Isaiah Blood

Isaiah was the son of Sylvester Blood, a farmer and scythe maker who enlarged his business by purchasing land next to the Kayaderosseras Creek in an area known as "The Hollow," now Bloodville, New York.

In 1831, Isaiah married Jane E. Gates of Ballston Spa and was given the choice of taking over the scythe shop or a retail store of which Sylvester was part owner.

In 1851, Blood joined up with two other businessmen and built an axe factory a short distance downstream, and within a year became the sole owner.

His organizational skills and ambition were applied in greatly expanding the production of both scythes and axes through the careful development of quality control processes.

In the American Civil War, Blood manufactured an order of battle-axes for a Massachusetts artillery company in the Union Army measuring two feet long (resembling a short, slightly curved sword).