Samuel Marshall (1781-1855) and David Marshall (1788-1849) were table knife manufacturers. They were the sons of John (a silver plater) and his wife, Mary. The brothers were baptised at the Quaker meeting house at Balby, near Doncaster. In 1811, Samuel was listed as a table knife cutler at West Street, though apparently he had partnered Robert Staniland (an arrangement dissolved in 1806). In 1816, Samuel and David were listed at West Street. They traded at that location as merchants and table knife manufacturers, until they ended their partnership in 1836. (A table knife partnership between Samuel Marshall, Edward L. Bishop, and George Thompson was dissolved in 1823: however, the identity of the partners is unclear and it left no trace in directories – though Bishop was a ‘gent’ at Sharrow Lane.)
David Marshall continued to trade in West Street until his death on 9 December 1849, aged 60. He left effects worth £49, but the probate was resworn in 1895 at £159. Samuel filed for bankruptcy in 1837. At his warehouse in Rockingham Street, he sold his stock-in-trade and household furniture (Sheffield Independent, 1 April 1837). The freehold of the premises and dwellings was later offered for sale in an advertisement which stated that the workshops had two hearths and a room for fourteen hands (Sheffield Independent, 6 February 1841).
Samuel had married Esther née Clarbour (1778-1841) in 1804. The Clarbours were another Quaker family of cutlers. Esther’s death on 12 May 1841 was ‘awfully sudden’ (Sheffield Independent, 15 May 1841). Samuel later moved to London, where he died on 27 February 1855 at his residence, Critchell Place.