1741 and 1759, and all survived to marry. These families followed their father in farming. blacksmith, carpentry, and the joining trades. But five generations later through their son Clement and his descendants, five Studebaker brothers started a blacksmith shop in South Bend IN in 1852. In less than a half a century, it would become the largest manufacturer of wagons in the world.
