The Life of Millard Fillmore Robeson and the Founding of the Robeson Cutlery Company

11/06/2024

by Tom Kalcevic

Little is known about the life of Millard Fillmore Robeson and the years leading up to the founding of The Robeson Cutlery Company in Elmira. However, after 20 years of researching through municipal records, directories, newspapers, knife books and magazines, cemetery headstones and more, we now have a better take of the company and its evolution.

       This story is a culmination of 100 years of “bits and pieces” information, merged with 1800s state history and an interpretation of how events throughout Robeson’s life were interconnected.

1770s to 1820s: Befriending the Fillmores

     The Robeson family’s roots can be traced to Vermont as well as Cayuga and Herkimer counties in Central New York. It is believed that Edward, Millard Fillmore Robeson’s grandfather, accompanied Nathaniel Fillmore – father of 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore – on his journey from Bennington, VT to New York in the 1770s in search of richer farm land and better living opportunities.

       Edward initially settled in Herkimer County while Nathaniel settled in Moravia. Once Robert, Millard Fillmore Robeson’s father, was born in 1810, the Robesons also moved to Moravia, thus establishing a relationship between the Fillmore and Robeson families.

          In the 1820s, Millard Fillmore encouraged the Robesons to settle in the Farmersville Station area. Millard Fillmore may have also had the Robesons scout and explore land to purchase for an intended east/west trade route; throughout his career, Millard Fillmore became noted for being a champion of commercial development and expansion.

       The Robesons knew influential people who helped facilitate both the growth of New York State industry and expansion of the western frontier. The towns and cities throughout western and central New York State, frequented by the Robesons and their travel routes, ultimately developed into today’s modern highways and railways.

1830s to 1870s: The next generations

          Robert welcomed the birth of his eldest son, John Edward Robeson, in 1836. Millard Fillmore Robeson followed in 1847. The Robesons moved 12 miles southwest of Farmersville Station to Franklinville in 1860. There, John established a hardware store and instructed his younger brother in the tin staple ware and utensil fabrication trade. Millard Fillmore Robeson, traveling by foot, horse, buggy and train, sold his tin staple ware throughout the region.

          Meanwhile, John became a quartermaster sergeant in the Union Army. He outfitted Union troops in Elmira with cooking and eating utensils made and sold by Millard.

          Millard Fillmore Robeson soon began his own family. He and his wife welcomed two sons and two daughters, born between 1870 and 1877. Millard Fillmore Robeson moved to his permanent residence in Elmira in 1879 with his two sons, while his daughters most likely grew up in the Franklinville area. The two homes in Elmira and Franklinville were central to more developed transportation routes connecting to all of Millard Fillmore Robeson’s business interests.

1880s to 1890s: A venture into cutlery

          Millard’s interest in cutlery began when he worked in the meat masticating business in Ithaca. He started importing cutlery through a distributor, stocking scissors, razors, kitchen and table knives and pocket folders that he vended in his travels. The cutlery was made in Europe and was stamped with the Robeson name and occasionally “Elmira, N.Y.”

          It was at this time that Millard befriended Charles W. Silcox, who later became the secretary of Robeson Cutlery. Silcox eventually became a director of Geneva Cutlery Co. which manufactured straight razors for Robeson Cutlery, Case Manufacturing Co. and other companies. Likewise, Robeson Cutlery produced pocket knives for Geneva Cutlery stamped with the “Genco” name.

          The Robeson Cutlery Company officially became recognized as a cutlery company in 1892. Millard was then able to buy directly from American cutlery factories, as opposed to going through a distributor and having to import knives. Both of his sons were included as directors under the company name. The company had table and kitchen cutlery manufactured by Allegany Cutlery Co. in Wiscoy.

          Millard moved to Rochester in 1894; his home on Arnold Park neighbored the residence of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak. Millard set up offices for Robeson Cutlery at 141-147 Jones Street.

          He was awarded a patent for the metal bucket bail (handle) ear, a design still in use today.

          In 1895, Millard leased an existing American cutlery works and labor force from Charles E. Sherwood to produce folding pocket knives. However, with tariffs on imports, a demand for pocket knives and the growth of the American Industrial Revolution, Millard established his own cutlery manufacturing facility in 1898. The facility, located between Rochester and Franklinville, was previously occupied by a harvester company and had an existing foundry. It was outfitted with the help of Rochester Stamping.

1900s: Establishing a legacy

          Disaster struck in 1902 when a flood destroyed the Allegany Cutlery Co. and fixed blade knife manufacturing facilities for both Ontario Knife Company and Robeson Cutlery Company. A newspaper account of the incident read, “Seven or eight grindstones, weighing about 2,200 pounds each, were stored in front of the cutlery works, and not a trace of them can be found.”

          Ontario Knife Company relocated to a new facility in Franklinville while Robeson Cutlery Company’s manufacturing was absorbed by Ontario Knife Company with employees displaced from Allegany Cutlery.

          Robeson Cutlery Company established a partnership with another startup knife manufacturer, Case Manufacturing Co. In the 1910s, Roberson Cutlery Company had a product line of “PocketEze” knives that had highly figured worm groove bone handles; it is possible that Case Manufacturing Co. either provided parts to Robeson Cutlery Company or manufactured these knives themselves.

          M.F. Robeson died December 30, 1903 in Franklinville and was buried in Mount Prospect Cemetery beneath a substantial Robeson family monument. His wife, Malvina Emma Holmes, had died in 1893 and was buried in the Farmersville Cemetery.

          Millard’s son George assumed leadership of Robeson Cutlery Company out of Rochester while manufacturing remained in Perry.

          Throughout his life, Millard Fillmore Robeson applied both determination and resourcefulness to the building and founding of the Robeson Cutlery Company impacted the area for another century to come.