1914 Jeffery Six Model 96

Charles Jeffery named his Jeffery automobile after his father Thomas, who had brought the Rambler to Wisconsin and helped expand the city of Kenosha to grow and prosper. Among Thomas Jeffery's accolades include building the largest automobile factory in the United States and becoming one of the most successful and respected builder of American automobiles. He passed away in 1910 from a heart attack, and the Jeffery automobile was a way to honor his memory. The Jeffery was a new automobile initially offered as a 40 horsepower monobloc four-cylinder engine installed in a 118-inch wheelbase, and a larger 48 horsepower six rested on a 128-inch platform. They also produced a truck called the Quad.

Although Thomas Jeffery had initially experimented with left-hand drive at the turn of the century but decided against for all production Ramblers, the Jeffery automobiles used this LHD configuration.

Sales were strong with over 10,000 cars sold in 1914, but this was soon to change. Charles Jeffery took a trip abroad in the spring of 1915. The ship he was on was the Lusitania, the great liner that sunk in just 18 minutes after a torpedo hit it from a German U-boa. Jeffery survived after four hours in the cold, icy waters, but the experience changed him forever. He sold his company to Charles Nash and retired. The last Jeffery to roll off the assembly line was in 1917.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020