MARION KNOX CASE – The family name of Case is found as far back as the book of the Hundred Rolls in the thirteenth century. It is supposed to have been derived from the Latin word cass, meaning house or cottage. The Case family has a long record of good work and accomplishment both in England and America. Marion Knox Case has followed in the footsteps of his forefathers, and is a thorough-going business man, who has made a success of his undertakings. The founder of the Case family in America was John Case, who emigrated from England in 1635 and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.
There were several generations following John Case in which the name William was prominent. The fifth of the name of William married Abigail Belle. Their son, Jonathan, was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in 1773, and died in Bristol, Ontario County, New York, in 1855. It was hard traveling in those days and the country in that section was sparsely settled, and it was a difficult task for Jonathan Case to move his family into New York State, clear the land, build a house and make it habitable, in that, then, uninhabited region. The country grew up around him, though, and the incoming settlers selected Jonathan Case to be justice of the peace. He was a staunch member of the Baptist Church. His wife was Lucy (Simmons) Case, who bore him fourteen children. Of these, thirteen married, and twelve had children of their own. The tenth child, Sebra Lawton Case, was born in Bristol, New York, in 1810, and died in 1901, aged ninety-one years. His son, Schuyler Woodward Case, was born in Bristol, New York, in 1842, and died in Belding, Michigan, in 1913. He was a farmer and lumberman. In the Civil War he was a corporal in Company C, 4th New York. Heavy Artillery, and served through the battle of the Wilderness, and was with Grant’s army at the siege of Vicksburg. For three years he was in the army, and was discharged June 5. 1865.
Marion Knox Case, son of Schuyler Woodward Case, was born in Belding, Michigan, January 10, 1877. He received his early education in Luther, Michigan, a lumber town, and when thirteen years of age he left school and went into the silk mills of Belding Brothers & Company. The time he has spent in the company’s employ has been profitable both to himself and to it. The officials of the company, recognizing his ability, have advanced him consistently. Mills of the company are located in California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, besides the four large plants in Michigan. Mr. Case is now manager of the mill in Northampton, Massachusetts, one of the highest positions in the gift of the company’s owners. He came to Northampton in 1924, and has made many friends there. He is prominent in the Free and Accepted Masons, and in the affairs of the Methodist Church.
Mr. Case married, in 1901, Marguerite Barron, who was born in Alabaster, Michigan. She is the daughter of Alexander and Rose (Brisbaise) Barron, who came from Northern Ireland, and who were members of an old and distinguished family. Mr. and Mrs. Case have a son, William Knox Case, born February 19, 1915.