Chester Neal Weaver, was born on May 5, 1868 in LaPorte, Indiana, married Elsie Standring in 1890 in the Chicago area, and came west in 1898 to visit his brother who was a manager at a Studebaker branch. On this visit he met J.M. Studebaker who discovered that Chester was an accountant. Studebaker offered him a job which Weaver accepted. By 1905 he was the Branch Manager of the Studebaker Wagon Manufacturing Company in San Francisco. In 1914 Weaver took over the Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose Studebaker franchises, and in 1918 he became the Northern California Distributor for the company.
Weaver was appointed the head of the California State Advisory Commission on Motor Legislation, and he helped to draft the California Motor Vehicle Code. He also served as the Director of the Northern California Automobile Dealers' Association.
Some newspaper accounts state he retired in 1931, but it appears that he never sold his interests in his dealerships. In 1933 Weaver gave up control of the San Francisco branch but retained control of the Oakland branch. In February, 1935 he purchased the Don Neher Ford and Lincoln agency in Oakland, and Weaver converted his 29th and Broadway Studebaker showroom into a Ford dealership. The transition was not too difficult since Neher's building was next to Weaver's facility. A year later he was the largest Ford dealer in California. Also in 1936 he started to sell the full line of General Electric home appliances.
By December 1940 he was selling Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln-Zephyr as well as Ford trucks. The Mercury and Lincoln-Zephyr showroom moved into a new building at 30th and Broadway the same month. Weaver continued to manage his firm through WWII, but he sold his interest to his long-time partner in June 1946 for a reported $290,000. Weaver died on Christmas Eve the same year, aged 78.
More information about him can be found here as well as here.
Weaver was appointed the head of the California State Advisory Commission on Motor Legislation, and he helped to draft the California Motor Vehicle Code. He also served as the Director of the Northern California Automobile Dealers' Association.
Some newspaper accounts state he retired in 1931, but it appears that he never sold his interests in his dealerships. In 1933 Weaver gave up control of the San Francisco branch but retained control of the Oakland branch. In February, 1935 he purchased the Don Neher Ford and Lincoln agency in Oakland, and Weaver converted his 29th and Broadway Studebaker showroom into a Ford dealership. The transition was not too difficult since Neher's building was next to Weaver's facility. A year later he was the largest Ford dealer in California. Also in 1936 he started to sell the full line of General Electric home appliances.
By December 1940 he was selling Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln-Zephyr as well as Ford trucks. The Mercury and Lincoln-Zephyr showroom moved into a new building at 30th and Broadway the same month. Weaver continued to manage his firm through WWII, but he sold his interest to his long-time partner in June 1946 for a reported $290,000. Weaver died on Christmas Eve the same year, aged 78.
More information about him can be found here as well as here.
Chester Neal Weaver, was born on May 5, 1868 in LaPorte, Indiana, married Elsie Standring in 1890 in the Chicago area, and came west in 1898 to visit his brother who was a manager at a Studebaker branch. On this visit he met J.M. Studebaker who discovered that Chester was an accountant. Studebaker offered him a job which Weaver accepted. By 1905 he was the Branch Manager of the Studebaker Wagon Manufacturing Company in San Francisco. In 1914 Weaver took over the Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose Studebaker franchises, and in 1918 he became the Northern California Distributor for the company.
Weaver was appointed the head of the California State Advisory Commission on Motor Legislation, and he helped to draft the California Motor Vehicle Code. He also served as the Director of the Northern California Automobile Dealers' Association.
Some newspaper accounts state he retired in 1931, but it appears that he never sold his interests in his dealerships. In 1933 Weaver gave up control of the San Francisco branch but retained control of the Oakland branch. In February, 1935 he purchased the Don Neher Ford and Lincoln agency in Oakland, and Weaver converted his 29th and Broadway Studebaker showroom into a Ford dealership. The transition was not too difficult since Neher's building was next to Weaver's facility. A year later he was the largest Ford dealer in California. Also in 1936 he started to sell the full line of General Electric home appliances.
By December 1940 he was selling Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln-Zephyr as well as Ford trucks. The Mercury and Lincoln-Zephyr showroom moved into a new building at 30th and Broadway the same month. Weaver continued to manage his firm through WWII, but he sold his interest to his long-time partner in June 1946 for a reported $290,000. Weaver died on Christmas Eve the same year, aged 78.
More information about him can be found here as well as here.
Weaver was appointed the head of the California State Advisory Commission on Motor Legislation, and he helped to draft the California Motor Vehicle Code. He also served as the Director of the Northern California Automobile Dealers' Association.
Some newspaper accounts state he retired in 1931, but it appears that he never sold his interests in his dealerships. In 1933 Weaver gave up control of the San Francisco branch but retained control of the Oakland branch. In February, 1935 he purchased the Don Neher Ford and Lincoln agency in Oakland, and Weaver converted his 29th and Broadway Studebaker showroom into a Ford dealership. The transition was not too difficult since Neher's building was next to Weaver's facility. A year later he was the largest Ford dealer in California. Also in 1936 he started to sell the full line of General Electric home appliances.
By December 1940 he was selling Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln-Zephyr as well as Ford trucks. The Mercury and Lincoln-Zephyr showroom moved into a new building at 30th and Broadway the same month. Weaver continued to manage his firm through WWII, but he sold his interest to his long-time partner in June 1946 for a reported $290,000. Weaver died on Christmas Eve the same year, aged 78.
More information about him can be found here as well as here.
Gravesite Details
Ref: Cemetery Records
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
