Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (1878 - 1941)

Born 25 Dec 1878 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, District de la Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Suzanne (Treyvoux) Chevrolet — married 30 Jul 1905 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Jun 1941 at age 62 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States

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Biography

Louis Chevrolet is Notable.

Louis Chevrolet is of Swiss descent

Swiss-American automotive designer, motor company founder, and racecar driver. The Chevrolet Motor Car Company that he co-founded is now part of the General Motors Company (GM).

Louis Chevrolet was born on Christmas day 1878 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, in the middle of the French-speaking Jura region. The son of a watchmaker, Joseph-Félicien Chevrolet,and Marie-Anne Angéline Mahon, he showed a strong mechanical aptitude at an early age. He immigrated to Montreal and worked as a chauffeur in Canada for six months before coming to New York, his ultimate destination. Driving hard-steering, rough-riding racing cars required a great deal of muscle at the turn of the century. The muscular young French speaker was ideally suited to this pursuit. Slowly he established his reputation as a mechanic and a racer, winning his first road race on a cinder track in Morris Park, New York on May 20, 1905. He married Suzanne Treyvoux on 30 July 1905 in Manhattan, New York, United States.^[1]

He brought his younger brothers Gaston Louis Chevrolet and Arthur Emile Chevrolet to America and left for Flint, Michigan to drive for William C. Durant, founder of General Motors. He drove a Buick in the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 but a broken camshaft put him out of the race early. Meanwhile, Durant had been forced out of GM and privately hired him to design the car of his dreams. He was a consulting engineer and co-founder, not an officer, in the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. When the Chevrolet Classic Six reached production in 1912 it was big, powerful, and pricey. It carried a sticker of $2150, out of the reach of all but the wealthy. Durant realized that to make it really big, he needed to compete with cheaper cars he could sell at high volume. He believed his name only belonged on a big, impressive automobile and resigned in October 1913. He sold his stock, securities which later would have made him a millionaire many times over when he left. Durant never missed the uneducated Chevrolet and his coarse ways, but loved his name and continued to build the company around it. The Chevrolet Motor Car Company prospered mightily by building low-priced cars and proved to be Durant’s means of regaining the chairmanship of GM, as Chevrolet became its leading division.

He formed the Frontenac Motor Corporation to build high-performance cylinder heads for Ford racing engines. By 1917 he had designed a whole new racing machine, complete with an aluminum engine, but lacked the resources to build it. Seeking a regular paycheck, he worked for American Motors for a time, but in the end, his services were deemed expendable. His next job was to build a race car for the Monroe Company, an updated Frontenac racer, which won the 1920 Indianapolis 500 with his brother Gaston at the controls. Before the year was out, Gaston was to die tragically in a California racing accident. He also built the straight-eight Frontenac driven to victory at Indy by Tommy Milton in 1921. His Indianapolis success attracted backers to incorporate Frontenac Motors, but the fledgling company collapsed before any cars could be produced. Another car company failed in 1924 and he turned to boat racing, winning the Miami Regatta in 1925. Louis Chevrolet took his last laps at Indy in 1926 as the official pace car driver. In 1929, he and Arthur Chevrolet formed the Chevrolet Brothers Aircraft Company with a new engine of their design but lost the business to Glenn L. Martin. Finally in 1934, out of charity and a moral obligation towards the man who gave their best-selling car its name, GM put him on their payroll. Illness forced him to retire in 1938. He died from complications of surgery on June 6, 1941, at the age of 63 and was buried in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States.^[2] He was buried in Indianapolis, the scene of his greatest racing triumph.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum features the Louis Chevrolet Memorial to honor his accomplishments. The centerpiece of the memorial is a bronze bust of him wearing a racing cap and goggles.

Bio by: Edward Parsons (edited 8/14/22) (updated 0101/23)

Census Information

• In the 1910 census Louis (age 31), Machanic, was the married head of household in Flint Ward 5, Genesee, Michigan, United States.^[3]
• In the 1920 census Louis (age 41), President, was the married head of household in Indianapolis Ward 4, Marion, Indiana.^[4]
• In the 1930 census Louis (age 51), Engineer, was the married head of household at 7300 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.^[5]
• In the 1940 census Louis (age 61) was the married head of household in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937"
   Index to New York City Marriages, 1866-1937. Indices prepared by the Italian Genealogical Group and the German Genealogy Group, and used with permission of the New York City Department of Records/Municipal Archives
   Ancestry Record 9105 #1396464 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis J Chevrolet marriage to Suzanne Tregvaux on 30 Jul 1905 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
2. ↑ Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current"
   URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #1904
   Ancestry Record 60525 #1360217 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis Chevrolet burial (died on 6 Jun 1941) in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States of America.
3. ↑ 1910 Census: "1910 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1910; Census Place: Flint Ward 5, Genesee, Michigan; Roll: T624_643; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1374656
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #12009306 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis J Chevrolet (31), married, Machanic, head of household in Flint Ward 5, Genesee, Michigan, USA. Born in Switzerland.
4. ↑ 1920 Census: "1920 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1920; Census Place: Indianapolis Ward 4, Marion, Indiana; Roll: T625_452; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 81
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #24255112 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis Chevrolet (41), married, President, head of household in Indianapolis Ward 4, Marion, Indiana. Born in Switzerland.
5. ↑ 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1930; Census Place: Baltimore, Maryland; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0424; FHL microfilm: 2340603
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #104950019 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis J Chevrolet (51), married, Engineer, head of household at 7300 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Born in Switzerland.
6. ↑ 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1940; Census Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: m-t0627-01882; Page: 61B; Enumeration District: 84-1405
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #79702862 (accessed 1 January 2023)
   Louis Chevrolet (61), married head of household in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. Born in Switzerland.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Louis Chevrolet
• Wikidata: Item Q351372, en:Wikipedia