Aaron Burkinshaw (1814-1881) was born in Sheffield on 8 February 1814, the son of Joseph Edward (a file smith) and Hannah née Purdy.  Aaron became a pocket blade grinder.  In 1832, he married Elizabeth née Bird (1815-1873).  Little is known about Aaron’s early life, though he was involved with trade unionism and was also once convicted of ‘larceny’ and sentenced to two months in prison in 1835.   He filed for insolvency in 1840, after he had worked successively at George Street, Philadelphia (in Sheffield), Snow Lane, Morpeth Street, Furnace Hill, and Watery Street.  

In the Census (1841), he was a blade grinder, living with Elizabeth and their growing family in Watery Lane, Netherthorpe.  The couple were to have fifteen children!  In 1848, the Burkinshaws set sail for America, where Aaron became another Sheffield recruit to Connecticut’s emerging knife industry.  He apparently worked at the Waterville Manufacturing Co, Waterbury, alongside other Sheffielders, such as Thomas J. Bradley.

In 1853, Burkinshaw established his own company in Berryville, Connecticut (later he relocated to Plymouth Hollow).   In 1855, he became naturalised.  He advertised ‘American pocket knives ...  forged with extra care and warranted from the most refined cast steel’.  As an agent, he relied upon William W. Morton, a cutler and locksmith, North Main Street, Hartford (Hartford Courant, 13 August 1855).  In the following year, he moved permanently to Pepperell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.  According to a Pepperell history, Burkinshaw found a derelict water-powered factory close to the town centre:

He was a painstaking and industrious workman and a shrewd buyer and seller.  He trained his own apprentices and employed only English workmen, who, locating here, soon formed an English hamlet in the vicinity of the mill, on the street named, by Mr Burkinshaw, Sheffield Street.  Finding that there was a demand for a fine grade of pocket-knives, Mr Burkinshaw made that branch of the trade a specialty, and built up a good business … (Hurd, 1890, vol.  3¹).  

Burkinshaw’s pocket-knives were made with the best materials, such as pearl and tortoiseshell.  He also made razors (Lummus, 1927²).  His trade mark was the word ‘EXILE’.  The workforce, however, was modest.  Photographs of the factory suggest that only a dozen or so cutlers were involved, though Aaron was assisted by his sons – especially Charles (William (1843-1927) and Frederic ‘Fred’ (1855-1902).   It was said that from the age of thirteen, Fred worked more than seventeen hours a day (information from Linda M. Welch, a great-great-granddaughter of Aaron Burkinshaw).  

Aaron died at Pepperell on 8 August 1881, aged 67.  The cause of death was ‘phthisis’ (presumably either tuberculosis or silicosis – perhaps both – and maybe related to his occupation).  He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Pepperell, where an impressive monument attests to his local standing.  ‘Native of Sheffield, England’, is carved into the base.  His personal estate was valued at $21,000, besides real estate worth $7,225.   Aaron’s first wife, Elizabeth, had died on 12 June 1873, aged 59.  He provided for his second wife, Maria (Mrs Jones) Wright, and left the factory, forging shop, and water rights to sons.   Charles and Fred and took over the running of Aaron Burkinshaw & Sons.  Fred became the driving force.  He added physician’s knives, pruning, budding knives, and speciality knives to the firm’s output.   He died on 9 August 1902, aged 47, from pneumonia.  

After his brother’s death, Charles sold out his interest in the firm and moved to New Britain, Connecticut.  In 1905, the factory closed.  But in the following year, it was incorporated as the Burkinshaw Knife Co, with $4,500 capital.  Alta A. Shattuck (1855-1926), a Pepperell farmer and banker, was president; Susan A. Burkinshaw (Fred’s widow) was secretary and treasurer; and Charles Baker (Aaron’s grandson) superintendent.  However, business declined steadily and the firm ceased trading in 1920 (Pankiewicz, 1986³).  The quality of Aaron Burkinshaw’s output can be seen in his surviving knives, which became highly sought by collectors.  In 2008, a sample case of 98 Burkinshaw knives sold for $92,000 at auction (Littmann, 2008⁴).  

^1. Hurd, Duane Hamilton (ed), History of Middlesex County Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men (Philadelphia, 1890, 3 vols)

^2. Lummus, Henry T, ‘More Old Sheffield Razors’, Antiques (May 1927)

^3. Pankiewicz, Philip R, New England Cutlery (Gilman, CT, 1986)

^4. Littman, Donald [Greg Martin Auctions Catalogue], The Largest Knife Sale Ever Featuring the Estate of Donald Littman, Part I, 25 February 2008, in San Francisco (San Francisco, 2008)