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| William Crapo Grant b. 1861 |
William Crapo Durant 1 was born2 on 8 Dec 1861 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He died on 18 Mar 1947 in New York, New York. He was buried3 in Woodland Cemetery, Bronx, New York.
William was counted in a census4
in 1900 at Flint, Genesee, Michigan, USA.
Industrialist and financier, best
known as the founder of General Motors Corporation. He was born
William Crapo Durant on December 8th,
1861 in Boston. He quit school at 16 to work in his
grandfather's Flint, Michigan,
lumberyard. By 1885 he had partnered with Josiah Dallas Dort to design a
two-wheeled carriage and organized
the Coldwater Road Cart Company to produce it. Sales took off
and Durant and Dort soon became
wealthy. By 1890, Durant-Dort Carriage Company was the nation's
largest, producing approximately
50,000 horse-drawn vehicles a year. In 1904, Durant was approached
by James Whiting of the Buick Company
to promote his automobiles and persuaded him to join Buick
as General Manager. In three short
years Buick led the U.S. automobile production by manufacturing 8,
820 vehicles. Between 1904 and 1908,
Durant was made Buick's president and established several
essential parts and accessory
companies such as Weston-Mott and Champion Ignition Company. By
 |
| United States Census, 1900 for William C Durant |
1908 the top four auto producers in
the U.S. were Buick, Reo (headed by Ransom E. Olds), Maxwell -
Briscoe, (headed by Benjamin and
Frank Briscoe) and Ford (headed by Henry Ford). Benjamin Briscoe
wanted all four producers to merge
and form one large company. Negotiations began in New York at the
House of Morgan, and ended when Ford
demanded cash instead of stock and pulled out of the deal,
along with Reo. Still determined to
start this new auto company, Durant continued without Ford and Reo.
On September 16, 1908, Durant
incorporated General Motors of New Jersey (GM) with a capital
investment of $2,000. Within 12 days
the company issued stocks that generated over $12,000,000 in
cash. GM then purchased Buick with stock.
Six weeks later, GM acquired the Olds Corporation of
Lansing, Michigan, followed by the
Oakland Company. Oakland was located in Pontiac, Michigan, and
would later be renamed Pontiac.
Finally, Durant sought to acquire Cadillac Motor Car Company from
the Leland father/son team. The
Leland’s would only settle for cash to the tune of $4.5 million. GM could
not raise this amount of money, but
Buick, the cash cow, could. So, Cadillac was bought with Buick
funds, thereby becoming a subsidiary
of Buick. During this same period, Durant also acquired many
truck and parts supply companies,
including AC-Delco, which he helped form with Albert Champion and
still bears his initials today. In an
18 month burst of aggressive wheeling and dealing, Durant purchased
a substantial interest in almost 30
auto makers. However, all this acquisition came at a price. Durant
became financially overextended and
consequently, lost control of GM to banking interests in 1910.
Undeterred, Durant partnered with
Louis Chevrolet to form Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 and used
the profits from Chevrolet to regain
control of GM in 1915. However, Durant's aggressive management
style once again proved problematic.
He was forced out in 1920 by then GM president Pierre DuPont in
exchange for paying off Durant's
debts. Determined to regain status in the automotive world, he formed
Durant Motors in 1921 and produced a
line of cars bearing his name for the next 10 years. However, a
declining market and the Great
Depression ended Durant's automotive career in 1933. From 1934 until
his death, Durant dabbled in stocks,
politics, and social issues. None of these later ventures reflected
his former bold thinking and he faded
from public life. On March 18, 1947, William Durant died in New
York City, marking the end of a
remarkable era in automotive excellence. (bio by: Edward Parsons)
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William married (1) Clara Pitt 5
on 17 Jun 1885 in Flint, Genesee,
Michigan, USA. The marriage ended in divorce.They were divorced in 5-27-1908.
Clara was born in Apr 1864 in
California.
Clara was counted in a census6 in 1900 at
Flint, Genesee, Michigan, USA.
William married (2) Catherine
Lederer 7 on 28 May 1908.
Catherine died after 1947. She was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Bronx, New
York.
Appendix A - Sources
1. Steve
Riddle, World Connect Project pages of Steve Riddle (http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=sriddle).
2. Compiled
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Massachusetts Births and
Christenings, 1639-1915 (Compiled
by: Family History Library; FamilySearch; (http://familysearch.org)), Family
History Library, 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT
84150-3440.name: William
Crapo Duranttitles & terms: event: Birthevent date: 08 Dec 1861event place: Boston,
Suffolk, Massachusettsgender: race: registration date: registration place: christening
date: christening place: christening age: death date: death
age: father: Wm. C. Durantfather's titles & terms: father's birthplace: father's age: mother: Rebecca
F.mother's titles & terms: mother's
birthplace: mother's age: paternal grandfather: paternal grandmother: maternal grandfather: maternal
grandmother: additional relatives: volume/page/certificate number: 108 4824film number: 1420997digital folder number: 4341181image
number: 527https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXCB-SMM.
3. Compiled
by: Find A Grave, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/), Find A Grave, PO
Box 522107, Salt Lake City, UT 84152-2107.
Maintained by: Find A GraveRecord
added: Dec 13, 1998 Find A Grave Memorial# 4151.
4. Compiled
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1900 United States
Federal Census (Compiled by: Family
History Library; FamilySearch; (http://familysearch.org)), Family History
Library, 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3440.name: William C Duranttitles & terms: residence: Flint city (west side), Genesee, Michiganbirth date: Dec 1861birthplace: Massachusettsrelationship to head of household: Selfspouse: Clara P Durantspouse's titles & terms: spouse's birthplace: Californiafather: father's titles & terms: father's birthplace: New Hampshiremother: mother's titles & terms: mother's birthplace: Massachusettsrace or color
(expanded): Whitehead-of-household
name: William C Durantgender: Malemarital status: Marriedyears married: 14estimated
marriage year: 1886mother how many
children: number living children: immigration year: enumeration district: 0010page: 12sheet letter: Afamily number: 273reference
number: 25film number: 1240710image number: 00671 Household Gender Age
William C Durant M spouse Clara P Durant F child Margery Durant F child R Clifford Durant M Anna Kildea F
Mary Kildea Fhttps://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSM7-7HN.
5. Steve
Riddle, World Connect Project pages of Steve Riddle .
6. Compiled
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1900 United States
Federal Census .name: Clara P
Duranttitles & terms: residence: Flint city (west side), Genesee,
Michiganbirth date: Apr
1864birthplace: Californiarelationship
to head of household: Wifespouse: William C Durantspouse's titles &
terms: spouse's birthplace: Massachusettsfather: father's titles & terms: father's birthplace: New Yorkmother: mother's titles & terms: mother's birthplace: Michiganrace or color (expanded): Whitehead-of-household name: William C Durantgender: Femalemarital status: Marriedyears married: 14estimated
marriage year: 1886mother how
many children: 2number living
children: 2immigration year: enumeration district: 0010page: 12sheet letter: Afamily
number: 273reference number: 26film number: 1240710image number: 00671
Household Gender Agespouse William C Durant M
Clara P Durant F child Margery Durant F child R Clifford Durant M Anna Kildea F Mary
Kildea F
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSM7-7HJ.
7. Steve
Riddle, World Connect Project pages of Steve Riddle .
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