Matthew Johnson (bapt.1799-1875) was born at Sheffield, the son of Thomas (a sawyer) and his wife, Mary.  His early life is unknown, but it is possible that his name appeared in the records of the Company of Cutlers.  Matthew Johnson, the son of Thomas (a labourer, deceased), was apprenticed to knife maker Robert Hudson, Little Sheffield, in 1814 (though there is no record of the granting of a Freedom).

Certainly, in 1833 Matthew Johnson was listed as a pen knife cutler at Division Street.  Thereafter, his working and residential address was Carver Street.  In 1861, he combined work as a cutler with shopkeeping.  The Census in 1871 recorded that he was retired and infirm.  He died at Heeley on 27 November 1875, aged 76.   He was not a poor man and left an estate valued at nearly £600 (about £50,00 at current prices).  His executors included Edward Tozer, a prominent Sheffield steelmaker.  Matthew Johnson’s grave is at Norton Cemetery, where his ‘relict’, Ann, was also interred after her death in 1878 (aged 78).