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John North Willys
John North Willys, portrait
John North Willys began his professional life selling bicycles in his hometown of Elmira, NY. Willys proved adept at sales and eventually rose to manufacture his own brand of bicycles. The next move for Willys was into the automobile industry and Willys began selling Overland vehicles in Elmira.
By 1907, Willys was selling Overlands faster than the factory could produce them. The company, which was owned by the Standard Wheel Company