J. Howard Catlin was born in March of 1847 to John and Laura Humanston Catlin of Northfield, Connecticut. As a young man he became involved with the Northfield Knife Company with his brother Franklin and he also became active in his community of Northfield; acting as a notary public during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1871 he married Josephine (Josie) Wooster of Connecticut, and the couple had two children. He passed away on March 30, 1933. The Northfield Knife Company was established in 1858 and soon became prosperous, producing the first cast iron handled knives in 1862. In 1865 ownership control of the company passed to Franklin H. and J. Howard Catlin of Northfield. The success of the company led the Catlin brothers to expand through the purchase of several of the area's smaller knife companies. The American Knife Company of Plymouth Hollow was purchased in 1865 and the Excelsior Knife Company of Torrington was purchased in 1884. The company's sucess was evident  at the 1901 Pan American Exposition where their exhibit displayed over one thousand different knife styles. In 1919 the Northfield Knife Company was sold to Clark Brothers Cutlery of St. Louis, Missouri, and the company was declared bankrupt in 1929.

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