In 1862, Whitehead Bros – based in Milton Street – was listed as a Bowie knife maker and manufacturer of pen and pocket knives.  The brothers were William Whitehead (1839-1873) and Henry George Whitehead (1841-1872).  They had been born in Osgodby, Lincolnshire, the sons of George Whitehead (a farmer) and his wife, Charlotte.  The family moved to Sheffield, where George Whitehead became a carter and later cab proprietor and his sons became cutlers.  In 1861, William described himself in the Census as a ‘cutler master’; Henry as a cutler’s apprentice.  Peterson (1958)¹ shows a Sheffield Bowie marked ‘W. & H. Whitehead’ and etched ‘DEATH TO TRAITORS’.  The Whithead’s business was not listed after 1863.  The London Gazette, July 20 1877, recorded the dissolution of Whitehead Bros, table blade makers, Continental Works, Headford Street.  The partners were William, Thomas, and Henry Whitehead.  ‘Thomas’ has not been traced.   The other Whiteheads were buried in the General Cemetery:  William died in Highfield on 10 January 1873, aged 33; his father, George, in 1879, aged 65; and his mother, Charlotte, in 1880, aged 71.   Henry Whitehead, Lower Hanover Street, died on 12 December 1872, aged 31.  He was buried in a separate unconsecrated grave in the same cemetery.

^1. Peterson, Harold L, American Knives: The First History and Collector’s Guide (Highland Park, NJ, 1958)