Theodore Willard Case was born in 1888 into a house of wealth and scholarship. His father Willard Case (1857-1918) was fascinated with the budding field of electricity, and Theodore inherited this love of science. Ted graduated from Yale in 1912 and in 1914 he and Willard began setting up laboratories in the basement of their homes at 196 Genesee Street and Casowasco, the Case family estate on Owasco Lake.
Willard Case inherited the Willard estate at 203 Genesee Street in 1916. He remained at 196 Genesee Street, and Theodore moved into the Willard home. Willard and Theodore converted a greenhouse into a scientific laboratory the same year. They called the enterprise the Case Research Lab (CRL) and hired Earl Sponable as an assistant.