Thread: American Knife Co. Plymouth Hollow, Conn.

That brings us to the Case family!

The Father, The son and The Holly Job!

Case Brothers Cutlery Co. and W. R. Case & Sons chronology.

Originally Posted by Martin103

That brings us to the Case family!

The Father, The son and The Holly Job!

I'm guessing that the razor division was purchased after the photo of the guy on top, but before the photos of the other two.

So the Case Brothers were first in line. Here are a couple from Little Valley!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

So the Case Brothers were first in line. Here are a couple from Little Valley!

That shoulderless is just like mine was before I altered it!

No tang stamp underneath the rust on mine though unfortunately.

Here it is fully sanded and polished. Still some pitting remains, but I sand blasted it completely clean of all rust, even in the pits, then sanded and finally polished it.



Crappy pics, I know.

Job Russell Case (1821-1915)

Married: Deborah Waite Milks



Companies Associated: Case Brothers and W.R. Case & Sons

Job Russell Case. Patriarch of the Case family, was born on July 5, 1821. This timeless image of W.R. Case and Sons cutlery never made a knife. He did however instill in his offspring a work ethic that he taught by example. His parents William and Sophia settled in Cattaraugus County, New York in 1825. In this unsettled area and with no neighbors for miles, they built a log cabin and established trade with the Iroquois of the Seneca Indian nation.






Job left home in 1836 at the age of 15 to find his fortune, logging and clearing land as his father had done. Job was smitten by Deborah Waite Milks, an educated and refined young lady who became his bride. Moving from Cattaraugus County to Wisconsin in 1843 he followed the work of a lumberman, clearing and logging to keep his family from want. Their first child, a daughter, Anna Virginia, was born in 1844 and soon a second sister Mary Theresa arrived in 1845.

Job returned to Napoli in 1846 and built a log cabin which stands to this day. He received a federal contract to clear land for a road from Little Valley to Randolph, New York. He cleared 50 acres of this heavily wooded and hilly 10 mile stretch in the first year. Hauling the cleared timber to saw mills, making shingles with a broad ax and burning the limbs and stumps to render potash for later sale. Job was frugal and bought land and livestock with his earnings. In 1847 Job's third child, his first son, William Russell was born.

He bought 100 acres and with seeds from Wisconsin, planted Apple orchards and wheat. In 1850 a son Eugene was born, but was in poor health and passed on before his first birthday. Job was deeply depressed and threw himself into his work, logging, farming, and raising live stock. His wife Deborah gave birth to their fifth child, my great-grandfather, Jean in 1853. Emma was born in 1855 and Jesse in 1856. John Deborah Case was born in 1858 and their last child Andrew Jackson was born in 1863 .Deborah, mother of nine, died in late 1868 from influenza, still in her 40s.

Marriages of convenience were common for widowers and Job later married a widow, Maria Dolbeare. She and her daughter Edith joined the Case clan in Napoli. The next year a son Edwin arrived and in 1880 Job's last child Mable was born. Job never drank or smoked and was a staunch supporter of the suffrage movement, always investing in others with labor or funding. In his lifetime he cleared hundreds of acres of land, hand built over 30 buildings, fathered and raised 11 children, and wrote over 100 poems and essays. In 1896 John D., Jean, and Andrew used Job's home and three-story barn on Fair Oaks street to start and operate Case Brothers cutlery. His influence is still present in our family to this day.

Job Russell Case died at his home in Little Valley, New York on July 4, 1915. Case Brothers cutlery closed its doors in May of that same year. Before his death, Job gave Edwin his home on Case Hill and his farm. He forgave, Jean, John, and Andrew debts owed him from Case Brothers cutlery. His tomb stone reads "Jobe" Case, preferring to enter the afterlife without the travails of the biblical Job. I can vividly remember the lessons to always "respect your elders" from my youth, and he was often quoted as saying "a Case's word is as good as his bond".

Here's a cool Kinfolks link with tons of info on the Case family as well!
Kinfolks Incorporated - Knives of Quality and Distinction

A couple of video about Case and Family

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Here's a cool Kinfolks link with tons of info on the Case family as well!
Kinfolks Incorporated - Knives of Quality and Distinction

I know the owner of this nice resource, Dean Elliott Case.
And I also restored razor for him.
His website is good and informative, but I also highly recommend his book “Kinfolks Knives: A History of Cutlery and Cousins” - many interesting things there.

It has become very clear to me that the entire success of the "Case" family in cutlery, was the making of one person, and yes its a woman and her name is Theresa Case.
William Russell Case born in Napoli NY, headed west in 1870 with his family and brother Jean. Spring Green, Nebraska is where they ended up, working in lumber, farming, cattle horses, nothing remotely close to cutlery?
W. R. Case wife Mary died, and it was Theresa that convinced her brothers to return to Little Valley New York to work with her husband J. B. F. Champlin, the owner of the J.B.F. Champlin and son Cutlery. They all return to Little Valley and with Champlin founded The Cattaraugus cutlery company.

Theresa Case Champlin and J.B.F. Champlin