The name William Webster appears twice (1755 and 1760) in the eighteenth-century roll call of Masters Cutler.  The second Webster was apparently the son of the first.  ‘Webster’ is a relatively common name in the Sheffield cutlery industry and little information is available on these Masters.  Even Robert E. Leader (1905-06)¹ admitted to being flummoxed by the ‘perplexities’ of the family’s ancestry.   William Webster appeared only once in directories: that was in 1787 at Whiteley Wood, as a maker of spotted knives.  His mark was three clay pipes (two of them crossed).  Sheffield Public Advertiser (6 January 1792) added another scrap of information.  It recorded the death of Mr Webster at Whiteley Wood on 2 January 1799.  He was described as the ‘oldest surviving Master Cutler’.  Frustratingly, it did not state which Mr Webster or his age, but presumably it was William Webster Jun., Master Cutler in 1760).   He was buried at St Peter & St Paul churchyard.  Another William Webster had been buried at St Paul’s on 28 April 1778, but there are no further details.

^1. Leader, R E, History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in the County of York (Sheffield, 1905-6)