Lewis Specialty Company

James Roy Lewis was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1888, the son of Nathan J. Lewis and Mary Emma Parker. Nathan died in 1893, and Mary Emma in 1909, meaning that by the age of 21 he was parentless.  James enlisted in the military in 1907, serving two terms. By 1917 he was working in his Aunt's general store in Atlanta, and with WWI looming, decided to enlist in the military once again, working as a machinist, and it is believed he learned the talents of his craftsmanship during these years of service. James was stationed in Lakehurst, NJ. By 1918 he had met and married Emma Havens, who was working on the base, and was now the father of a daughter. James Roy Lewis in Laurelton, NJ in 1921 By 1919 James had been in contact with organizations in Chicago that were interested in his ideas of developing a universal brake lining device that could service all types of vehicles. In that year he wrote to the United Stated Patent Office with a request to claim ownership for a device he had inve...