Erwin Markham

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Erwin Markham (1838-1914) was an investor who helped pioneer the American automobile industry. Between March 1892 and February 1894, Markham invested a total of $2800 in Charles and Frank Duryea's project of creating a self-propelled road vehicle.

Personal life[]

Markham was born December 18, 1838 in . The son of Solvin and Harriet Markham, he married Henrietta E. King on November 29, 1860. The 1872 , lists Markham as a butcher, but by 1887 he had switched to nursing. When Charles Duryea asked him to support their efforts in an untried field, Markham risked his life savings to fund the project.^[1]

In March 1892 Markham supplied the brothers with $1000. After Charles had finished his work, he moved back to Illinois. Frank ultimately scrapped his brother's design and approached Markham for another $1000. Markham agreed and continued to fund the project. When asking Markham for the third time, he demurred to Frank, "The thing's no good, Frank, and I have lost my money. No. All my savings will go. I'll have to quit now."^[2] Frank offered to forgo his pay, and Markham agreed to another $800.

When Frank produced a practical vehicle in 1894, Markham declined to invest in production. He was bought out for $5000, an 80% return on his $2800 investment.^[3]

In the 1900 census Markham was listed as a stock broker. In the 1909 Springfield directory he was listed as treasurer of the US Automatic Lighting Company. He died in 1914.

Notes[]

References[]

• Scharchburg, Richard P. (1993). Carriages without Horses: J. Frank Duryea and the Birth of the American Automobile Industry. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
• Springfield (MA) Directory, 1872, 1887.
• U. S. Census, 1880, 1900, 1910
• Marriage and death certificates, www.ancestry.com.

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